US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona tackles teacher shortages and student loan relief efforts –

The nation’s teacher shortage “is a symptom of the teacher respect problem in this country,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona BLACK ENTERPRISESreferring to low salaries.

Speaking on the College of Charleston in South Carolina on February 1, during, amongst others, Increase power summit organized by White House Initiative for Black AmericansCardona said low teacher salaries show a scarcity of respect for educators, noting that a few of them pursue side hustles similar to driving on ride-sharing apps or taking jobs within the food service industry to complement their income.

“South Carolina is not immune. When starting salary for teachers is about $38,000 to $39,000, you’re basically telling teachers, ‘I have to get another job to make ends meet,'” Cardona said. “We have to show respect for our teachers so that we can keep them.”

According to data from the federal department of education, 730,000 local public education jobs were lost in the course of the pandemic. States proceed to receive $122 billion in support under the American Rescue Plan Emergency assistance in primary and secondary schools The funding is “to address teacher shortages,” in keeping with the Department of Education website.

“The teacher shortage issue and the teacher respect issue go hand in hand,” Cardona said TO BE. “We are pushing — not just for federal education funding, but we are pushing for states to do more. Pick it up. Our children deserve it.”

He noted that diversifying the career can also be a priority for Cardona and the Biden-Harris administration.

“Frankly, the number of diverse teachers compared to the number of diverse students is less than a quarter. We have to do better,” Cardona said.

According to the Department of Education, ““Raise the bar” Under the policy outline, the federal government is working with minority-serving institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), to eliminate teacher shortages and diversify classrooms and schools. Cardona also said the administration has made new grants over the past three years “to be sure that we’re recruiting Black and Brown teachers.”

“It’s going great,” said Father grant initiative. “We put more money into it. Every year we put a little more into it. We need to scrap these dollars, but we realize that when black and brown children have teachers of color, they see themselves. They engage better. They work better. students do it, not just black and brown students.”

What’s Next for Black Student Loan Borrowers?

While in Charleston, Secretary Cardona also addressed the administration’s efforts to cut back or eliminate student loans for borrowers, including Black borrowers who’ve been hardest hit.

“Black borrowers owe money on a loan they took out 12 years later because of the interest charged,” Cardona said. “We changed it. We have introduced the SAVE plan, which now limits interest rates. Think about what this means for first-generation kids like me. There will be no accumulation of interest as was the case in the past.”

Cardona said the administration has provided “over $50 billion in debt relief for public servants,” and these are roles often filled by people of color, “which is another way to get support for Black borrowers.”

He expressed frustration that the Supreme Court rejected President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, which “was intended to deal with the racial wealth gap on this country. PELL-eligible students would receive $20,000 in relief. We also know that black borrowers usually tend to use PELL accounts.”

Secretary Cardona noted, “If the plan were passed, the full debt of forty-two percent of black borrowers could be forgiven, “but we’re still fighting for student debt forgiveness. This president understands that; that it’s impacting Black and brown communities at a much greater rate, and we’re intentionally saying, “we need to do better.”

Reinforcement Series in keeping with Alexis K. Holmes, executive director of the White House Initiative on Black Americans, will make stops in other cities this spring and summer, including Denver and Philadelphia, as “a possibility for us to talk on to the Black community to offer inspiration, information and innovation” by sharing details about access to federal resources with local communities.