After more than four decades shaping young minds, First Lady Jill Biden has announced that she’s retiring from teaching—closing one of the most remarkable chapters in American education. Her decision marks the end of a 40-year career that she calls one of the great honors of her life.
Speaking during a virtual gathering of educators last week, Biden grew emotional as she addressed her fellow teachers. “It’s hard to step away from something you love,” she said. “Teaching has never been just my job—it’s been part of who I am. Every class, every student, every late night spent grading papers reminded me why I started: to make a difference, even if it was just for one person.”
For years, Jill Biden has embodied the rare combination of educator, advocate, and public figure who never lost touch with the classroom. Even after becoming the First Lady of the United States, she continued to teach English and writing at Northern Virginia Community College, earning the affection of both her students and colleagues for her humility and work ethic.
Her retirement announcement, made shortly after her final class, carried the quiet grace of someone who had already given everything she could. “To my students—thank you for trusting me with your stories,” she said. “To my colleagues—thank you for believing in the power of learning. I’ve learned just as much from you as I ever taught.”
For most people, holding a teaching position while living in the White House would sound impossible. But for Jill Biden, it was a nonnegotiable part of her identity. From the very beginning of her husband’s presidency, she insisted that she would keep teaching—and she did, balancing her duties as First Lady with lesson planning, grading essays, and mentoring students.
Colleagues remember how she’d show up to class early, coffee in hand, wearing her ID badge just like everyone else. Her students, many of them adults returning to school, often didn’t realize who she was until later in the semester. “She didn’t talk about politics or the White House,” one former student recalled. “She talked about writing, about finding your voice, about believing that your story matters.”
Teaching had been her anchor through every stage of life. Long before she was a public figure, Jill Biden was known simply as “Dr. B” to her students. She earned her Doctorate in Education from the University of Delaware in 2007 and taught at high schools and community colleges throughout her career.
When Joe Biden became Vice President in 2009, she became the first Second Lady in U.S. history to hold a full-time job outside her official duties. And when she became First Lady in 2021, she did it again. “Teaching isn’t just what I do—it’s who I am,” she famously said in her first interview after entering the White House.
Her colleagues at Northern Virginia Community College describe her as patient, funny, and deeply invested in her students’ success. She refused to be treated differently, insisting that her Secret Service detail stay discreet and that her classroom remain a “normal learning environment.” Her students’ work was sacred to her—she read every paper, wrote long feedback, and celebrated even small improvements.
“Dr. B had a way of making you believe you could write something worth reading,” said Maria Torres, a former student who attended Biden’s last class. “She didn’t just correct grammar—she helped you find confidence.”
The decision to retire, Biden said, was bittersweet but necessary. “There comes a time when you realize the greatest lesson you can teach is how to let go,” she told the audience during the virtual event. “My students have given me far more than I’ve ever given them. But now, it’s time to make space for new voices, new teachers, and new beginnings.”
Her departure from the classroom doesn’t mean she’s stepping away from education entirely. Biden confirmed that she plans to continue advocating for community colleges, teacher pay, and access to education for military families and underprivileged students. “I may not be in the classroom anymore,” she said, “but I’ll always be fighting for the people who are.”
Education has always been her passion, but it’s also been her message—to America and especially to women—that you can continue to grow, to learn, and to serve, no matter where life takes you. As a mother, grandmother, professor, and First Lady, she’s spent years proving that purpose doesn’t have an expiration date.
Her husband, President Joe Biden, paid tribute to her at a private reception after her announcement. “Jill’s heart has always been in the classroom,” he said. “Even when she was traveling across the country or hosting events at the White House, her mind would drift to her students—wondering if they understood a lesson or needed help with an essay. Teaching isn’t something she did; it’s something she lived.”
The impact she leaves behind at Northern Virginia Community College is hard to measure. Colleagues described her as “a force of kindness and determination,” someone who reminded them why they started teaching in the first place. “She elevated the profession,” said one faculty member. “She showed that community college teachers are just as vital to the fabric of education as anyone in a university.”
Her students, too, are mourning her departure. Many took to social media to share memories—photos of handwritten notes, encouraging words, and moments of connection that shaped their confidence. One wrote, “Dr. Biden taught me how to write my story. Now she’s moving on to her next chapter, but she’ll always be part of mine.”
Even outside the college, teachers across the country have expressed admiration for her unwavering dedication. “She showed us what respect for the profession looks like,” said a teacher from Ohio. “When someone in her position chooses to keep teaching, it validates all of us who do it quietly every day.”
Throughout her career, Biden has often said that teaching was never just about academics—it was about hope. “Education is possibility,” she once said in a commencement speech. “It’s how we rebuild lives, families, and communities. It’s how we write the next chapter of our collective story.”
Her retirement announcement resonated deeply with those words. It wasn’t a goodbye—it was a passing of the torch. “To the teachers who are still in the classroom,” she said during her farewell remarks, “please know this: what you do matters. Even when you feel invisible, even when the system feels broken, you are shaping the world every single day.”
Biden’s final day as a professor ended much the way her first one began—with a quiet classroom, a stack of papers on her desk, and the sound of laughter echoing through the hallways. She packed up her notes, wiped the whiteboard clean, and took one last look around before turning off the lights.
Later that evening, she posted a short message on her official account: “Forty years, thousands of students, endless gratitude. Teaching has been the honor of my life. Thank you to every learner who let me be part of their story.”
Her words were simple, but their weight was profound. Jill Biden’s career has been more than a timeline of lessons taught—it’s been a testament to the power of purpose, compassion, and perseverance.
And though she may have graded her last essay, her legacy will continue in every student who dared to dream because she believed in them first.