ND teacher of the year dines with President Joe Biden at Jill Biden’s annual White House dinner

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KFYR) - It was a big night in Washington, D.C. for North Dakota teacher of the year Sheila Peterson on Thursday.

Each year, every state’s “teacher of the year” is invited to the White House for a ceremony. But this year, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, who was a teacher for 30 years, hosted the teachers at a state dinner.

Usually, state dinners are reserved for world leaders, such as presidents, prime ministers or kings, as a sign of respect for the influential positions they hold. This was the first time the state teachers of the year were welcomed to a state dinner.

President Joe Biden made a surprise appearance. According to the Associated Press, he said the following: “You are the kite strings that lift our national ambitions aloft.”

The state dinner was the exclamation point on a week that featured several professional development sessions, meetings with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, a day at the Smithsonian and meetings with Senator Kevin Cramer and Representative Kelly Armstrong. Many other U.S. leaders were in attendance as well, according to the AP.

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