Mandy Manning teaches English and math to refugee and immigrant students in the Newcomer Center at Ferris HS in Spokane. Mandy has the honor of being her students' first teacher in the U.S., and learning with them as they acclimate to their new home. She coaches fastpitch softball and girls' basketball, advises the writing club, and co-advises the Gay-Straight Alliance. Mandy is also a powerful voice for policy in her building and district. She recently led a push to re-evaluate her school’s PBIS implementation and wrote a revised plan that resulted in a 74% decrease in suspensions in the first year.
Mandy was named the 2017 Washington state recipient of the NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence, and she is a Global Fellow. As a fellow she travelled to China in June to explore and learn about their education system. She chronicled her experience on her blog – The Traveling Teacher. From 1999-2001 Mandy served as a teacher in the Peace Corps in Armenia. This global perspective infuses her classroom. Mandy uses experiential projects like map-making to help her students process trauma, celebrate their home countries and culture, and learn about their new community.
“When I met Ms. Manning my life totally changed,” writes student Safa Mohammed. “She is one of the best teachers, not just in our school, but in the community also. She became more than a teacher to me; I count her as my second mother. She is the kindest teacher I have ever met.”
Mandy has hosted over 160 teaching candidates in the Newcomer Center. Many teach their first lesson in the Center. For others the Center is their intercultural field experience. Mandy regularly invites district leaders, school board members, and legislators into her classroom. She aims to expose as many future teachers, colleagues, and community members as possible to the diverse environment of the Center. As an NBCT, Mandy is an ambassador, Jump Start Trainer, and cohort facilitator who encourages and guides teachers in their Board Certification. Colleagues praise Mandy for her focus on collaborative decision making and determination to bring marginalized voices into decision-making. She was recently named to the Washington Paraeducator Board to begin work on the new Paraeducator standards this fall.
Mandy believes 90% of teaching is relational. When students know a teacher cares, they are more open to learning. She fosters these relationships by creating an inclusive, safe, and welcoming environment, in which students share and learn from one another. She visits each of her student's homes to learn about their families and cultures and to foster strong relationships between home and school. Mandy’s dedication to her students and their families reaches well beyond their achievements in the classroom. She works tirelessly to make sure her students have the mental and physical health resources they need to be successful and safe as well as adapt to life in a new country.
“She is a gift to our community,” writes Assistant Principal John O’Dell. “No one better exemplifies commitment to professional practice, advocacy, community engagement, developing others, or supporting diversity more than Mandy.”
