U.S. education secretary tours Reynolds CC, emphasizes college's role in economic development

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited Richmond on Monday to tour programs at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, which he said are examples of what he wants to see all over the U.S.

He was joined by U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and his wife, Anne Holton, Virginia's former secretary of education. The group watched a simulation used in the paramedics program and visited a classroom for the school’s opticianry program, which is only one of its kind in Virginia, according to school officials.

“As Secretary of Education, I'm going to push hard for programs like this to be not the exception, but the norm across the country,” Cardona said.

Reynolds, which has campuses in Henrico, Richmond and Goochland, serves many non-traditional students including those in their late 30s, single mothers and students who have been incarcerated.

“It's about time in this country that higher education institutions recognize that they have to do more to connect to what we call non-traditional students, because the higher education system right now is ‘haves’ and ‘have nots,’” Cardona said.  “Unless we're honest about that, and fix that, we don't have a fighting chance.”

Cardona said his department will prioritize career connectedness and make sure that K-12 schools are better connected with community colleges so that the pathway from high school to community college is more natural.

“At Reynolds, what you’re really doing here is really economic development,” Cardona said. “I think people need to understand that. Sometimes we were not as bold about saying that this community's economic stability is better because of this college.”