TULSA, Okla. — A teacher in the Tulsa Public School district is now the 2023 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year.
Thursday morning the school district took time to honor her and she turned it into a moment for a student.
Traci Manuel is a teacher at Booker T. Washington High School, and she also attended the school so winning Oklahoma Teacher of the Year has truly been a full-circle moment for her.
“You stand as a beacon in Tulsa,” the crowd sang at the start of the assembly.
Starting out with the Booker T. Washington High School hymn, colleagues, students, family and friends gather to celebrate and cheer on Manuel.
She's making history as the first Black person to receive the honor of becoming an Oklahoma Teacher of the Year and she’s only one of three Tulsa Public School teachers in the last 60 years to earn this recognition.
“I’m overwhelmed with emotions. I don’t know if I can even put that into words,” Manuel said.
She has been described as the epitome of excellence and a teacher who goes the extra mile for students.
“There is a bright child locked inside every student, and it is my job as an educator and the job of other educators to make sure that we do what needs to be done to make sure that bright light, that potential comes out of every child, every day no matter what they bring into the classroom,” she said.
Manuel also believes blessings should be passed on. So in the spirit of her blessing, she surprised a student with their own blessing.
“I get the opportunity to make sure that you can have your first year of tuition paid for,” she said.
Senior A’Taylor Elliott was shocked by the news as recently she was accepted into the University of Oklahoma where she wants to study to become a nurse.
“It meant a lot because we’ve been thinking about how I was actually going to pay for college," Elliott said. "I was actually reconsidering going to OU because I didn’t know how I was going to pay for it.”
“Her mother currently just got a second job to make sure she could pay for her education,” Manuel said.
And Elliott’s mom’s reaction was even better...
“I think she was screaming,” she said.
Now that Manuel has made Elliott’s dreams come true, she will go on to speak to schools across the state to push that public education matters. She is also in the running for National Teacher of the Year along with another Green Country teacher.
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