Jill Biden visits Utah school as US moves toward reopening
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — First lady Jill Biden spoke at a Salt Lake City school Wednesday as the U.S. makes uneven progress toward reopening classrooms during the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden, a teacher herself, visited Glendale Middle School, which has a diverse student body and returned to in-person instruction a few months ago. The stop is part of a swing through the U.S. West that includes Nevada and Colorado.
Biden visited with a few students and later spoke to a group of teachers in an auditorium where she thanked them for their work during the pandemic. She also stressed the Biden administration's commitment to investing in education.
“There have been losses that we will never get back: loss of time with each other, loss of learning, and the loss of so many,” she said. “But the best gifts that we can give to show our appreciation for everything that you do, does not come from a store, it’s giving you what you need to be your best, investing in you.”
The visit comes shortly after President Joe Biden’s self-imposed deadline to reopen most U.S. elementary schools in his first 100 days. The school-tracking site Burbio found 62% of schools were offering in-person learning every day by then, though it wasn't clear how many were elementary schools.
But a Biden administration survey of U.S. schools last month found striking variations in how students of different races and ethnicities were learning. Among fourth-graders, more than half of white students were being taught fully in person. By contrast, less than a third of Black and Hispanic fourth-graders were back in classrooms full time, along with just 15% of Asian students.
The disparities have raised alarms among advocates who worry the pandemic is worsening racial inequities in education. Debate also persists...