First Lady Pool Reports of October 18, 2021

FLOTUS pool #1

Hello,

I will be your pool reporter as First Lady Jill Biden hosts the Council of Chief State School Officers' 2020 and 2021 State and National Teachers of the Year at the White House South Lawn this afternoon. Pool has been covid tested.

Event is scheduled to start at 2:30 PM ET, and it will be streamed at https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/

Will provide updates as they come in.

--liz

FLOTUS pool #2

Pool is on south lawn waiting for event to start.

About 120 white chairs set up with attendees stating to roll in. Two crystal apple-shaped awards are up by the lectern, along with two glasses of water and teleprompter screens.

FLOTUS pool #3

Passing along background from White House on FLOTUS event:

The First Lady is hosting the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) 2020 and 2021 State and National Teachers of the Year at the White House. About one hundred teachers will be honored for their excellence in teaching and commitment to students' learning. The 2020 and 2021 National Teachers of the Year and the 2020 and 2021 State Teachers of the Year will be in attendance. The National Teacher of the Year and the other State Teachers of the Year usually convene in-person in Washington, DC, in the spring for several days of programming, including a National Teacher of the Year ceremony that is traditionally hosted at the White House. Monday's event at the White House will celebrate both classes.

Juliana Urtubey 2021 National Teacher of the Year, Nevada
School: Kermit R. Booker, Sr.Innovative Elementary School
Subject Area: Elementary
Education, Special Education
Grade Level: PK-5

The First Lady surprised Juliana LIVE on CBS This Morning on May 6th, 2021 in Las Vegas, NV.

Juliana Urtubey, NBCT, a first generation, bilingual immigrant, loved school. Drawn to teaching through a high school teacher leadership academy, she knew it would be important to be a bilingual teacher. Now the 2021 National Teacher of the Year, Juliana works to serve as a mirror for her school community, helping students to be proud of their identities and their families, and to acknowledge their strengths and contributions to the community. Juliana, currently in her 11th year in the classroom, teaches at Kermit R. Booker, Sr. Innovative Elementary School in Las Vegas, where she serves as a co-teacher in pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade special education settings and as an instructional strategist developing supports to meet students' differing academic, social-emotional, and behavioral needs. Known as "Ms. Earth" for her efforts to beautify schools and unify the community through murals and gardens, Urtubey has helped raise funds for garden programs at two Las Vegas schools. In one program, the garden was tended to by the student "Garden Gnomies" club and offered opportunities for innovative student learning and intergenerational learning and connections to the wider community, who could purchase produce on an as-able donation basis or with volunteer hours.

As National Teacher of the Year, Juliana plans to advocate for a "joyful and just education" for all students, one that is inclusive and celebratory of all students' identities, families and communities. Urtubey is the first Latinx National Teacher of the Year since at least 2005. Juliana is a National Board Certified Teacher and holds a bachelor's degree in bilingual elementary education and a master's degree in special bilingual education from the University of Arizona. She is a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Board of Directors member and Teacher Fellow, a Nevada Teach Plus Senior Policy Fellow, and an Understood Teacher Fellow and mentor. She is also a winner of the 2018 Rogers Foundation Heart of Education award.

Juliana (HOO-lee-on-a ER-two-bay) enjoys reading in Spanish and traveling, and has had the opportunity to teach in Ecuador, Mexico, Spain and Puerto Rico. She also enjoys tending to her collection of house plants and spending time outdoors, and she aims to visit all the National Parks. Juliana lives in Las Vegas with her husband, Olmeca, and their dogs Chenek, Chima, and Piolin.

Tabatha Rosproy
2020 National Teacher of the Year, Kansas
School: Winfield Early Learning Center
Subject Area: Elementary
Grade Level: PreK

Tabatha Rosproy was an excellent student – so eager to learn, that in fact, she asked to go to summer school. As a child, regular classwork wasn't enough, and teachers worked to give her additional enrichment activities to keep her engaged. Those activities, including stepping in as temporary substitute when the teacher had to leave the room, were her first taste of what it was like to be a teacher and set her on a path that decades later lead to the honor of being named 2020 National Teacher of the Year. Tabatha's work with young children started early. She was working as a babysitter by 13, often bringing crafts and activities for her young charges, and forming a sort of "Babysitters Club" with friends to look after multiple families at once. In high school, she taught Spanish to local preschoolers as part of a dual credit college class. There, she observed the excellent teaching of "Miss Pat," who didn't condescend to the young children she taught and was instead a partner in their learning, inspiring Tabatha to join the field.

Now a 10-year veteran teacher, Tabatha teaches typically developing and special education preschoolers at Winfield Early Learning Center. Her classroom is housed at Cumbernauld Village, a retirement community and nursing home, and the four-year-old students interact every day with community residents, who serve as volunteer "grandmas" and "grandpas." The "grandparents" read to the children one-on-one every day, and join the youngsters for music activities, field trips and games. Tabatha's favorite is a modified game of bingo to help children learn letters and numbers up to

As the 2020 National Teacher of the Year, Tabatha has used her platform to promote the importance of early childhood education and the need for social-emotional learning for all students. Tabatha holds a Bachelor of Arts in unified early childhood education, including special education and typically developing students, from Southwestern College and is near completion of her Master of Science in education (English as a Secondary or Other Language) at Fort Hays State University. She enjoys reading (particularly mysteries and crime thrillers), dancing, gardening, and spending time with loved ones. She lives in Winfield, Kansas, with her husband, Tim, and their cats, Mr. Darcy, Beak, Beezus, and Frankenstein.

FLOTUS pool #4

FLOTUS’ teacher event is underway. She is joined by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, who is giving opening remarks.

FLOTUS is wearing a bright purple dress.

It’s sunny and 66 degrees out on the South Lawn. Again, you can tune into the White House livestream to watch live.

FLOTUS pool #5

POTUS has made a surprise appearance at FLOTUS event honoring teachers right now. Again, being streamed on WH live feed.

FLOTUS pool #6

Event has wrapped. POTUS and FLOTUS now taking photos with teachers.

Will send more quotes and color soon.

FLOTUS pool #7

More from POTUS at FLOTUS event honoring teachers:

President Biden remarked on Colin Powell, calling him a "dear friend and patriot."

"This is a guy who had teachers who looked at this African American kid and said 'You can do anything.'"

POTUS handed awards to 2020 and 2021 teacher honorees at about 3:38 pm. Wearing aviators, POTUS stuck around and took photos and shook hands with some teachers before heading back into the White House.

And that's it for my FLOTUS pool duty today. Enjoy the lovely fall DC weather if you can!

--liz