Last week, Linda McMahon, the U.S. Secretary of Education, sent Department of Education employees this lovely (and loving) email:
Department of Education Staff,
I am happy to announce that Friday, November 28, 2025-the day after Thanksgiving-will be granted as Department-wide administrative leave so that we may all enjoy an extended holiday weekend with family and friends.
This extra day is a small token of my deep gratitude for everything you do. I thank God for the privilege of serving alongside you, and I thank you for the commitment and dedication you’ve shown to America’s students.
As we gather around Thanksgiving tables this year, we have so much to be grateful for as Americans serving in education:
• We are thankful for the millions of devoted teachers, principals, and school staff who pour their hearts into our children every single day.
• We are thankful for the uniquely American promise of liberty that makes it possible for every child no matter their background, zip code, or circumstances to pursue an education that can change the trajectory of their life.
• We are thankful for our nation’s heritage of excellence, from the one-room schoolhouses of the frontier to the world-class universities and trade programs of today.
• And I am especially thankful for each of you-your talent, your resilience, and your shared belief that education is the surest path to the American Dream.
Take this long weekend to eat too much pie, relax with the game on, and make memories with the people you love.
Let’s all come back refreshed and ready to keep up the great work.
Wishing you and your families a warm, joyful, and grateful Thanksgiving.
With sincerest appreciation,
Linda
***
Thank goodness there’s a really nice Secretary of Education who truly appreciates her employees. This is especially important right now because there is a really, really mean Secretary of Education who belittles, fires, and transfers Department employees, and otherwise declares–by word and deed–that Department employees are superfluous, irrelevant, and useless.
It would be really neat if we could keep the really, really nice Secretary of Education and tell the big meany Secretary of Education to go pound sand.