First lady Jill Biden to attend National Spelling Bee

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Finalists in the Scripps National Spelling Bee will get a visit from one of the nation’s most prominent educators: first lady Jill Biden.

The first lady will meet with spellers and their families before the bee Thursday evening and stay to watch the competition.

This year’s bee was delayed because of the pandemic and all preliminary rounds were held virtually. Only the 11 finalists are competing in person, at an ESPN campus near Walt Disney World in Florida. The finals will be televised on ESPN2.

Biden previously attended the bee in 2009 in Washington. She is an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College, where she also worked during the eight years that President Joe Biden was vice president.

The first lady has kept a busy schedule, traveling around the country to promote her husband’s policies and her own issues and causes.