A group of Arlington Public Schools fifth graders received some unexpected attention from First Lady Jill Biden this week.
Twenty-two students from Hoffman-Boston Elementary School arrived at the White House on Monday ready for a tour of the East Wing, teacher Belinda Folb told ARLnow. They had no idea that they would be personally meeting the First Lady herself — or that five of them would be accompanying her on a private tour.
“We thought we were just going to go attend the presentation and then walk through the tour with everybody else,” Folb said.
Biden led the five lucky students on a personal tour prior to the group tour starting. Afterward, she spoke to students in the White House Rose Garden.
“We learn from the wisdom of the past and weave it into our future,” the First Lady said. “And, as you walk through this house, I hope you’ll feel the history here. It’s your history, and it lives in each of you, connecting you to those who have walked here before you and to each other.”
Biden also shook each fifth grader’s hand.
“Two of my girls said they’re never going to wash their hands again,” Folb joked. “She just was at ease with children … My kids said she treated us like we were the most important thing in the world.”
Alongside Jefferson Middle School Academy students, Folb’s students got a firsthand look at some new educational elements in the East Wing. Students used newly installed reader rails with touchable artifact replicas, and examined a 3-D White House model highlighting its architectural history.
Students got to look inside several rooms steeped in history, including the Blue Room, the Green Room, and one of her students’ favorites: the Diplomatic Reception Room. It’s where President Franklin Roosevelt delivered his fireside chats.
“You can smell the fire,” Folb said. “My kids are like, ‘you can smell it, it smells like smoke,’ and you can hear the radio of the fireside chat. It was just so cool, and so much fun.”
The room — alongside a few others included in the new tour — hadn’t previously been open to the public.
“They were very intentional about making the exhibit reflect what the history really was,” said Arlington Education Association President June Prakash, who also attended.
The group ended the day with hot apple cider in White House cups before returning home.
“We thought, just a once-in-a-lifetime experience to just be at the White House, and then to meet Dr. Biden was just icing on the cake,” Prakash said. “It was really, really special.”
The experience left Folb with a simple takeaway: “I’ve got to get more kids at the White House.”
