I am deeply humbled and honored to be a part of such an extraordinary group of educators. This award is a reflection of the incredible support I have received from my family, parents, students, colleagues, and administrators through the years. It validates my efforts to continually grow and improve my teaching practices so that I can inspire and ignite my students' love of learning. William Butler Yeats said it best, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."

Annette Drake Brookville, OH | 7-12, Science, 2023

The official biography below was current at the time of the award.

Annette “Ann” Drake has been an educator for over 25 years and has spent the last 23 years teaching at Brookville Intermediate School at a variety of grade levels and subjects: eighth grade science, seventh grade language arts, seventh and eighth grade mathematics and science, and fifth grade mathematics and science with the last twelve years teaching seventh grade science. She started her teaching career at St. Charles Borromeo School. Because she grew up observing the challenges her brother had with learning disabilities, Ann believes that every student can learn science, they just need a teacher to help them believe they can by supporting their learning journey. She places an emphasis on differentiated learning through the use of inquiry lessons, a Problem Based Learning opportunity, and phenomena learning through the use of the GRID method. Ann works to foster creativity, higher level learning, and problem solving skills in her seventh grade science classes by giving students the opportunity to complete student created experiments, hands-on activities and numerous labs. She is the recipient of the 2015-2016 Dayton Regional STEM Center: STEM Education Collaboration Award; 2014-2015 Ohio STEM Educator: Air Force Association award; and 2007 Honeywell’s Space Academy for Educators. She has been awarded multiple grants and held several leadership positions in state organizations (Science Education Council of Ohio, Environmental Education Council of Ohio, and Ohio Earth Science Teachers Association) and has presented science sessions at the state and national level. Ann earned a B.S. in civil engineering from Ohio Northern University and an M.Ed. in elementary education from Wright State University. She is certified in first through eighth grade elementary education.

Know a great teacher like Annette Drake? Nominate them for PAEMST!