New Delhi: The White House will host its first-ever Teacher of the Year State Dinner on Thursday, May 2, to honor educators across the country, the Biden administration announced in a press release.
The event, hosted by First Lady Jill Biden, will recognize the 2024 National Teacher of the Year, Missy Testerman from Tennessee, and Teacher of the Year winners from across the country. The dinner will also honor the 2024 State Teachers of the Year.
Ahead of the event, the Biden administration has announced new initiatives aimed at strengthening the teaching profession and supporting schools across the country, including providing grants to schools, increasing federal support for early childhood education, and hosting a national Teacher of the Year parade.
In a statement for the event, Biden said that teaching is not just a job, but a calling, and educators were called to this profession “for a reason.” “You believe that a better world is possible — and you make that world real, one student at a time,” she said. “To answer the call of teaching, is in itself, an act of hope.”
She added that educators look at their students and see “all the possibilities of tomorrow,” and help them “find the light within themselves.”
The Teacher of the Year State Dinner is the fourth year that the Biden administration has hosted the event at the White House.