First Lady Pool Reports of August 31, 2022

August 31, 2022

Pool Reports by Rozina Sabur, The Telegraph

Sent: Reports:
August 31, 2022
11:52

FLOTUS Pool Report #1: Gathering & background

Hello,

I will be your pool reporter for today's event with the First Lady Jill Biden. Your pooler has been tested and is gathering at the White House ahead of today's event at 12:30pm.

The First Lady Jill Biden will be participating in a Roosevelt Room meeting hosted by the White House Domestic Policy Council.

The event is focused on the administration's efforts to strengthen the teaching profession and support schools in their effort to address teacher shortages as the new school year begins.

Ahead of the event, the White House released this Fact Sheet: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/31/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-public-and-private-sector-actions-to-strengthen-teaching-profession-and-help-schools-fill-vacancies/

Feel free to reach out with any questions:

The White House sends along following background to today's event on strengthening the teaching profession:

BACKGROUND | August 31, 2022
This morning, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new efforts to strengthen the teaching profession and support schools in their effort to address teacher shortages as the new school year begins. Those efforts are outlined in the fact sheet HERE, and include the following:

  • New commitments from leading job platforms, ZipRecruiter, Indeed, and Handshake to make it easier for Americans to find opportunities in the education field
  • New initiatives from AFT and NEA, and national and state organizations to expand high-quality pathways into the profession for future teachers, including registered teacher apprenticeship programs.
  • New Dear Colleague letter from Sec. Cardona and Sec. Walsh outlining a series of actions state and local leaders can take to support teachers and schools.

As part of this announcement, First Lady Jill Biden will participate in a Roosevelt Room meeting hosted by the White House Domestic Policy Council to outline these new public and private sector actions and discuss strategies to address the teacher shortage in the short and long term. This meeting will include the following participants:

  • Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice
  • U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona
  • U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh
  • New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy
  • Tennessee Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn
  • American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten
  • National Education Association President Becky Pringle
  • American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education President Lynn Gangon
  • ZipRecruiter CEO Ian Siegel
  • Handshake CEO Garrett Lord
  • Indeed Senior Vice President Maggie Hulce

To Date -- Biden Administration’s Efforts on School Staffing Challenges

  • These announcements build on the President’s long-standing staffing challenges facing our schools, exacerbated by the pandemic.
  • $130 billion in President Biden’s American Rescue Plan was directed to the nation’s K-12 schools. This has allowed school districts across the country to invest in teacher pipeline programs, increase teacher pay, and hire more professionals across the education workforce. Compared to years prior to the pandemic, this funding has allowed:
    • 54% increase in the number of school social workers
    • 22% increase in the number of school counselors
    • 22% increase the number of school nurses

Additional background on Dr. Biden’s history as a teacher:

  • As a classroom teacher for more than 30 years, the First Lady continues to shine spotlight on teachers and the profession.
  • This fall the First Lady will continue to be a fierce champion for teachers and focus on the ways the Biden Administration is working to strengthen teacher recruitment and retention, and celebrate the profession.

Additional Background on Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Programs:

  • Registered teacher apprenticeship programs allow individuals – including those already working in schools, like teaching assistants – to earn while they learn, receiving pay while they gain teaching skills with the supervision of a mentor teacher, and take coursework to earn their teaching license.
  • This allows teachers to gain robust experience in the classroom before leading their own, and makes becoming a teacher more affordable.
August 31, 2022
13:37

FLOTUS Pool Report #2: Remarks in Roosevelt Room & brief POTUS appearance

Pool entered the Roosevelt Room shortly after 12.30pm. The meeting's attendees were already seated.

Ambassador Rice is chairing the meeting. She opened by discussing the help the administration's American Rescue Plan offered to schools. She discussed teacher pay and said: "We have to pay our teachers and staff competitively"

FLOTUS replied: "can I clap" then jokingly corrected herself saying: "may I clap" .

Ambassador Rice handed over to Dr Biden, "the hero in the classroom".

FLOTUS later joked: "see how all of you are like so conscious of your grammar" with a teacher in the room.

