2023 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year

Traci Manuel comes from a long line of educators. However, Traci never planned to follow in those footsteps. 

"I really wanted to become an actress. My family, my mother and father, told me going into undergrad that, ‘Traci, that's a wonderful dream, but you'll be a starving artist and we're not going to support you. So, you need to find another endeavor. So, possibly look into some other things.’” says Manuel.

"I asked her, ‘Well, what kind of money are you going to make being in drama? I think you also need to get education because they always need teachers. So, you'll always have a job if you want to teach.’ She followed the guidelines of going to school and being able to do that later,” says D’Arnetta Ward, Manuels Mother.

Manuel says she always had a passion for working with children, so she decided to combine her passion for the arts and children.

"I had this vision of what I wanted to do, opening this center for students that were more centered around the theater arts. I said let me take that vision.” says Manuel.

That vision quickly changed when Manuel learned about the achievement gap and how it affected students from low-income families.

"I dug further into the statistics. I was able to link back to Tulsa and how Tulsa’s achievement gap had grown and was one of the highest in the state of Oklahoma. I told my husband, I said, ‘We got to go home.’ I think I know this is kind of like my purpose and what I’m supposed to do.” says Manuel.

After re-locating from Michigan to her hometown of Tulsa, Manuel served as a long-term sub at Kipp Tulsa College Preparatory Middle School. Manuel says the transition was difficult, but she was determined to make a difference in students' lives.

From there Traci went on to work as a teacher's assistant and a parent facilitator, before finally becoming an English teacher.

"I appreciate every bit of it because I know that those experiences have made me who I am in the classroom.” says Manuel.

“She also had the ability to connect with the students, and that was very important. In the classroom from her experiences, she could relate to the students. She realized that not every student learned the same way. So, she had different means of getting information to all the students to make them feel important.” says Mary Howell, mentor to Manuel.

As a child, Manuel often needed extra assistance with schoolwork. To keep her on track her parents kept her in educational programs.

“Both of my parents had worked really hard to make sure that I was caught up academically in different areas. I had to go to a reading program to make sure that I was on grade leve.” says Manuel.

"She thought I had her in too much, but I kind of wanted her to just be all around with sports and social activities.” says Ward. 

During her senior year, Traci visited her school counselor to discuss her plans after graduation. What Traci hoped would be a meaningful conversation turned into a heartbreak.

"She started looking at some data, some old, some new, and just looking at that on paper and then she said, ‘Yeah, you know, Traci, you don't really have many options, and really any options for, I guess maybe what you're trying to do. So, you can go out and dig into being out there. But as far as I’m concerned, you know, looking at this, you really can't go much further.’" says Manuel.

"Well, as a mother it hurt, but I had to say, there’s going to be a lot of things that people tell you, but you have to be you and you have to push yourself. That's why I want you to be involved in a lot." says Ward.

But with the support of her family and mentors, Manuel turned her pain into passion.

Now, she uses her past experiences to motivate students to become the best version of themselves by applying skill they've learned in school and applying it to real life.

"They’ll be like, ‘Why is Ms. Manuel making me do all this work?’ and at the end they’re like, ‘Oh, I get it now. That's why she had me do all those essays because now I know how to write when I go off to college.’” says Tametra Jamison, Teacher at Booker T. Washington High School.

“She's not only invested in her own students, but also in students that she's previously had. So, I think what's great about her is that she cares about where her students end up and she's caring about not only their education." says Erina Katoh, former student of Manuel.

She also cares and has an opinion on the recent transition in Oklahoma State Superintendents from Joy Hofmeister to Ryan Walters. 

“I see a lot of differences. Differences that I see are their philosophies and methods, their approaches that they're going about. I think both of them wanted to have the same goal, which is for students to be successful. Obviously, how that's being played out is very different,” says Manuel.

Booker T. Washington Principal, Dr. Melissa Woolridge, says Manuel’s new title brings great honor to the historic school.

“It’s an honor to have a Booker T alumni, that's now back at their high school, teaching students that are taking the path that she has taken before. I think it's just an honor to be around that.” says Woolridge.

"So many educators before never had that opportunity and she's using her opportunity to remind people of the legacy and where they can go forward.” says Jamison.

Next year, Manuel will travel around the state promoting her platform: P.U.S.H.

"The ‘P’ being to Prepare the classrooms for tomorrow and ‘U’ is for Utilizing the experts. Then ‘S’ is making sure that we Sustain the growth. ‘H’ is Helping to Eradicate the achievement gap that exists within our state.” says Manuel.

Manuel will finish out the rest of the semester at Booker T Washington and begin her official duties as Teacher of the Year in July.