ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
News Release
Phyllis Lucy-Manuel Named APS Teacher of the Year
Atlanta
– Phyllis Lucy-Manuel, a career
technology teacher at D. M. Therrell High School, has been named the Atlanta
Public Schools Teacher of the Year for 2005-2006. Lucy-Manuel was honored
at the annual Teachers of the Year Awards Ceremony on October 24 at Grady
High School.
“When I was in college,” Lucy-Manuel told a capacity audience, “I considered becoming a doctor, but I decided that I would rather teach students who may become doctors rather than become one myself.”
Lucy-Manuel was selected from 84 elementary, middle and high school teachers who were honored as Teachers of the Year at their respective schools.
“Phyllis Lucy-Manuel is an energetic and creative teacher who thinks outside of the box,” said Joyce McCloud, Executive Director, High Schools. “In addition to her excellence and devotion to teaching students, she exercises the belief that it takes a whole village to educate a child by providing technology instruction to other teachers and parents as well.”
Lucy-Manuel has always enjoyed taking things apart and putting them back together. This skill proved useful when she and a group of students refurbished 57 computers for the Parent Center at Therrell High School. This year, the school will have its 1st Robotics Team and she will be a co-advisor.
Lucy-Manuel has taught physical science, A.P. chemistry, and physics. She currently serves as the lead teacher for two career and technical education programs: Project Lead The Way (PLTW-Pre-Engineering) and Ford-Partnership for Advanced Studies (Ford-PAS).
A graduate of Hampton Institute with a B.S. degree in Chemistry Education, Lucy-Manuel joined the Atlanta Public Schools in 1991. She has also worked closely with the Georgia Institute of Technology to train teachers for the Cities of the Future Competitions. In 1997, she was selected as a Georgia Industrial Fellow for Teachers Scholar (GIFT), concentrating on technology and e-business. Always desiring to upgrade technology in the classroom, she has also served as a Computer Technology Assistant at Coan Middle School and D.M. Therrell High School.