U.S. Secretary of Education Visits Perry County Schools - The Hazard Herald

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited Perry County Central High School and Roy G. Eversole Elementary successful Hazard connected Jan. 19.

During the visit, helium met with schoolhouse officials and students to sermon the successes and opportunities of the Promise Neighborhood grants with the assistance of Partners for Rural Impact.  

“Not lone bash I privation to perceive from you connected however to bash a amended occupation supporting agrarian communities, I privation to perceive much examples of however the Promise Neighborhood wealth is being utilized to springiness much opportunities to students,” said Cordona.

Cardona was greeted astatine PCCHS by schoolhouse module and section officials and was past fixed a circuit of the facilities, including the school's machine laboratory equipped with Virtual Reality headsets, wherever helium observed students participating successful cutting-edge learning techniques astatine the school.

“What you’re doing, the opportunities you’re providing your students, the mode you’re utilizing the partnership, is mounting up an illustration we privation to replicate crossed the country, not conscionable successful agrarian America,” said Cordona.

During a treatment with schoolhouse and section officials astatine the Federal Center Building connected the Hazard Community and Technical College campus, Cardona discussed the value of providing due enactment for agrarian communities, but besides to find the ways successful which agrarian communities thrive and utilizing it arsenic an illustration for different areas successful the country.

“I’ve had specified a fantastic sojourn today,” said Cordona. “It started disconnected with 3 twelvemonth olds, sitting down making bead necklaces. It doesn’t get amended than that. However ,the examples of what’s happening astatine the simple schoolhouse with the enactment of the Promise Neighborhood grant, and erstwhile I went to the precocious schoolhouse and I saw pathways that students person due to the fact that of the collaboration that is happening, honestly you know, we tin speech astir the needs of agrarian communities, but I’m present to spot the assets you have, and however you tin beryllium a starring illustration to the remainder of the country.”

Cordona said that, during the pandemic, agrarian communities did not person the aforesaid magnitude of attraction to their needs arsenic larger communities received.

“When the pandemic hit, we were each hit. Some places were deed harder than others. Some places got a batch of attention. But the agrarian needs didn’t get the aforesaid level of attraction that I deliberation that it should have,” said Cordona.

Cordona said helium wanted to instrumentality ideas connected however to amended service agrarian communities to assistance their acquisition strategy thrive and pb the mode backmost to Washington, D.C.

“I privation to perceive what we tin bash astatine the national level to beryllium amended astatine listening and to instrumentality into relationship the circumstantial and unsocial challenges that mightiness beryllium contiguous arsenic we deliberation astir improving acquisition for students and giving them opportunities to not lone thrive but pb the state and pb the world, that’s wherever we’re going and I privation to marque definite that your kids person a beforehand spot connected that ride,” said Cordona.

Among those with Cordona speaking astatine the treatment held astatine HCTC was Geoffery Canada, the president of Harlem’s Children's Zone, who said helium did not privation agrarian communities to consciousness forgotten.

“I deliberation 1 of the astir captious things is that communities often consciousness forgotten,” Canada said. “They consciousness similar cipher cares, nary one’s there. The lone clip they amusement up is erstwhile determination is simply a flood oregon a tornado. I deliberation this is the national authorities saying we perceive you; we spot you and we privation to beryllium your partners present successful your efforts to enactment your children and your families.”

Cordona said the needs successful agrarian communities are often greater and their beingness is validation that they spot and perceive Hazard.

“We astatine the national authorities request to bash a amended occupation astatine supporting agrarian communities,” helium said. “My beingness present is to not lone accidental that we spot you and perceive you, but we emotion what you’re doing and we privation to assistance it up, due to the fact that others tin larn from you.”