From a young age, Jammie Phillips knew she loved music and wanted to pursue her passion. Her love for musical instruments led her to become the band director at McKee Middle School. Jammie shares, “I picked up a flute in 7th grade. Once I got the hang of it, I was a natural. I did not have an interest in anything else.”
Jammie’s love for music and her students radiates in the city of Montgomery. She has the esteemed honor of becoming the 2023 Montgomery Public Schools Teacher of the Year. She received this award during her second year of relocating to the Capitol City and proudly teaching for MPS.
Jammie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. From there, she graduated with a Master of Science in Education focusing on Leadership from Walden University and continued with an Educational Specialist in Administrator Leadership from Walden University.
As a teacher, Jammie builds her students’ confidence more than anything and pushes them to want more, do more, and avoid being a product of a bleak environment. Her career spans across Title I, 100% lunch schools. Jammie shares, “My goal for my students is to be “disruptors.” When I say disruptor, I do not mean it as a derogatory term. My goal for them is to infiltrate spaces that have historically not been for them. The students automatically feel that they are not welcome in specific spaces, such as an orchestral environment, because they barely see themselves represented. I struggle to get my kids to audition for all-state and different honor bands. They assume they are not good enough for these spaces because they have historically not seen themselves represented.”
After retiring from teaching, Jammie looks forward to a second career training music educators. In addition to writing music publications, she’s working on her first resource book for music educators graduating and entering the field from historically black colleges and universities and their unique challenges.
Jammie Phillips is married to Doron A. Phillips, Assistant Principal at Lovejoy High School in Georgia. They have three children: Jayden (17), Dariana (15), and Christian Marshall (10).
