Penn Manor’s Elizabeth Raff has had quite a week.
Over the course of six days, she met with legislators on Capitol Hill, attended an international teaching summit, toured the Smithsonian Institute, and met President Biden and his educator wife, Dr. Jill Biden.
As Pennsylvania’s 2022-2023 Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Raff joined other Teachers of the Year from across the country for the week-long 2023 National and State Teachers of the Year Celebration, which culminated in an April 24 gathering in the Rose Garden of the White House.
“It was an honor of a lifetime to walk into the White House holding all of my students from Penn Manor in my heart,” Mrs. Raff said.
Mrs. Raff was selected as Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year in December 2021 from a pool of 12 finalists from across the state. Since then, she has been crisscrossing the state and region, speaking at workshops and conferences on teaching, while also serving as Penn Manor’s elementary learning facilitator.
The visit to Washington, D.C., was one of the highlights of her role as Teacher of the Year.
Mrs. Raff and her colleagues met with lawmakers to share the great things taking place in their classrooms and the need for future support for education.
They also attended the International Summit on the Teaching Profession, where education chancellors from around the world came together to discuss the importance of education, and shared lessons from their classrooms with educators at PBS.
The group also visited the Smithsonian Institute, where they learned about using the vast network of museum resources to support learning in their classrooms.
The week ended with the ceremony in the Rose Garden and a reception inside the White House, where teachers met with Dr. Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to discuss the most pressing issues their students and schools are facing.
“This past week was an incredible look at the work of advocacy in education,” Mrs. Raff said. “Education is for all of us, and I am inspired by the tireless work of educators who are ready and willing to hold democracy in their hands.”
“It certainly was a great week to be a Comet!”
Congratulations to Mrs. Raff for representing Penn Manor during this amazing week.
Elizabeth Raff and her husband Jeremy in the White House Rose Garden.
