First Lady Jill Biden teaches her final class at Virginia community college

ANNANDALE, Va. — President Joe Biden is not the only White House resident making "job status" updates to their LinkedIn profiles.

First Lady Jill Biden has quit her day job.

At a recent "thank you event" for educators across the country, Biden announced she's stepping away from the college teaching position she has held for the past 15 years.

"Being your first lady has been the honor of my life — but being your colleague has been the work of my life," said Biden at the Dec. 16 virtual gathering.

"Last Thursday, I taught my last class of the semester, and my final class ever at Northern Virginia Community College. I will always love this profession, which is why I continue to teach full-time while serving as your first lady."

It is uncertain if Biden, 73, is retiring from teaching altogether — or simply resigning from NVCC at around the same time her husband is finishing his presidential term, according to the Associated Press.

Dr. Biden also made waves when she visited Utah at the start of 2024 to celebrate teachers and address education funding.

In a statement posted on her LinkedIn page, North Virginia CC president Anne Kress called Biden "an exceptional faculty member" who is "respected and beloved" by students and colleagues:

"Dr. Biden — always a teacher at heart — made our students' success her priority. As she retires after an exemplary career, she leaves a lasting legacy in the lives of the students she taught, mentored and inspired over the years."

Kress also called Biden an "unequaled champion for America's community colleges."

NVCC is a public community college with an enrollment of over 50,000 students.

A first lady on the faculty

Jill Biden's 15-year teaching tenure at North Virginia Community College, where she taught English and writing, was historic.

After her husband became the country's 46th president in 2021, Jill Biden continued teaching at the community college, becoming the first presidential spouse to maintain an independent career outside of the White House.

Biden's teaching career stretches back almost a half-century.

After earning a bachelor's degree from the University of Delaware, she began teaching English at Wilmington's St. Mark's High School in 1976.

She married Joe Biden a year later and the two had a daughter, Ashley, in 1981.

Jill Biden later taught English at Rockford Center psychiatric hospital while pursuing graduate studies. In 1993, she made the professional shift to higher education, accepting a teaching position at Delaware Technical Community College.

After claiming a doctorate of education, Jill Biden began teaching at North Virginia Community College in 2009 after her husband became Barack Obama's vice president and resided full-time in Washington, D.C.

She has often said, "Teaching isn't just what I do — it's who I am."

Jill Biden drew an annual salary of $85,985 as a North Virginia professor, according to The Hill.

So how was Professor Biden regarded by her students?

According to responses tallied on the "Rate My Professor" website that invites college students to post reviews of their instructors, Biden received a 4.4 score out of a possible 5 — with a "5″ rated as "awesome" and a "1″ being "awful".

Common tags on the ratings website classified Biden as "respected" and "inspirational" — along with being a tough grader who assigns a lot of homework.

"There is a lot of writing to do, but if you complete the work assignments you will get a good grade," wrote one of her students. "She does not expect students to know, she will teach the class everything. Take her; you will not regret it!"

Posted another North Virginia Community College student: "Dr. Jill Biden is the best. Literally."

"I hated English more than anything before, but she made me love it. I'm not gonna lie, she gives a lot of homework, makes you work for the good grade, but it's 101% worth it.

"Loved her and would take her classes over and over again."

No surprise, not every student was a Professor Biden fan.

A student in 2020 called her "not motivating at all," adding, "I know there are teachers teaching the class way more interesting than her section. Let me tell you, avoid her!"

Shout-out to America's teachers

Dr. Biden utilized the Dec. 16 virtual "thank you event for educators" to salute teachers who are changing lives.

"Every day, you see something in your students — a spark of passion, a glimmer of talent — and you say: 'Don't let the world miss out on your light.'"

Every student, she added, can be a "sun ray" of a teacher's legacy.

"We don't always see how far that light travels," she said. "But right now, someone out there is standing a little taller because you helped them find the confidence they needed.

"Someone is working a little harder, because you pushed them to try."

National Education Association President Becky Pringle, who participated in the virtual event, said Jill Biden has left a teaching legacy "that won't end as you leave the people's house.

"You'll continue to do work because, let me tell you, I know, for one, I'll be reaching out."

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