Shelia Phillips has taught at Arrowhead Elementary School for fifty years. In her time teaching in Cherry Creek Schools, she has impacted over 10,000 students.
“I’ve been happy to spend my life this way. It makes me happy and keeps me happy, and hopefully makes kids happy,” said Phillips.
Arrowhead Elementary threw Shelia a surprise 50th Golden Jubilee celebration to honor her service to the district.
CCSD Superintendent Christopher Smith said during the celebration of Phillips, “The lives that you have impacted and the people you have taught who then wanted to become teachers and
change the lives of more students is incredible—the number of lives you have touched over the last fifty years is insurmountable.”
Phillips has taught every grade level, as well as music, science, art, and reading. She also travels to Alaska and Tennessee every summer to train teachers.
“Shelia has truly dedicated her life's work to education and is still passionate about what she does,” said Principal Kelsey Jones. “She cares deeply about her students, their families, and her colleagues.”
Phillips recently attended the retirement party for one of her former students. Throughout her fiftieth celebration, she made it very clear that she is not ready for retirement herself.
Phillips also works alongside one of her former students, Micaela Villarreal, as fellow teachers at Arrowhead Elementary.
“It's surreal to be a teacher with her. I was so excited to interact with her again and call her a coworker and friend,” Villarreal said. “She's definitely been an influence on me wanting to do the same exact thing because she was a huge supporter of me. Regardless of skill level, she always made sure the kids knew that they were smart and could do what they put their mind to. She makes education and learning fun.”
Despite Phillips' many years as a veteran teacher, Principal Jones notes, “Shelia is always learning and growing, that's one of the things that I appreciate about her even after 50 years in education. And I think that 
makes her such an asset to our community and to our students because she's always looking for better ways to serve kids.”
