First Lady Jill Biden Visits Meriden School

MERIDEN, CT — First lady Jill Biden was in Meriden on Wednesday, along with newly sworn-in U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, for a visit to Ben Franklin Elementary School.

Cardona, a Meriden native, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a 64-33 margin earlier this week. Meriden was the first stop of a scheduled tour of public schools for Biden and Cardona. They were scheduled to head to Waterford, Pennsylvania later on Wednesday, according to FOX 61.

Biden and Cardona arrived in a kindergarten classroom at Ben Franklin around 11:45 a.m. to the cheers of local students, the Meriden Record-Journal reports.

Cardona, who served as Connecticut’s education commissioner, attended Meriden Public Schools as a child and started his career in education as an elementary school teacher in the city. He worked his way up to assistant superintendent for teaching and learning in the district.

He has been an advocate for bolstering English learning programs in Connecticut schools and closing achievement gaps for disadvantaged students.

Cardona was a strong advocate of as much in-person learning as possible in the fall. President Joe Biden made getting children back to in-person learning a top priority during the first 100 days of his presidency.

“It’s been quite a few days for Connecticut's world class school system,” U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in a statement ahead of First Lady Biden’s visit. “Earlier this week, the Senate confirmed my friend and Meriden native Dr. Miguel Cardona to lead our country’s education policy as Secretary of Education. And now we get a visit from another lifelong advocate for educators and children, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. The first lady’s visit to our state is another testament to the Biden administration’s commitment to improving our education system and getting our children and educators back into the classroom in a safe way. Although I’m here in Washington negotiating a COVID-19 relief package, I’m happy that the nation’s attention will be on the Silver City and its vibrant and diverse educational community.”