WATCH: First Lady Jill Biden Visits Covid-Safe Elementary School Amid Pressure to Reopen

As President Joe Biden’s administration faces pressure to reopen schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visited schools with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to see firsthand how they’re handling in-person learning.

On Wednesday, the new FLOTUS visited Benjamin Franklin School in Meriden, CT with the new education secretary to, as the East Wing put it, “see first-hand what safety and mitigation measures the schools have implemented in classrooms to be open safely for in-person learning.”

The children — attired in sobering “Class of 2037” t-shirts, greeted Biden and Secretary Cardona enthusiastically as they sat around a table equipped with plexiglass and what appeared to be pool noodles cut for use as social distancing markers.

Secretary Cardona complimented some of the kids on their masks, making the scientifically unsupported claim that because they were festooned with “ninja turtles,” this made it “easier to breathe.”

Dr. Biden complimented one child on her fancy gown and little jacket, as the girl toiled with watercolor paints inches from the gown.

Biden and Cardona then toured the school, which included a visit to a Covid-safe sensory room.

“Being at home and being on the computer doesn’t access this,” Cardona remarked.

During the visit, Cardona also said “We must continue to reopen America’s schools for in person learning as quickly and as safely as possible. The president recognizes this which is why he took bold action yesterday to get teachers and school staff vaccinated quickly. As secretary of education that is my top priority.”

The visits come as pressure has mounted on teachers to return to in-person learning regardless of whether they have been vaccinated, and after the Biden administration initially sent mixed messages on school reopening.

The administration has since settled on an emphasis on the CDC guidance that while not a prerequisite for reopening, teachers should be prioritized for vaccines in the same manner as first responders — with a heavy emphasis on that prioritization. Dr. Biden’s visit appears to be in service to those goals, and to lean into the urgency of school reopening.

Dr. Biden is also scheduled to visit Fort LeBoeuf Middle School in Waterford, PA later Wednesday.

Watch above via Erie News.

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