Secretary Of Education, Surgeon General Speak At School, Vax Site

PALATINE, IL — U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and U.S Surgeon General Vivek Murthy stopped at Palatine, Cicero and South Side locations Tuesday on their cross-country "back to school" tour to promote a return to in-person learning.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined the pair at Walter R. Sundling Junior High School in Palatine. Sundling is a recipient of the National Blue Ribbon award, a designation for high-achieving schools.

"It's a lot easier to close schools than reopen schools," Cardona said. "We need to provide the social-emotional wellbeing that our students need and the academic acceleration to help kids with what they lost."

Cardona mentioned the Reopening Road Map plan released by the U.S. Department of Education, which calls for smaller class sizes, additional school social workers and information for parents on how to keep their students safe as they return to in-person classes.

Pritzker also spoke with Cardona and Murphy at the ACCESS Hawthorne Family Health Center in Cicero to promote the COVID-19 vaccine. According to Illinois Department of Public Health data, currently 61.6 percent of eligible Illinoisans are fully vaccinated.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will join the group at Chicago State University on the city's South Side. The trio will tour the campus and then participate in a "roundtable discussion on the future of predominantly Black institutions and equity in education," according to a news release.

In the city proper, three schools won a blue ribbon designation: Disney II Magnet High School, Prosser Career Academy High School and Walter Payton College Preparatory High School.

In the suburbs, winners are: Sundling, Prospect Elementary School in Clarendon Hills, Braeside Elementary School in Highland Park, Hinsdale Central High School, Lake Forest High School, Prince Of Peace School in Lake Villa, Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, Maple School in Northbrook, Butler Junior High School in Oak Park, Lincoln Middle School in Park Ridge and Westmont High School.

RELATED: Braeside Elementary School Wins 2021 National Blue Ribbon Award

Cardona was the first Cabinet member in Biden's administration to visit Illinois. He joined first lady Jill Biden at Dixon's Sauk Valley Community College in April.