U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona discusses Friday trip to Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- With almost all area schools back in session now, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is spending Friday in Pittsburgh wrapping up a multi-state back-to-school trip.

As he ends a week-long back-to-school visit to schools in the Midwest, Cardona will visit several schools in the Pittsburgh area, including Keystone Oaks High School, Pittsburgh Faison K-8 and the Obama Academy. 

"We're fighting for public education, the great equalizer in this country. It's an opportunity to visit schools, meet with students, families and teachers and celebrate the great work they're doing," Cardona said.

Cardona says at Keystone Oaks, he's talking teacher recruitment. 

"They're doing amazing work there – recruiting teachers from their student body," he said.

At Faison, it's all about community schools and what that means for families and he'll end the day with a community block party at Obama. But the secretary's visit comes in the wake of the mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia where a 14-year-old with an AR platform-style gun killed two students and two teachers and injured another eight students and one teacher. 

"Our schools are supposed to be safe zones, gun-free zones.  What's going on here?" KDKA-TV political editor Jon Delano asked Cardona.

"Yeah, it's horrible," Cardona replied. "I called Georgia officials to offer whatever support we can at the federal level."

"There's no reason a 14-year-old has access to an AR-style rifle. There's no reason we don't require gun storage," Cardona said. 

The shooting at Apalachee is the 45th school shooting this year and the deadliest since March of 2023. It reignites the national debate on how best to protect our children in school. 

"What can school officials do to make sure their schools are as safe as possible?" Delano asked. 

"There are common sense safety plans in each of the schools in our country to ensure that when there's an emergency, we can protect children," Cardona replied. 

But Cardona says in the end, parents, students and teachers must be strong advocates for school safety with local and state officials. 

"We need to also communicate with our elected officials to say what we want. We need to elevate the voice of our students and families because they are tired of this, too. It shouldn't be a gamble when you drop your children off whether they are going to come home," Cardona said.