Sec. Cardona (left) and Rep. Courtney toured Thames River Magnet School along with Principal Jamie Giordano (right), Groton Public Schools Superintendent Susan Austin, and others.
I had the opportunity to host U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona—a former Connecticut educator—in Groton so he could see firsthand how our local schools are taking full advantage of federal support to create K-12 programs that are nationally recognized for connecting graduates to a growing eastern CT workforce. We started the morning at the Thames River Magnet School, which in 2021 was named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. We toured its new facility, and the Secretary was like a fish in water back in the classroom, bonding with the kids and staff. The STEM focus is marine sciences, and even the youngest students were glued to the classwork.
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| Secretary Cardona and Rep. Courtney toured the manufacturing program at Grasso Technical High School. Read more here from the Norwich Bulletin. |
In addition, Grasso Tech is the site for the "manufacturing pipeline" program that offers pre-apprenticeship training that today is recognized as a national model for successful job training. Electric Boat shipyard, and hundreds of other employers are snapping up pipeline graduates as fast as they come. The Secretary was impressed to see how Grasso Tech stays afternoons and evenings to train adults after the school population has left campus, and we both agreed that making school facilities available to job training will expand opportunities to fill job openings, and is a smart education and labor policy. At both schools, the U.S. Department of Education plays a major role in funding school budgets in communities like Groton. Federal support through Title One, special education funding, and Impact Aid for military host communities plays a big role in the student success we witnessed today. The American Rescue Plan has also come through with emergency funds for all school districts to help with COVID challenges.
I want thank all the students who welcomed us on today’s visit, as well as the teachers and staff who were in attendance safely keeping in-person education possible. Big thank you to Superintendents Susan Austin (Groton Public Schools) and Dr. Ellen Solek (CTEAC), Principals Jamie Giordano (Thames River Magnet School) and Patricia Feeney (Grasso Technical HS), and all their staff for hosting us today. My team and I are proud to support the great work of these outstanding educators.
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