SPOKANE, Wash. — Wednesday, the 2019 National Teacher of the Year was named, which means Mandy Manning's time as America's top teacher-advocate is now coming to an end.
Manning has spent the last year using her platform to advocate for students and teachers.
"It's very important that we focus on the students who need us the most. All of our students need us, but there are some students who are not being served right now, and those are the students that we really need to help lift up,” Manning said.
Before winning the prestigious title pulled her from the classroom, she taught immigrant and refugee students from across the district at the Newcomer Center at Ferris High School.
During her seven years in the classroom with these students, she developed a will to speak up for those students who felt voiceless. She used her time as National Teacher of Year to shed light on the systematic issues and inequities students face.
"It's up to us, the practitioners in the buildings who work directly with students, to help to make changes to that system, to make sure that it is equitable," she said. "At the end of the day, if we are serving every single one of our children then we as a society will be better off."
Manning began pushing for this from the beginning. She brought a stack of letters her students wrote to President Donald Trump when she visited the White House to accept her award.
That day started a whirlwind year for the teacher. She jetted off to conferences, speaking engagements and teaching sessions.
"Sometimes I am in five cities in seven days. It's kind of crazy. Sometimes I speak to high school students, sometimes I speak to future teachers, sometimes policy makers, superintendents, all kinds of groups,” Manning said.
Manning worked with New Mexico’s 2018 Teacher of the Year Ivonne Orozco and others to build awareness of children staying in detention centers. She now leads Teachers Against Child Detention.
She said she has gotten criticism for getting involved in what some believe are politically-charged causes.
"It's not Democrat. It’s not Republican. It's about kids. It's about kids who should not be incarcerated. They should be in our classrooms and that's my job. It is my responsibility as someone who has a platform to speak out for every single kid. And it may be viewed by some as a political act, if that's the case then, teaching is a political act,” Manning said.
Manning plans to take her passion for students and advocacy to the state level. She is currently running for president of the Washington Education Association.
If she is not elected she will go back to classroom. For her, it is a win-win situation.
Rodney Robinson was named the 2019 National Teacher of the Year. Robinson teaches history at a juvenile detention center in Richmond, Virginia.
His students have been accused of crimes from minor offenses such as skipping school to serious charges, such as murder.
He said he took up teaching because his mother was not able to graduate high school due to poverty. He says every student deserves a chance to succeed.
Manning is expected wrap up her duties as National Teacher of the Year in June.