President Biden honors National Teacher of the Year at White House ceremony

April 25 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden honored a high school math teacher from Oklahoma as this year's National Teacher of the Year.

Rebecka Peterson, who was joined by 54 state teachers of the year at the Rose Garden ceremony, was honored Monday at the White House in Washington, D.C.

Peterson teaches 10th- and 12th-grade math at Union High School in a socioeconomically challenged area of Tulsa and was recognized for using the "calculus of connection" to support her students.

"As educators, we stand with one foot firmly grounded in the reality of what is while the other stands in the promise of what can be," Peterson said. "We are fueled by the equalizing power of public education to dismantle marginalization, eliminate systemic inequities and end generational poverty."

Biden applauded Peterson's ability to show so many students from diverse backgrounds a common path to success.

"The students in her district speak 62 different languages -- 62. Many feel like they don't belong," Biden said. "As you can imagine, Rebecka makes sure that they know that they do belong and they can achieve great things."

"With Rebecka leading the way, the pass rate in her class went from 50% to 87%, nearly double the state average. More of her students became National Merit Finalists than the entire rest of the district combined. And, in the ultimate tribute, several of her former students are now math teachers themselves," Biden said.

Peterson, who immigrated to the United States when she was young and only spoke Swedish, said she teaches because "it gives me life to offer the American dream to the next generation."

In honoring Peterson, Biden applauded every teacher's dedication to what has become a "difficult profession."

"I want to stand by saying to every teacher here today and every teacher across the country: Thank you, thank you, thank you. And I mean it," President Biden said, as he commended teachers for their work to "explain the unexplainable, from banned books to duck-and-cover-drills."

"We ask so much of you. And each and every time, you all step up and say yes. And the impact you have on our students is profound."