The celebration, the controversy: National Teacher of the Year reflects on Trump meeting

National Teacher of the Year Mandy Manning said she is happy to be back home. She is still recovering from a whirlwind trip to the White House and some stinging internet comments.

Manning is a teacher at the Newcomer Center at Ferris High School in Spokane. She teaches immigrants and refugees and is passionate about those students, as well as those she coaches in basketball and advises in student groups.

Last week, she was invited to the White House to receive her national award from President Trump. She wore a floral dress but also several buttons. They represented LGBTQ equality, the Peace Corps, and transgender rights.

She also wore a button with an image that has been used to represent the Women’s March. But Manning says, for her, it reminded her of her immigrant students, and that is why she wore it.

“For some of my students, in our current environment, they feel a little bit uncomfortable, and, so me being there in the White House, I wanted to express to my students that I am here for you. I'm here to tell your stories. I'm here to just show the world what beautiful, amazing human beings you are,” Manning said. “And so that was a message to my students and to just demonstrate to the nation, and to the president, that I am here for all kids.”

Manning also took along more than two-dozen letters from her students and hand-delivered them to the president.

“He said, ‘thank you so much for these letters,’ and when his aide took them from him, he said, ‘please put those directly on my desk, I want to make sure to read them,’” Manning said. “And I really, sincerely hope that he does.”

KREM, KING 5’s sister station in Spokane, reached out to the White House to find out if President Trump read the letters. They also asked if he noticed the buttons Manning was wearing.

KREM received the following statement:

"The President is aware of the letters that the Teacher of the Year Mandy Manning brought to the White House event honoring the achievements of teachers. We do not have any further information to share at this time regarding the letters or whether the President noticed the details of what Ms. Manning was wearing."

After the ceremony, many online criticized Manning for that they did and did not see during the awards ceremony.

There was a rumor that she refused to shake President Trump’s hand, but video from the ceremony shows that she did, more than once. And Manning confirms this.

When the president was walking to the stage to hand the award to Manning, others on the stage were clapping, but Manning is seen with her hands at her side.

“It was definitely not a purposeful move,” Manning said. “I, in that moment, I had just given my letters to the president, I had just given the letters, and it had been this wonderful experience where he actually expressed that he was going to read them, and I am very hopeful that he will do that, hopeful for my students, and so, in that moment, we just walked back in, it'd been maybe two minutes, and I was like reveling in that. And so, I was just standing there in awe that I was able to follow through for my students, I made this promise to them, and I had the chance to do it and share their stories again. And so, in the moment I was just like, oh my gosh, is this my life, this is my life, this is so crazy. And so, I mean, I welcome everybody to interpret how they, how they, it feels best for them. But for me, I was just in a moment of, you know, reveling in the fact that I had followed through on a promise.”