DC trip memorable for Nebraska Teacher of the Year

Nebraska Teacher of the Year Scott Phillips experienced many firsts on a recent trip to Washington D.C., where he and his delegation of outstanding educators from across the country received red-carpet treatment during a four-day stay in the nation’s capital.
Phillips was still brimming with energy and excitement two weeks after returning home while sharing his experience with the Aurora School Board.
“Just to be in that area was honestly one of the highlights of my life,” said the Aurora 7th grade teacher, describing a four-hour stay at the White House where he, his wife Carissa, and other honorees were guests at an official State Dinner. “I was just thankful for the opportunity to be part of the cohorts (a term used to describe the 2024 class of teachers of the year from all 50 states), but also to represent our state and just knowing that I was one of the two people there from Nebraska. It was a really proud moment for my wife and I to represent our state and represent our school, and just to be part of that experience.”
The White House dinner was a highlight of the week filled with lifelong memories, Phillips told the board in animated detail.
“Normally, State Dinners are reserved for dignitaries and other presidents or prime ministers,” he noted. “This is the first ever in the history of the United States where they’ve done a State Dinner for teachers and I think part of that was because Dr. Biden (President Joe Biden’s wife and First Lady) is a teacher herself so she felt that sincere appreciation and recognition was deserved for teachers. I just felt fortunate that this was the year that we got to do that because no other cohort has ever been able to actually go to a State Dinner at the White House.”
Phillips wore a white tuxedo with black trim for the occasion, saying he felt that was a bold move, but he wanted to “show up” on behalf of Nebraska.
“We got to see parts of the White House that are not actually open to the public,” he said, describing a walk through a room, for example, where Franklin Delano Roosevelt taped his “Fireside Chats.” “The only thing I can say about it was that it was just surreal the entire time we were walking around, like is this actually happening? One of the most fun parts about this was just the fact that my wife and I got to experience this together.”
One of the more emotional moments of the entire trip, he admitted, came when Phillips sat down at his table, where a special card had been prepared for him, sharing personal messages of support from former students he has taught and coached in Aurora.
“When I sat down to read those comments I had to stop reading because I was pretty emotional at that time,” he said. “I just put it away and saved it for later, but I will honestly cherish that for the rest of my life. It was a really cool surprise. It made me miss home. Even though we were at the White House, you still miss being home.”
As the group members were eating their salads, Phillips said he got goose bumps when they announced over the intercom that President Biden was making his entrance.
“They said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, and he just strolled in,” Phillips recalled. “He was in North Carolina that day speaking on behalf of some water issues they are having there right now. He spoke for about five minutes and it was just really cool to have him there for a little bit. I didn’t get a chance to shake his hand, but just to be in the same room as a president was a really cool experience.”
Phillips said he gained a new sense of appreciation overall for the life of political representatives at the national level.
“On Tuesday evening we went to the Department of Education, where Secretary (Miguel) Cardona was gracious enough to host a dinner for us that night,” he said. “He had a lot of really good things to say and it was really interesting to hear from that political side of things because, obviously, you’re in D.C. for a week and you hear a lot of political discussions. It’s just a different vibe than Nebraska.”
“When I met with Sen. Fischer it was the morning of all the riots around at various universities,” he continued. “When I talked to her one of the things that really meant a lot to me was when she said that this was the highlight of her day because she had had a really rough morning. Just being on that side of it was really interesting because this is their life every single day. I’m walking through these (U.S. Capitol) tunnels, meeting all these people, and this is what it’s like every single day for these people, so that was really interesting.”
Phillips also spent some time with Rep. Adrian Smith, where they talked specifically about education.
“He just flat out asked me how do we help with this teacher shortage, because we’re both kind of concerned about where that’s going,” he said. “I just shared with him my personal experience and I shared what we have going on here. One of the parting words he said to me was that ‘You teach in a really good school.’ He said he liked going to Aurora, and just hearing that was a breath of fresh air partway through the week to meet people who know where Aurora is and being able to talk about that.
“That was pretty awesome,” he continued. “Once again, we’re putting Aurora on the map, and I say we, my wife and I and our community. I just love having discussions about our community, because a lot of these teachers you might think are from the huge cities, and they’re not. Some of them are from small towns just like us. The national teacher of the year is from a small town in Tennessee, so it’s kind of cool to have that connection.”
On that note, Phillips said he told his seventh grade students upon his return what this experience means to him in terms of teacher connections.
“I told my students that I now have friends in every single state of the United States,” he said. “I mean, you have these experiences together and you become lifelong friends. Learning from these people throughout the week was probably the most joyful part of the trip. Those side conversations you have while you’re eating dinner or at a meeting, just to be able to talk to them and learn their life story and what led them here was amazing.”
Phillips went on to share highlights from other excursions during the week, including some free time on the first night in D.C., when he and his wife joined a small group on a scooter tour of the National Mall. One of his personal favorite monuments was a tribute to Martin Luther King.
“There are quotes all lit up from his most famous speeches and one that really stood out to me was that you cannot overcome darkness with more darkness,” he said. “You overcome darkness with light and that was, even talking about it now, just one of those surreal moments wen you’re standing at these monuments and you realize history happened here. I was almost overcome with emotion standing in the exact spot that Martin Luther King gave his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. Standing there you feel grateful for everything that has led up to this point in our history.”
The next event for the 2024 Teacher of the Year cohorts will be a week-long trip to Alabama in July, where members will experience a NASA Space Camp.
“I’ve heard that the D.C. trip is the most memorable experience and I’ve heard that the most memorable bonding time as a cohort will be this next trip,” Phillips concluded. “They are going to make us do underwater challenges, the G Force challenge … and then they’ll run us through a simulation of a mission. They’re going to train us as if we’re astronauts, so I’m stoked for this.”
The “grand finale” event for the cohorts will be an invitation to attend the NCAA national championship football game in January.