Nebraska Teacher of the Year reflects on lessons from representing fellow educators
By Jolie Peal , Reporter Nebraska Public Media News
Jan. 3, 2025, 5 a.m. ·

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As the 2024 Nebraska Teacher of the Year, Scott Phillips traveled the state and country sharing his experiences as an educator. But those events are winding down as his time in the role comes to a close.
“In 2025, I'll still be the 2024 Teacher of the Year,” he said. “This will be something I can carry with me the rest of my life. It was a crazy year, really busy, but I'm hoping that in the grand scheme, like years down the road, I will still be able to make a positive impact among the state and among my classes too.”
Phillips is a seventh grade math teacher at Aurora Middle School in Aurora, Nebraska. He said being nominated to apply for the role was an honor in itself.

“I look back on my year, and there's moments throughout the year where I just feel like I don't deserve this. I'm just doing my job as a teacher,” Phillips said. “I just felt like it's more of a responsibility to represent our state as Teacher of the Year than it was to be like, ‘Oh, look at me.’”
Phillips said his favorite out-of-state trip was to attend the first state dinner for teachers in Washington, D.C. But his overall favorite part of the role was speaking to high school and college students who want to become teachers.
“That was my mission throughout the year was to encourage those younger kids that are either in college or in high school, that are considering becoming teachers, that it really is a rewarding job,” Phillips said. “Looking back on my career so far, just how many things I've been able to look back on and be like, ‘Oh yeah, this is why I teach.’ It's not necessarily just to teach the math. It's because I'm helping shape these young minds into becoming adults.”

When he started the year, Phillips’ main message was the need to fail so one can grow. However, he said it morphed into a message on how to prioritize what’s important to him.
“The biggest learning experience was just sometimes learning by failing, by realizing, ‘Okay, I've got to back off a little bit on this,’ or ‘I've got to reprioritize what I do in my life with that,’” Phillips said.
Lindsey Wilson, a middle school teacher in Bennington, was announced as the 2025 Teacher of the Year. Phillips said his advice to her and to all teachers is to “be where your feet are.”

“When I’m in my classroom with my seventh graders, it’d be really easy for me to be like, ‘Well, I've got to answer this email or take care of something basketball related,’ but then I’m losing out on the opportunity to teach those kids,” he said.
Phillips gets to attend one last event as the 2024 Nebraska Teacher of the Year in January. He’ll head to the National Championship for College Football to join educators who received Teacher of the Year honors from other states.