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Adam Schultz/Biden for President
EdSource
Community colleges find an advocate in future First Lady Jill Biden
Biden will become the nation’s first First Lady to continue teaching outside of White House.
Ashley A. Smith
November 10, 2020
For the first time in American history, the nation’s First Lady will
hold a job outside the White House, and that job will involve teaching.
Jill Biden will continue teaching English at Northern Virginia
Community College, where even as Second Lady, she has advocated for
students and education after high school.
“For American educators, it is a great day for y’all,” President-elect
Joe Biden said during his victory speech Saturday. “You’re going to
have one of your own in the White House. And Jill is going to make a
great First Lady.”
The decision to continue teaching is historic. Biden, who has four
degrees, including a doctorate in educational leadership from the
University of Delaware, would be the first First Lady in more than 230
years to maintain a paying job outside the White House.
And her position as a community college professor brings greater attention and perhaps advocacy to the sector.
“It’s a very important signal to students in public higher education
across the country that we have a president who attended a public
university and a First Lady who dedicated her life to the community
colleges and teaching,” said Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor of
California’s 116 community colleges. “It sends a very clear and
important signal that public higher education matters and community
colleges matter tremendously to the country.”
Amy Leonard, an English professor at De Anza College, said Biden’s
words about Jill Biden being an advocate for teachers was exciting.
“Community colleges don’t get the love they deserve from the higher
ups,” she said. But most importantly, Jill Biden can advocate for
career and technical education, or CTE, programs from the White House.
In her own words, Jill Biden speaks proudly about being a
teacher. “If we get to the White House, I’m going to continue to
teach,” she told CBS News last August. “It’s important and I want
people to value teachers and know their contributions and lift up the
profession.”
Biden knows that community colleges offer short-term certificate and
credential programs and CTE classes that appeal to students because
they prepare them for specific skills needed for 21st century careers,
Leonard said.
There’s no doubt that Jill Biden will bring a teacher’s voice to the
White House. “I teach a lot of immigrants and refugees,” she told
CBS News in August. “I love their stories. I love who they are as
people and I love the fact that I can help them on their path to
success.”
Chella Courington, a retired English professor at Santa Barbara City
College, said Biden’s statement about having “one of their own” in the
White House was an emotional moment.
“When he said that in his acceptance speech, I said, ‘Finally,’” Courington said.
“For four years, public education was obliterated. We had a Secretary
of Education who knew nothing about education,” Courington said
referring to Betsy DeVos. “But not only is Jill Biden active and will
stay teaching at a Virginia community college, but she’s very much an
advocate for public education.”
Courington, who taught English in the community colleges for 20 years
before retiring last year, said Biden would provide insight on a wide
range of diverse students and the issues that affect them.
“Teachers are front line workers,” she said. “They’re always there, and
it’s just nice to think that finally, educators will get the kind of
emphasis and voice that they so deserve.”
Although the First Lady has not yet announced her main initiative, her
influence is already felt in the President-elect’s extensive Plan for
Education Beyond High School, which includes investing in community
colleges to strengthen the middle class. (As Second Lady, Biden’s work
centered on supporting military families and American troops.)
“Dr. Jill Biden, a current community college professor, refers to
community colleges as America’s best-kept secret,” according to the
plan.
Oakley recalls attending the announcement of America’s College Promise,
the initiative to promote tuition-free community college, alongside
President Obama and Jill Biden in 2015. Back then, Jill Biden led the
effort as the chairwoman of the independent College Promise Advisory
Board, which also promotes tuition-free college programs.
“That effort has been successful,” Oakley said. “State after state
adopted the fundamental premise of what President Obama was trying to
launch and the Biden administration has the opportunity to build on
that.”
Oakley, who leads the nation’s largest community college system, said
the three areas the Biden campaign has talked about, and he supports,
would be financially supporting low-income students, forgiving $10,000
of student debt for all borrowers and valuing students in the Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“We should be signaling we’ll no longer be attacking students who are trying to add value to their communities,” he said.
Joe Biden’s higher education plan doesn’t just focus on tuition but
also on increasing grants to expand apprenticeship programs and dual
enrollment opportunities. Joe Biden has also discussed increasing
funding to colleges to provide more support services to veterans,
single parents, students of color and low-income students.
It’s also likely that the next First Lady will expand her focus beyond community colleges.
Martha Kanter, the former U.S. undersecretary of higher education in
the Obama administration and former chancellor of the Foothill-De Anza
Community College District, has worked with Jill Biden both inside and
outside the White House. Kanter now leads the College Promise nonprofit
organization to advocate for tuition-free programs nationally.
She said the Bidens recognize that students go to school and college to
be successful earners and citizens for the nation’s future. Kanter said
she hopes and knows that Jill Biden will support the idea that there
should be more focus on civic education and thinking critically.
From her work with Jill Biden, Kanter said she sees Jill Biden and
President-Elect Biden as being sympathetic to student needs to support
themselves. “And let’s not uncouple education and basic needs support,”
she said. “You have to have some basic money. A roof over your head and
food. Otherwise, you can’t concentrate in school.”
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