Two Manhattan-Ogden teachers were announced last week as the district’s nominees for 2025 Kansas Teacher of the Year.
Mac Phrommany teaches American Literature and is the debate and forensics coach at Manhattan High School. He’s also a recipient of the National Speech and Debate Association Honor Society Diamond Coaching Award and has taught at MHS since 2018.
Phrommany says he believes in nurturing a low-pressure environment for learning, saying “when students feel like they can be goofy, and we can direct that energy constructively, we have created a healthy learning environment.”
Shannon Downs has been teaching kindergarten at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary since 2019 and has been nominated for the Kansas Teacher of the Year program several times throughout her career. She was a regional finalist in 2016.
Downs says she likes to foster an environment where students are capable of learning, saying “establishing school-wide positive behavior support systems ensures that all students are intentionally and consistently taught expectations for all areas of the school.”
The Kansas Teacher of the Year program is sponsored annually by the Kansas State Department of Education.
