A Vision for the Future of Education in America & the Work of the America Forward Coalition

In a recent speech at the Department of Education, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona outlined his vision for transforming the American education system, emphasizing the potential for reimagining what’s possible in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Secretary Cardona shared the Biden Administration’s priorities that will guide the Department’s work for 2022 — many of which align with work that America Forward Coalition members are already leading on in communities across the country.

Below, we’ve highlighted five priorities the Secretary identified in his speech, and how those priorities intersect with the work America Forward Coalition organizations are doing in support of students, families, educators, staff, and school communities.

1. Increasing access to social, emotional, and mental health supports to meet the needs of the whole learner

Secretary Cardona detailed his intention to “reimagine holistic supports for every student, every day, and reimagine schools and school systems designed to meet the needs of our learners.”

Now more than ever, it is essential that we advance strategies that support the needs of the whole learner, and the breadth of skills necessary for healthy learning and development — not only academic, but also social, emotional, physical, and creative skills.

Recognizing the need for greater focus on whole-learner education, America Forward Coalition organizations have been leading on this work. For example:

• Turnaround for Children offers a toolbox to support “whole-child school redesign,” including a Whole-Child Blueprint designed to increase equity, provide a personalizable framework for educators, schools, and districts, and support the holistic development of all students.
• The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) works in partnership with education leaders, researchers, school communities, policymakers, and other stakeholders to champion social-emotional learning (SEL) and integrate proven SEL approaches into our education system.

Driven by the expertise of our Coalition, America Forward is committed to advancing the prioritization of SEL and whole-learner approaches through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Higher Education Act, federal relief funding, and more. We also are aiming our advocacy to advance trauma-informed practices in schools, to meet the holistic needs of our students and address the varying traumatic experiences brought about by the pandemic, improve school climate, and foster positive developmental relationships.

2. Unapologetically addressing opportunity gaps

The ongoing impact of the pandemic continues to exacerbate deeply entrenched educational inequities in school systems across the country, and as Secretary Cardona highlighted, “many of the students who have been most underserved during the pandemic are the same ones who have had to deal with barriers to a high-quality education since well before COVID-19.”

In order to ensure a truly equitable recovery, it is essential that we direct comprehensive resources to organizations and leaders — like those in the America Forward Coalition — working to close gaps in opportunity and access to high-quality learning experiences, to ensure that every student has the support they need to thrive in school and in life.

For example:

• In collaboration with high schools and colleges, Beyond12 works to ensure students facing disproportionate barriers to higher education — including first-generation, low-income and historically under-represented students — have the academic, social, and emotional support they need to earn college degrees.
• Tech Goes Home also works to expand opportunity by providing digital tools, high-quality internet, and culturally-competent training to those experiencing gaps in access, ensuring students and families have what they need to complete homework, participate in virtual schooling, work from home, and more.
• Equal Opportunity Schools works in partnership with school districts to increase the enrollment of students of color and low-income students in the most academically intense high school programs, with appropriate support to help them succeed.
• The National Math and Science Initiative works with individual schools, districts, and national policymakers to expand opportunities for all students to participate in high-quality science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

3. Meaningful and authentic parent and family engagement

Secretary Carona stressed the importance of engaging parents: “As a former school principal, I knew that partnering with parents was critical to our school’s growth. Especially now during a pandemic, engaging all parents’ voices in this process of recovery and addressing disparities is not only important, it’s necessary. All parents’ voices must be heard.”

Parents, families, and caregivers are experts on their children, and robust support for effective family engagement strategies is instrumental in our efforts to transform our education system.

We can start by looking to organizations within the America Forward Coalition that are already on the frontlines of this work.

• Springboard Collaborative and Reading Partners both work in close collaboration with parents and families to close literacy gaps for young learners and help students develop the strong reading foundation necessary for future learning.
• PAVE DC brings local parent leaders together to share information, advocate for educational priorities, and leverage collective expertise to impact education policy in the Washington, D.C. area.
• Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors provides families with a structured curriculum — co-created with parents and caregivers — to build strong foundations for their children in reading, math, technology, health and more.

4. Comprehensive support for educators and investments in a diverse educator workforce

Supporting students means supporting educators. Ensuring our teachers and school leaders have the tools and resources they need to thrive — especially as the pandemic continues to force schools to adjust and adapt — is central to the success of our education system as a whole. As Secretary Cardona emphasized, “It is on us to make sure education jobs are ones that educators don’t want to leave and that people from all backgrounds want to pursue.”

That means:

• Providing educator support that spurs professional success, improves educator effectiveness and capacity, and promotes equity, such as through New Teacher Center’s teacher training; or Leading Educators’ Teaching for Equity program.
• Connecting teachers with legislators across all levels of government to inform and advocate for education priorities based on their experience, like Educators for Excellence’s work making sure “educators have a leading voice in the policies that impact their students and the teaching profession.”

Leveraging federal funding and policy to support the development of a diverse, robust pipeline of educators, attract top talent, and provide the resources necessary to cultivate a welcoming, supportive, and sustainable environment for all teachers and school leaders.

5. Removing silos between systems designed to work together

Finally, we have an opportunity to break down barriers separating resources and policy efforts that have the potential to work better together. According to Secretary Cardona, “That means strengthening our partnerships with our colleagues at the Departments of Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and Environmental Protection to support children, their families, and entire communities.”

In addition to removing these barriers at the federal level, it also means strengthening and scaling catalytic partnerships between states, districts, schools, high-quality community partners and nonprofit organizations in order to create, foster and maintain successful systems that allow all stakeholders to thrive.

At America Forward, we are deeply encouraged by Secretary Cardona’s vision for the future of American education. We remain committed to the advancement of these critical priorities and we look forward to the opportunity to work in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education in realizing the full potential of our education system, as we recover from the pandemic and beyond.