(WWJ) -- U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is in metro Detroit today to talk about free community college.
The initiative is part of The American Families Plan, which was announced by President Biden back in April.
Cardona, who is visiting colleges in Dearborn and Warren, spoke with WWJ’s Brooke Allen about the plan to provide American students with two years of free community college.
“The American Families plan provides an unprecedented investment in education and in our country’s economy,” Cardona said. “College graduates have a 21% greater earning potential, so it’s an investment that will pay dividends into the community in the long term.”
The plan includes $1.8 trillion in investments and tax credits for American families and children over the course of ten years. Under the president’s proposal to fund the plan, no one making $400,000 or less per year will see tax increases.
While speaking with WWJ, Cardona also discussed plans for students to return to the classroom following a year of virtual learning due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Cardona says that the goal is to implement in-person learning for all students by September, and that the challenges in making that happen are currently being addressed.
“This is not an overnight thing,” he said. “We’re going to be looking at how to best support our students, especially those who were significantly impacted by the pandemic.”
As far as providing students with supplemental support post-pandemic, Cardona says plans include summer learning programs, a fall semester of enrichment and intervention initiatives, and hiring additional social workers and school counselors to help navigate a return to the classroom.
“I’m confident that we’re going to build back better,” Cardona said. “I’m confident with the resources and with the direction of our president that our students are going to have a period of recovery, but a longer period of acceleration post-pandemic.”
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