Resiliency key to Vail educator's journey to become Arizona Teacher of the Year

For students and families in the Vail School District, Lisa Scott’s selection as Arizona’s 2027 Teacher of the Year is more than a statewide honor. It is a story unfolding in a local classroom at Esmond Station K-8 School, where an eighth grade science and social studies teacher has rebuilt her career after sepsis led to the loss of both hands and both feet. Scott has returned to teaching with new technology, classroom support and a determination to show students that disability is not the end of a person’s purpose.

Scott, 45, became critically ill after waking with a kidney stone the day after Christmas in 2022. A hospital sent her home to allow the stone to pass, but within a day she lost consciousness and went into septic shock. Doctors used vasopressors to keep blood circulating to her vital organs. Those drugs constrict blood vessels in the hands and feet, and the resulting tissue loss ultimately led to amputations. After she became medically stable, Scott underwent the procedures in May 2023.

The 22 year educator spent about a year and a half away from the classroom learning how to manage daily life again. She said visits from Esmond Station Principal Lainie Kitzmiller and Vail Superintendent John Carruth helped convince her that returning to teaching remained possible. Both leaders told her that her work did not have to look exactly as it had before, and Carruth told her the district would provide the same kind of accommodations for a teacher that it would provide for a student facing similar circumstances.

Scott returned to Esmond Station in July 2024. The district adapted her classroom and work routines around her needs. Instead of writing through a laptop projected on a whiteboard, she uses an iPad and an Apple Pencil fastened to her wrist with a Velcro cuff. Her handwriting appears on a larger than usual television for students to see. Black tape marks on the floor create clear paths around tables, helping students keep belongings out of the way of her power wheelchair, and the school installed a power operated door.

A teacher in residence also works alongside Scott during the school year, helping with classroom activities. Andrea Andrews, who previously worked at Esmond Station as a special education paraprofessional, now holds that role while pursuing her goal of becoming a special education case manager. Andrews said the position is giving her experience in another area of education and that she has enjoyed the work. The additional support gives Scott more room to focus on instruction while helping the district develop another educator.

The school began preparing students for Scott’s return before she officially resumed teaching. In April 2024, Kitzmiller and Scott arranged a solar eclipse viewing event so Scott could return to campus and explain the science of the eclipse. Students were able to ask questions about what had happened to her, and Kitzmiller said children responded with compassion. When Scott came back the following school year, students recognized her from the event and approached her as the same teacher they had met while learning about the sun, moon and shadows.

At Esmond Station, Scott has made her disability part of the science curriculum rather than avoiding the subject. She has explained the science behind her own condition and invited prosthetists to speak with students about their work. That approach, Kitzmiller said, turns Scott’s experience into a learning opportunity. Scott’s classroom tools and routines also demonstrate problem solving in a practical way, allowing students to see how technology and thoughtful design can remove barriers.

Carruth said Scott was already an outstanding educator before her medical emergency, but that her recovery has revealed the force of her commitment to young people. Scott said she wants to advocate for public education throughout Arizona, calling it the place where her heart is. Her message extends beyond science and social studies. In her acceptance speech, she said schools must help Arizona students become good people and feel valued and supported, just as her students and community supported her. She also described the responsibility of ensuring that the best in humanity outweighs the worst.

Carruth nominated Scott for the statewide honor earlier this year. The application required written responses to eight questions, information about initiatives at her school, draft speeches, a two minute introductory video and several recommendation letters. After advancing to the final 10, Scott traveled to Phoenix for an interview in which judges tested how clearly candidates could discuss their profession under tight time limits. She learned on Friday, Aug. 7, that she had been chosen. On the following Monday, Esmond Station staff celebrated by wearing University of Arizona clothing in recognition of Scott’s alma mater, Eagles gear for her favorite football team, or orange for limb loss awareness.

The award makes Scott Vail’s first teacher of the year in 35 years. It includes a $15,000 cash award, a plaque and medal, and the chance to represent Arizona in the National Teacher of the Year Program. Her schedule will include training at Google, travel to Washington, D.C., International Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, and national induction events. She will also receive a Fiesta Bowl experience package and parade participation, and may be considered for an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University’s College of Education. For Tucson area students watching Scott teach from her power wheelchair, however, her most immediate lesson is already visible every day: a classroom can be redesigned, a career can be rebuilt, and a person’s circumstances do not have to determine what comes next.