Cardona: Fairview after-school program 'example of what we need to see across the country'

Acknowledging that some people wanted to create divisions in education, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, during a visit to Fairview Elementary's after-school program on Wednesday said he wanted to "raise the bar across the country and give students opportunities to be successful."

A bus tour promoting the Biden administration's plan to help curb teacher shortages, provide fair compensation for teachers, put more mental health professionals in schools and ensure students' pathways to colleges or careers was crisscrossing several states and included a later stop at Woodruff Career and Technical Center in Peoria.

Project SCOPE, a before- and after-school program at Fairview, is one run by seven community-based agencies offered by School District 186 serving over 4,000 students, said Superintendent Jennifer Gill.

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Wednesday's visit included Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois State Superintendent of Education Tony Sanders.

Cardona said he was doing a tour called "Raise the Bar, Lead the World" because "that's how we look at education. Opening the doors and turning the lights back on (post COVID-19) is insufficient."

The visit gained attention after U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland, posted a letter on Twitter saying that Cardona and Pritzker "opposed parental rights and believe young children should be indoctrinated with radical 'gender ideology' politics in the classroom behind their parents' backs."

Asked how he would keep political battles away from classrooms full of kids, Cardona said he wasn't going to be distracted by Miller's "nonsense."

"That type of behavior is what I think is an intentional attempt to disrupt public education," Cardona said in a press conference after his tour. "We're not going to distracted with naysayers who just want to disrupt what's happening.

"When I talk to parents, when I talk to educators and when I talk to students, they're not thinking about what she's thinking about. They're thinking about what opportunities they have. It's our job to make sure we have a clear plan for academic success for our students, for pathways into college and careers and we stay true to that plan."

Cardona said students are facing greater needs in schools, which is why the after-school program at Fairview was so critical.

“I’m going to places where I can lift up examples of what’s happening," he said. "This after-school program is an example of what we need to see across the country to meet students where they are."

Later, Pritzker seemed to take a jab at Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis when asked about raising math and reading standards in Illinois.

Pritzker pointed out that states set their own standards and Florida "set their standards low. We set our standards high in Illinois, and we want our kids to strive and our parents and our teachers to strive for those high standards."

Earlier this year, Pritzker criticized DeSantis for blocking an advanced placement course on African American Studies from Florida's school curriculum.

Pritzker later sent a letter to the College Board, which oversees AP exams, asking the group not to change the course to placate DeSantis.

On a tour of the after-school program, Cardona and Pritzker high-fived kids climbing a rock wall in the gym.

Cardona was delighted to hear fourth-grader Aubrey Williams call out her favorite teacher, Breanna Bolden, who is in her second year as Project SCOPE leader at Fairview.

"She lets us go outside and play with all the toys and she's just really nice in general," Williams, 9, said of Bolden, who the students call "Ms. Bre."

Inside, Williams said Bolden lets students play with Kinetic Sand or Play-Doh, among other things, when they aren't involved in learning.

"So if I leave a lot of chocolate," Cardona said to students gathered around him, "you'll give some to Ms. Bre too?"

"Yeah," they shouted in unison.

Bolden, who came to the district three years ago after working in a call center, said she was glad the program got its moment in the sun.

"This is what they do. They like to play, but (they do) academics as well," Bolden said. "They had the white boards out and they had some addition and subtraction flash cards. We also help them with their homework as well (during the school year)."

"I love it here. I do."

Besides Project SCOPE, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Illinois, Club Compass, the Springfield Art Association, the Springfield Urban League, The Outlet and the YMCA are all involved in after-school programs at over 30 different District 186 and community-based sites.

Gill said "a lot of forces" help make those programs work.

"To be able to showcase the work we're doing is an honor and to be able to have dignitaries who represent all phases of our government was very special," Gill said afterward. "I really appreciate the secretary and the governor and Tony Sanders, our state superintendent, taking time out of their day to learn what's going in District 186."

Fairview Principal Patricia Nikson said about half of its 300 or so students are involved in before-school or after-school programs around the city.

Taking a page from Cardona, Nikson said Fairview, "our little gem," works to make sure the bar gets raised every day.

"We know where that bar is, and we don't want to lower it if it's expectations of academics or behavior," Nikson said. "We want to make sure we meet students where they're at and get them to where that bar is."

Contact Steven Spearie: (217) 622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited Springfield IL