FAIRBORN, Ohio (WDTN) — First Lady Dr. Jill Biden paid a visit to the Miami Valley Wednesday as part of her Joining Forces initiative.

After touching down at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dr. Biden stopped at Beverly Gardens Elementary School in Riverside. It is a Purple Heart school, and 75% of students are in military families.

The First Lady met with students in Mrs. Stacie Boltz’ second grade class. She also spoke with educators on their efforts to help students transition to a new environment or cope with a parent’s deployment.

Amber Farkas is a third grade teacher at Beverly Gardens. She said the school has several programs that help make students feel at home and connected to the community.

“We do a lot of social-emotional learning in our classrooms and as an educator and also a military spouse, I just appreciate everything that we have going on to help with those transitions,” Farkas said.

Dr. Biden then visited the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, where she met active duty service members, their spouses and children. She talked about the challenges they face and where they need more support.

“The military needs childcare. I’ve heard that all across this nation. I’ve heard you need help with exceptional children, spouses need employment, so these are the sorts of things that I take back to my husband and say, ‘these are the stories that I’ve heard,'” Dr. Biden said.

The First Lady’s visit ended with a mock ICU demonstration performed by nurses at the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine. She was able to see the work being done at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and why supporting the families of these servicemembers is so important.

“I think that we just can’t thank our military enough, all of you, the families included, because you’re the ones that are making sacrifices, too,” Dr. Biden said.

There were also some notable guests with Dr. Biden, including Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims, Jr., and Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine.