First Lady Honors Christa McAuliffe

Mar 17, 2021 | celebration, coins, commemorative, silver, US Mint | 1 comment

The United States Mint released the Christa McAuliffe Proof Silver Dollar in a socially distanced ceremony where they presented the first coin to First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, honoring her lifelong dedication to teaching.

NASA selected Christa McAuliffe to be the first member of the Teacher in Space Program. The space agency would train teachers to travel to space and hold lessons from the space shuttle. Unfortunately, 73 seconds into the flight, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated, killing all seven members aboard.

Jill Biden began her education career as a substitute teacher in 1975. She went to school part-time to earn her Master of Education, completing her coursework while pregnant with her daughter Ashley. After a few years, Biden returned to the classroom teaching English in a public high school. In January 2007, at age 55, she earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) before hitting the campaign trail for the Obama-Biden ticket.

Dr. Biden is a champion for education and plans to teach again this fall.

During the issuing ceremony, Biden said:

There’s a saying Christa loved and it’s inscribed on the coin that we unveiled today: ‘I touch the future I teach.’ And this coin, like her life, is a tribute to all educators, as Steve [McAuliffe] said. It’s a reminder of the incredible power we hold to write our history and to shape our future. And it’s a recognition of the obligation we have to keep working toward a time when all students have all that they need to thrive. So thank you to all the educators who touch the future.

The coin’s sale price includes a $10 surcharge paid to the FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics program to promote leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Credits: All images are courtesy of the U.S. Mint via social media.
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1 Comment

  1. Bob Graul on March 17, 2021 at 7:30 PM

    Scott

    Great to hear from you. I didn’t hear from you last Sunday. I was wondering where you were.

    Shouldn’t Christa McAuliffe’s family have gotten the first coin?

    Sincerely

    Bob

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