'A feeling like no other': Oklahoma math educator wins National Teacher of the Year

For the first time since 1964, the Oklahoma Teacher of the Year won the nation's teaching crown.

Tulsa Union High School math teacher Rebecka Peterson was named National Teacher of the Year on Wednesday morning. The Council of Chief State School Officers, the nonprofit overseeing the award program, chose Peterson from a group of five finalists.

Peterson, 35, was announced the winner on the "CBS Mornings" show with Gayle King. The Tulsa teacher said it was a "truly surreal moment" with "a lot of hyperventilating" when she learned she was to receive the national award.

"It feels amazing," Peterson said on the nationwide broadcast. "I'm so grateful to represent this incredibly powerful profession. I think my message to teachers is still like the first two words I learned in English — 'Thank you.' As a child I learned from you. I believed in you. I walked alongside you. I still do."

Peterson's students achieved an 87% pass rate on the Advanced Placement calculus exam, significantly above the national average of 47%.

She said the key to academic success is a sense of trust and belonging fostered in the classroom. Peterson said she discusses her Swedish-Iranian immigrant background with her students and encourages them to meet with her one-on-one to share their own stories and struggles.

More: Oklahoman finalist for National Teacher of the Year says cooperation is key to future

Without that trust in their teacher, students are "so scared to make mistakes and are so scared to fail, but that's how we learn," she previously told The Oklahoman.

She brought that approach statewide after she won the 2022 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year award. Peterson traveled the state to interview public school educators in her Teachers of Oklahoma campaign.

“Everyone has a powerful story to share — listening to the stories of my students, and those of my fellow educators across Oklahoma, has helped me grow personally and professionally,” Peterson said in a news release announcing her national award win. “I believe that listening to one story after another has an exponential positive impact. It is an honor to be able to share the stories of our country’s brilliant students and dedicated educators as the next National Teacher of the Year.”

Peterson will spend another year out of the classroom as an ambassador of the teaching profession.

"Oklahoma is lucky to have her, and we are happy to share her talents with teachers and students across the country," state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said in a statement congratulating her award.

She and the other four finalists are expected to meet President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House next week.

In a pre-recorded video message, the first lady commended Peterson's work and her blog, One Good Thing, which records daily positive moments from the classroom. Jill Biden teaches English and writing at Northern Virginia Community College and is the first of the first ladies to maintain her career with her spouse in office.

"As both an educator and a dedicated journaler myself, I love that you share the beautiful and positive experiences occurring in your classroom to inspire others and capture what it means to be a teacher," Jill Biden said. "Thank you for showing the nation the power, purpose and the joy of our profession. The president and I are so proud of you."

Some of Peterson's former students credited her with the inspiration to become educators themselves. Union alumnus Kayden Kehe told CBS Mornings that Peterson "changed my life" when she recognized a love for teaching in him.

Former student Alyssa Fisher recalled the distinct vulnerability Peterson brought to her calculus class. Now, Fisher occupies Peterson's old classroom at Union with her own group of math students to teach.

"She had the boldness to come up to me and speak into me and said 'Alyssa, you would be so good at this job,'" Fisher said on CBS Mornings. "I just remember thinking about the way that she made me and the rest of her students feel, and its a feeling like no other."

Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nuria’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma math educator crowned National Teacher of the Year