Two Henrico County teachers will soon take their lessons far beyond the classroom — one to Africa, the other to London and Quebec. 

Amanda Drinnon, an English teacher at the Advanced Career Education Center at Hermitage High School, and Ellen Jewell, a social studies teacher at Brookland Middle School, have been named recipients of the 2025 REB Award for Teaching Excellence. Each will receive a $15,000 grant to support travel and study projects that connect their subjects to real-world experiences. 

The Community Foundation and the REB Foundation present the awards each year to recognize Richmond-area educators for creativity and dedication in teaching. Fifteen winners and 13 finalists were selected this year from nominations by students, parents and colleagues. 

Drinnon plans to visit six African countries to study landscapes, cultures and wildlife as part of her approach to teaching global literature. 

“I’m just so happy that I get to do all of these incredible things and bring them back to my school,” Drinnon said. “The ACE Center at Hermitage has a diverse population of students, and I want to make them feel included in our programs. I want to experience various cultures, and we’re going to come back here and embrace the cultures we have here at our school.” 

Jewell will travel to London and Quebec to explore British and Canadian perspectives on the American Revolution and how those views continue to influence the United States’ relationships abroad. 

“[I ]plan to bring what I discover in the U.K. and Canada back to my students because, so often, history is only taught from the perspective of the winner,” Jewell said. 

A 30-year teaching veteran and teacher fellow at Brookland Middle, Jewell also mentors other educators. 

Five other Henrico teachers were named finalists for the 2025 REB Award for Teaching Excellence, each receiving $1,000: Nirali Jantrania of Deep Run High School, Sarahann Wicker of Holman Middle School, Lindsey Hurlburt of Douglas S. Freeman High School, Kristen Knarr Roberts of Tuckahoe Elementary School and Mary Dunaway of George Moody Middle School.