Plano Senior High teacher Bryan Yee and Weatherford Elementary teacher Erika Manning were named Plano ISD's 2016-17 teachers of the year.[/caption]
Plano ISD announced its elementary and secondary teachers of the year during a May 12 gala at Plano Centre. The winners said they did not expect to receive such an honor until were called to come on stage.
“Out of 74 schools? Are you kidding me?” said Erika Manning, a math instructional specialist at Weatherford Elementary School. “I don’t even know what I said up there. Things were just coming out of my mouth.”
Plano Senior High math teacher Bryan Yee said he was equally surprised when his name was called.
“It was pretty surreal,” he said. “I honestly don’t remember most of that night, it was a complete shock.”
Both teachers took nontraditional routes to their education careers.
Manning moved to Plano from Mexico City when she was 9 years old. She learned English in the PISD English as Second Language program. Manning attended Huffman Elementary and was bussed to Saigling Elementary where she took ESL classes.
When Manning later began a career in hotel management, she did some volunteer work for Dallas ISD. The experience, she said, motivated her to pursue teaching.
“I was able to tell them, ‘it’s okay. I was in your shoes’,” Manning said. “I could really relate to them.”
Manning went through the alternative certification program and then worked for the Rockwall and Garland school districts before coming home to Plano.
Yee graduated from college with an electrical engineering degree and pursued a career in business and IT consulting. The work was rewarding, but Yee said travel requirements made it hard to raise a family.
“One of the things I really stress with [my students] is that in life I don’t think you are ever guaranteed anything. A lot of time the fun and enjoyment is [made out] of learning and experiencing new things.”
—Bryan Yee
Yee and his wife then started a business, but disagreements with landowners led to its failure.
“I was really kind of heartbroken about the whole thing,” Yee said. “You put your heart and soul into something like that, and when it falls apart, it kind of takes the wind out of your sails.”
Unsure what to do next, Yee took a job as a janitor at his church. The quiet time alone gave him time get away from everything else, and think about life. A few months later, a friend suggested he try teaching. Yee had worked with kids as a coach and at church, but had never considered education. Eventually, he decided to give it a shot.
Today, Yee has taught for more than a decade and said his unique life path has given him a different prospect that he has been able to use to his advantage.
“I think students take a lot of time struggling with failure and not knowing if they're making the right decisions,” Yee said. “One of the things I really stress with them is that in life I don’t think you are ever guaranteed anything. A lot of time the fun and enjoyment is of learning and experiencing new things.”
In May, Yee received the Texas Instruments Foundation Innovations in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) Teaching Award. He has an electrical engineering degree and has been teaching for more than a decade
“Bryan has made the world of statistics much more palatable,” said Sarah Watkins, principal for Plano Senior High School, who nominated Yee for the award. “As a result, he has had one of the highest passing rates of any program in the country.”
“I think students take a lot of time struggling with failure, and not knowing if they're making the right decisions,” Yee said. “One of the things I really stress with [my students] is that in life I don’t think you are ever guaranteed anything. A lot of time the fun and enjoyment is [made out] of learning and experiencing new things.”
Yee said he encourages students to make the best decisions they can based on the information they have.
“When they fail on a test, that’s not the end of the world,” he said. “You can recover from that. You can recover from anything. That’s what’s happened to me my entire life.
Plano Senior High teacher Bryan Yee and Weatherford Elementary teacher Erika Manning were named Plano ISD's 2016-17 teachers of the year.[/caption]
Plano ISD announced its elementary and secondary teachers of the year during a May 12 gala at Plano Centre. The winners said they did not expect to receive such an honor until were called to come on stage.
“Out of 74 schools? Are you kidding me?” said Erika Manning, a math instructional specialist at Weatherford Elementary School. “I don’t even know what I said up there. Things were just coming out of my mouth.”
Plano Senior High math teacher Bryan Yee said he was equally surprised when his name was called.
“It was pretty surreal,” he said. “I honestly don’t remember most of that night, it was a complete shock.”
Both teachers took nontraditional routes to their education careers.
Manning moved to Plano from Mexico City when she was 9 years old. She learned English in the PISD English as Second Language program. Manning attended Huffman Elementary and was bussed to Saigling Elementary where she took ESL classes.
When Manning later began a career in hotel management, she did some volunteer work for Dallas ISD. The experience, she said, motivated her to pursue teaching.
“I was able to tell them, ‘it’s okay. I was in your shoes’,” Manning said. “I could really relate to them.”
Manning went through the alternative certification program and then worked for the Rockwall and Garland school districts before coming home to Plano.
Yee graduated from college with an electrical engineering degree and pursued a career in business and IT consulting. The work was rewarding, but Yee said travel requirements made it hard to raise a family.
