Families & the Community

Jill Biden: The Teacher-Parent Partnership Can Be ‘Powerful’

By Libby Stanford — June 17, 2022 2 min read
First lady Jill Biden speaks at the 125th Anniversary Convention of the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) in National Harbor, Md., Friday, June 17, 2022.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Two years into a pandemic-induced campaign for “parents’ rights” in schools, first lady Jill Biden is calling for stronger partnerships between educators and families.

“From reopening schools to class curriculum, we’ve been told that parents and teachers are at odds,” Biden said at the 125th National Parent Teacher Association convention Friday. “But as I visit schools and I meet with families, that’s not what I’ve seen.”

Biden, a community college teacher who will be entering her 38th year of teaching in the fall, used Friday’s speech as an opportunity to rebuke the notion that parents and teachers are on opposite sides of education issues.

Over the course of the pandemic, parent protests over mask mandates, curriculum decisions, and book selections have made headlines for their increasing ferocity. They’ve led to arguments at school board meetings, new state laws like Florida’s parent rights law, and a proposed “Parents Bill of Rights Act” from one member of the U.S. Senate.

A mother and grandmother as well as an educator, Biden said she’s been “frustrated by those who have tried to divide” parents and teachers in the past few years.

“Parents, we know that we are our children’s first teachers, and, educators, we choose this path because we love what we do and who we teach,” Biden said. “Together, we can lead the change that our children need.”

The speech came days after the U.S. Department of Education announced new plans for a National Parents and Families Engagement Council, an effort to bring more parent voices into both local and national decisions. The council will be tasked with helping local schools and school districts connect with families when developing plans for COVID-19 recovery.

“I hear it so much, parents who are worried that their kids are having a hard time catching up after learning virtually; educators who tell me that they’re burned out; students who are dealing with the trauma of loss and grief,” Biden said.

The first lady added that partnerships between parents and educators are crucial to the success of COVID-19 recovery as well as to recent efforts to improve school safety.

A call for parents and teachers to lead the fight for school safety

Friday’s speech also served as an opportunity for Biden to push for gun safety measures.

The first lady described her experience laying white roses next to the crosses that represented 19 students and two teachers who were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24. She also spoke of her own experience as a teacher, imagining herself being placed in that situation.

“I’ve wondered over the years if my students would be the next heartbreaking headline,” she said. “All of you in here who are in the classroom know this.”

Biden called on Congress to pass “common-sense gun laws” like recent legislation proposed by a bipartisan group of senators. If passed, the bipartisan deal would ban “assault weapons,” create an enhanced review process for gun owners 21 or younger, prohibit people convicted of domestic violence from purchasing guns, subject gun sales to background checks, and provide resources to help states and tribes create “red-flag laws.”

Strong partnerships between teachers and parents are an important piece in the fight to prevent future school shootings, Biden said.

“Parents and teachers, all of us, we need to fight now for the lives of our children and the safety of our schools,” she said. “This partnership of parents and educators is powerful.”

Related Tags:

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Rethinking STEM Assessment: Strategies for Administrators
School and district leaders will explore strategies to enhance STEM assessment practices across their district, within schools and classrooms.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
Federal Webinar Keeping Up with the Trump Administration's Latest K-12 Moves: Subscriber-Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
Artificial Intelligence Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: Math & Technology: Finding the Recipe for Student Success
How should we balance AI & math instruction? Join our discussion on preparing future-ready students.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Families & the Community ‘Where Are Your Blind Spots?’: How Schools Can Create a Sense of Belonging
District leaders share their advice for creating frameworks to help students feel like they belong in their schools.
3 min read
Ty Harris, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, delivers closing remarks and applauds students for their work during the Power of We event at the Virginia Beach Higher Education Center at Old Dominion University in Virginia Beach, Va., on Dec. 18, 2024.
Ty Harris, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, delivers closing remarks and applauds students for their work during the Power of We event at the Virginia Beach Higher Education Center at Old Dominion University in Virginia Beach, Va., on Dec. 18, 2024.
Parker Michels-Boyce for Education Week
Families & the Community Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Building Strong School & Home Connections?
Answer 7 questions about building strong family and school connections.
Families & the Community Q&A This Educator Shows Why Family Trust Is Key to School Attendance
Overhauling family engagement helped Richmond, Va. public schools helped boost attendance. Here's how.
5 min read
072523 parent involvement fs stanford 1209442706
sturi / E+
Families & the Community Moms for Liberty Has a 'University.' What Is It Teaching?
In 2025, the prominent conservative group Moms for Liberty launched Moms for Liberty University, or M4LU.
8 min read
The homepage of Moms for Liberty University.
The homepage of Moms for Liberty University.