Jill Biden, an English teacher at a community college in northern Virginia, started a three-city campaign tour in Florida on Saturday with a group of more than 100 — mostly retired — schoolteachers in Boca Raton, assuring them that her husband, Joe, would restore “dignity and respect” to the profession if elected president.
“Nothing is more important in our democracy than giving our children the quality schools they deserve and we’re falling short,” Biden said. “It starts with how we invest or don’t invest in our classrooms.
Biden, 68, said she has been a teacher for over 34 years. For the last 10 years — including the years she served as second lady during her husband’s tenure as vice president under President Barack Obama — she has taught English at a community college in northern Virginia.
Biden said she has not taken a leave of absence from teaching since she had a baby more than 30 years ago but is taking off a semester now to campaign for her husband, “because the stakes are too high right now.”
Biden was introduced by Democratic U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch of Boca Raton, who initially endorsed Mike Blooomberg for president. Within a day of Bloomberg dropping out of the race after a miserable finish on Super Tuesday, Deutch switched his allegiance to Biden.
U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, who had not made an endorsement before Super Tuesday, has also endorsed Biden. In all, Biden has secured endorsements from eight of Florida’s 13 House members. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has not picked up a single endorsement from Florida’s congressional delegation.
Biden spent much of her 20-minute speech regaling the audience with teaching stories, especially of students who did not know that “Dr. B” is married to the former vice president.
One student learned about her teacher’s alter-ego when she saw her on television with Michelle Obama. Another student, a Syrian refugee whose parents died in the war, asked Biden to be her baby’s surrogate grandmother. Others, oblivious to her husband’s campaign, wrote in their journals about supporting other candidates.
“No one knows better how to serve our students than educators — not think tanks, not philanthropists, not politicians,” Biden said. “That’s why he’s going to ensure that we have a voice in developing and implementing our policies.”
Among the commitments she made on her husband’s behalf: No more “teaching to the test;” triple funding for Title I schools serving low-income communities; double the number of school psychologists; and pay teachers competitive salaries and help them pay off their student loans.
The promise that drew the most applause came near the end.
“When Joe wins the sec of education will be an educator,” Biden said. “Joe’s vision is bold and progressive and achievable.”
Saturday’s event was the second visit she has recently made to Palm Beach County. She appeared at a private fundraiser in West Palm Beach in December. After her Boca Raton stop, she headed to a teacher picnic in Miami-Dade County and then to Orlando to speak with Democratic Rep. Val Demings at the Leadership Dinner of the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus.
Demings, who served as one of the DNC’s impeachment managers at President Donald Trump’s trial in the Senate, has not endorsed a presidential candidate.
The Bidens are expected to return to Florida for several more campaign events before the primary on March 17, according to campaign officials.
Biden is currently the front-runner in the race to secure the party’s nomination, with 664 delegate votes to Sanders’ 573 delegates.
Both Biden and Sanders have ramped up their campaigns in Florida since their wins on Super Tuesday and the departure of three contenders, Pete Buttegieg, Bloomberg and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
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