“I feel very honored,” McNeil told The Herald Journal. “The team that I come from is so collaborative. I couldn’t do my job without them.”

On Feb. 16, McNeil received the award at the UAESP Mid-Winter Conference in Saint George after being nominated and selected by her peers. According to the announcement, administrators around the district agreed McNeil is hardworking, organized, and the type of colleague to “drop everything and help wherever she can.”

“She is a hard worker who wants to make sure things are taken care of promptly, as she becomes aware of them,” said Glen Harris, principal of Wellsville Elementary School in the announcement. “She is thoughtful in her approach to solving problems and ensures things run smoothly.”

McNeil has worked for Cache School District since 2009, when she started her career teaching first and fourth grade at Providence Elementary School. She has also worked as a literacy facilitator at Wellsville Elementary, Mountainside Elementary and Cedar Ridge Elementary.

McNeil said while she loved being a teacher, she felt she could extend her influence and build relationships with students more as an administrator.

“That’s my favorite part is when students come up and talk to me to work things out and having positive interactions even without difficult situations,” she said.

Four years ago, McNeil took the administrative position at Summit Elementary, where she has worked with her team to develop different school-wide models and approaches to teaching and learning that have now become models in the district, said the announcement.

“She is incredible with data, data collection, and data analysis,” said River Heights Elementary School Principal Stacie Williamson in the announcement. “She uses it to target areas of weakness and then comes up with really good ideas on how to make small changes for systematic results.”

Administrators also agreed that, in addition to her innovation and focus on using data to improve her school, McNeil is an incredible colleague who is willing to share ideas and strategies, work with others, and support other administrators and schools, said the announcement.

“She has such a positive outlook on her work as an administrator and provides a wonderful example to all who come in contact with her,” said Nibley Elementary School Principal Cindy King. “I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to work with and learn from her.”

Aimee said the work she does would not be possible without the support of the district’s administrators.

“We have great collaboration and teamwork,” McNeil said. “Together we make things happen.”

According to her, that is the biggest lesson she has learned since she started her position at Summit Elementary.

“Every day is different from the day before,” she said. “I have learned that I need to lean even more on my team and be even more collaborative and glean from that support.”