Jill Biden: Educator, former Second Lady of the United States, and wife of current presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Many dedicated and talented educators also make excellent politicians. This is true of Jill Biden, a former high school English teacher who has also served as the Second Lady of the United States. She is the wife of Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate currently running for the office of President of the United States.

Jill was born on June 3, 1951, in Hammonton, New Jersey. She was raised in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. After she graduated from Upper Moreland High School in Montgomery County, Pennsylvnia, in 1969, Jill earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Delaware (1975). She earned two Master’s degrees, one in English from West Chester University in Pennsylvania and one in Education from Villanova University in Pennsylvania. She completed the requirements for her PhD in Education from the University of Delaware.

After earning her degrees, Jill accepted a position teaching English and reading in high school. She taught for three years at Claymont High School in Delaware, and then at Brandywine High School in Wilmington, Delaware (1991-1993). For five years she taught adolescents with emotional disabilities at Rockford Center  Psychiatric Hospital.

From 1993 to 2008, Jill taught English and writing at Delaware Technical & Community College. Since 2009, she has worked as a professor of English at Northern Virginia community College.

When her husband was elected to serve as the Vice President under the Obama Administration, Jill continued to teach full time. She is believed to be the only Second Lady in history to hold down a full-time job while serving as Second lady. Despite her workload in the classroom, Jill still found time for public service. During her husband’s term, which spanned the years from 2009 to 2017, the hardworking educator co-founded the Book Buddies program and the Biden Foundation. She also spearheaded a nonprofit organization to support women’s health and another to support military families.

Currently, Jill is engaged in campaigning for her husband as he runs for the office of President of the United States. If her husband is elected, would Jill continue teaching in addition to her role as First Lady? “I would love to. If we get to the White House, I’m going to continue to teach,” Biden said during a CBS Sunday morning interview. “And I want people to value teachers and know their contributions and to lift up the profession.”

Click on this link by ABC News to learn more about Jill Biden’s work in the current campaign.

Iowa educator Agnes Samuelson

Many purposeful educators work to improve society as a whole. This is true of Agnes Samuelson, a teacher from Iowa who dedicated herself to improving education for all students.

Agnes was born on April 14, 1888, in Shenandoah, Iowa. Her parents were immigrants from Sweden. Agnes was the eldest of their seven children. By the time she graduated from high school in 1904, she had already determined to become a teacher. She came to this decision as a result of the many hours she spent helping Swedish immigrants in her community learn American culture and the English language.

After graduation, Agnes enrolled in a one-year program at Western Normal College in Shenandoah. In 1906, she inaugurated her career as an educator at a one-room country school house in Page County, two miles from Shenandoah. Over the next two years, the neophyte teacher instructed in several school in southwest Iowa. Eventually she landed at a high school in Silver City, Iowa, where she was both a teacher and the principal.

By 1913, Agnes had completed numerous courses at the University of Nebraska. That year, the ambitious educator was named Superintendent of Public Schools in Yorktown, Iowa. Two years late she was selected  to the position of Page County Superintendent of Schools. During her tenure, she updated the curriculum in rural schools, ensured that all schools in the country were equipped with textbooks, and established a program of professional development for the teachers in her district.

In 1923, Agnes accepted a position as a professor of extension courses at Iowa State Teachers College. She also pursued graduate courses at the State University of Iowa. There she earned a Bachelor’s degree in 1925 and her Master’s degree in 1928.

Eager to be of even further service, Agnes ran for State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1926. She won! She served 12 years in the position. During those years, she campaigned for the adoption of a school-aid formula that provided equal education for all Iowa children, regardless of the property wealth in their home district.

In 1935, Agnes decided to shift gears. She left public office to become the Executive Secretary of the Iowa State Teachers Association, in 1945, she became the president of the National Education Association. To fulfill her responsibilities in this role, she relocated to Washington, DC.

For her lifetime of work improving the educational experiences of students in her state, Agnes was inducted posthumously into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 1976. In addition, an elementary school in Des Moines has been named in her honor. In addition, she was a charter member of Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG), an organization for educators that was formed in 1929 to address issues of equality for women professionals in education.

This amazing Chalkboard Champion retired in 1952. In retirement, she authored several books and a school manual. She passed away on May 12, 1963, following a one-year battle with cancer. She was 76 years old.

To read more about Agnes Samuelson, follow this link to the Biographical Dictionary of Iowa.

Junior high school teacher and former Arizona State Senator Ann Day.

Many talented classroom teachers also earn success in the political realm. An excellent example of this is Ann Day, a public school teacher from Arizona who also served in her State Senate.

Ann was born Eleanor Ann Day in El Paso, Texas, on August 10, 1938. She was the daughter of a pioneering ranching family. Ann grew up on the ranch that was established by her grandfather in 1880. Ann was the sister of Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Arizona State University in 1970. She completed the requirements for her Master’s degree in Counseling and Guidance from the University of Arizona in 1972.

After earning her degrees, Ann taught in junior high schools in the Alhambra School District in Phoenix. She also accepted assignments as a substitute teacher in the Tucson Unified School District in Tucson. Ann also worked as a marriage and family therapist for the Pima County Conciliation Court (1972 to 1982).

From 1990 to 2000, Ann served in the Arizona State Senate. She was elected on the Republican ticket. While in office, the former teacher served as Majority Whip. While in office, Ann was a member of the Judiciary Committee; the Commerce, Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee; and the Rules Committee. Later she served on the Pima County Board of Supervisors (2000 to 2012). In addition, Ann served on the Arizona Industrial Commission.

As a politician, the former teacher had a reputation for being politically moderate. She was a staunch advocate for the rights of cancer patients to clinical trials and for reforms in the HMO industry. She is also credited with helping to bring semi-pro soccer to Tucson.

Sadly, this Chalkboard Champion was killed in an automobile accident near Tucson on May 7, 2016. The accident was triggered by a drunk driver. Anne was 77 years old.

To learn more about Ann Day, read her obituary at Find a Grave.