This is the First Lady's first public event since recovering from coronavirus. FLOTUS tested negative on Monday. She returned to the White House from isolation in Delaware on Tuesday.

She described her first day back in the classroom yesterday. "You still feel that excitement, that anxiety of the new semester and what it's going to bring," she said. "It's a good feeling", she said which remains a constant after 38 years of teaching.

FLOTUS, wearing a light pink dress, opened her remarks with an anecdote about a married couple she met on the campaign trail, both educators who were still struggling to pay off their student debt.

"That's why Joe had the foresight to anticipate the challenges we are facing right now, and why he's put schools and families at the heart of his work," she said.

FLOTUS also celebrated today being the public service loan forgiveness day, calling today a "day of action". She said: "Don't be like our students and put it off until the last minute".

I will send along the First Lady's full remarks from the East Wing in the next (and final) report.

She handed over to Secretary Cardona, who said he "loves" having a teacher in the White House. Secretary Cardona the disparity between college teacher salaries and other college graduates. "If we're serious in addressing the teacher shortage issue we must first address the teacher respect issue".

Secretary Walsh spoke next, discussing the importance of internships for students. He said: "The work we're doing here is really important… there's an opportunity to really win the future as the president says.

As Secretary Walsh was speaking a door behind the group opened and POTUS, who appeared to be dressed in a dark blue suit, stuck his head into the room. "Whatever she says I agree with," Mr Biden said.

August 31, 2022
13:43

FLOTUS Pool Report #3: FLOTUS questions & full remarks

FLOTUS responded to a shouted question from the pool about how she was feeling: "I'm feeling well. Really well, thank you".

Asked how the president's student loan debt relief would bring down the cost of higher education, FLOTUS said: "Well he said he was going to have loan forgiveness during the campaign. I heard him say it over and over again and he followed up on his promise".

Pool was ushered out shortly after 1pm. Full remarks from the East Wing below.

This is the final FLOTUS pool, thanks for reading.

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by First Lady Jill Biden at the White House Domestic Policy Council Meeting to Address Strengthening the Teaching Profession

Roosevelt Room, The White House

***
Thank you, Ambassador Rice. And Secretary Walsh, Secretary Cardona—thank you all for being with us today.

When I was on the campaign trail a few years ago, I met a man in New Hampshire who told me that both he and his wife were educators. When he talked about his class, I could just tell that he was the kind of teacher who students remember forever.

But even as he told me how much he loves his career, he confessed that he had doubts about his future. Both he and his wife were still paying off significant student debt.

He said: "We want to start a family—to have kids. But we just can't afford it on two teacher salaries."

There are so many other future educators out there who want to teach, but decide against it—or leave—because so many obstacles stand in their way.

If we want to draw more bright, talented people into this field—if we want educators to be able to do what they do best—we have to give them the pay and support they deserve.

You know, we've heard so much about teacher shortages after COVID-19. But Becky, Randi—we know that this has been a problem for a long time.

That's why Joe had the foresight to anticipate the challenges we are facing right now—and why he's put schools and families at the heart of his work.

Today, we're proud to announce new commitments to strengthen the educator profession and support school districts in need of teachers.

Our unions—the AFT and NEA—along with the National Governors Association, state school chiefs, and other education leaders have come together to support better, smarter educator career paths.

And I want to thank the business partners here today who have responded to the President's call to action, and are making it easier to connect educators with the schools that need them.

This is just the start. This is a powerful coalition, and we are all ready to get to work to make sure that our students have the teachers they need and deserve.

And let me say to teachers right now: Today is our Public Service Loan Forgiveness Day of Action. You have until the end of October to apply with the waiver that allows more people to qualify. Don't be like our students and put it off until the last minute!

The President will never stop working to ensure that everyone who wants to teach can—and that we have the support we need to do what we do best for years and years to come.

Thank you. And now, I'm going to hand it off to Secretary Cardona.

Jill Biden, First Lady Pool Reports of August 31, 2022 Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/357578

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