Jill Biden says she has closed the book on teaching at Northern Virginia Community College

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden has closed the book on her teaching career at a Virginia community college.

The first lady, who has spent the past 40 years teaching in classrooms, announced Monday that she had taught her final class at Northern Virginia Community College last week. The surprise announcement came during a virtual “thank you” event with teachers tuning in from around the country.

“Being your first lady has been the honor of my life. But being your colleague has been the work of my life,” she said. “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 continued to teach full time while serving as your first lady,” said Biden, who was joined on a sofa by teachers' union presidents Randi Weingarten, of the American Federation of Teachers, and Becky Pringle, of the National Education Association.