A group of Tulsa Public Schools teachers and a TPS official visited Washington, D.C., and attended the first-ever back-to-school night at the White House.

Hunter Najera is a 5th-grade teacher at Mayo Demonstration. He was in the middle of teaching when Traci Manuel, TPS's teacher retention strategist and former teacher of the year, surprised him with the good news.

Najera said at first, he was shocked to learn that he would be going to Washington, D.C. However, he also felt honored to be going.

He said, for him, the special part about the trip was being able to advocate for education. He and the other teachers got to visit Sen. James Lankford's office, hear from the Secretary of Education, and First Lady Jill Biden.

Najera said he wants his students to know that there are people fighting for them and their education on a national stage.

"I think that was the big thing that I want to relay to my children every single day is there are people that are helping make your life a better life. That you will be going to school so that you can prepare for the next step in your career and into your adult years," Najera said.

Manuel said bringing teachers to the White House for the back-to-school night was a no-brainer because teachers are the heartbeat of school districts. She said these teachers are just a few of the many rockstars TPS has. 

Manuel said she chose the four teachers that went because they've excelled but also gave them the opportunity to advocate for public education.

"I also wanted them to experience what it’s like not only inside the classroom but outside the classroom advocating for public education. It’s one thing to be a teacher. It’s another thing to be an advocate for teachers in the profession, and so I got a chance to create a trip for them outside of just the White House experience to make sure they could take back a plethora of things for their classroom," Manuel said.