Education secretary urges more tutoring, mental health support

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona urged schools to spend Covid relief funds on helping students with mental health support and academic tutoring in a speech on Thursday.

Cardona acknowledged how hard teachers are working under difficult circumstances this school year.

“I know you’re tired, I know you’re stretched,” Cardona said. “I see you, and I understand what you’re going through. It will get better.”

The education secretary urged schools to spend relief funds on a strategy known as “high-dosage” tutoring, giving every student who is struggling academically at least 90 minutes a week with a trained tutor.

He also said schools should hire more mental health counselors, psychologists and social workers, in addition to hiring and retaining more paraprofessionals to support students with disabilities, and expanding after-school programs and summer school.

The education secretary said the decisions schools make in the next few months are critical.

“We’re either closing educational opportunity gaps, or making them worse with the decisions we’re going to make in the next coming months and years,” Cardona said.