U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona toured Washington Elementary on March 20 as part of a day-long visit to Lancaster in which he highlighted the importance of Latino engagement as well as career pathways and apprenticeship programs at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
In the afternoon, he learned about Washington’s full-service community school model, meeting with members of the community and partners ranging from the PTO to the African-American Cultural Alliance to The Edible Classroom, a non-profit partner that sustains a learning garden for Washington students at the school.
“I’m so proud of our school and our community, and I’m in awe that we have this opportunity” to share the community school work with the Secretary, said Phoebe Radcliffe, Washington’s community school director who is an employee of the Boys and Girls Club of Lancaster.
Secretary Cardona also visited the guidance suite and the school’s “reset room” to learn about how Washington staff are supporting student mental health and deescalating student behaviors.
“Through their community school strategy, Washington Elementary has woven together a variety of partnerships to provide students with the resources and supports they need to be successful,” Secretary Cardona said. “It was a pleasure to see their efforts firsthand and I applaud their dedication to bringing the community together to make students feel welcomed, cared for, and ready to learn.”
At the conclusion of the tour, the secretary spoke to students at the start of a school assembly about the connection between music and mental health, in collaboration with the national non-profit, Sounds of Savings.
“It was a great opportunity to highlight the incredible things the staff has been doing at Washington to support students,” Muench said. “To be able to highlight the community school model as a strategy for equity in our school district speaks volumes about the focus of his administration and SDoL’s priorities.”
The evening before his visit, Secretary Cardona met with members of the Pennsylvania School Employees Association (PSEA) to talk about the Biden Administration’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
