2 Henrico teachers win 2025 REB Awards

, and Citizen Staff Reports

November 7, 2025 . 11:45 AM

2 min read

Amanda Drinnon, English teacher at the Advanced Career Education Center at Hermitage, reacts to the news that she is a 2025 recipient of the REB Award for Teaching Excellence. (Courtesy Henrico Schools)

Two Henrico County Public Schools educators have earned the 2025 REB Award for Teaching Excellence and will receive $15,000 grants to continue their love of learning and pursue cutting-edge study in their fields.

The Community Foundation and REB Foundation award the grants annually to recognize and support Richmond-area teachers who have distinguished themselves through inspiring classroom instruction.

Throughout the region, 15 award-recipients and 13 finalists were selected from educators nominated by students, parents and colleagues.

The HCPS teachers were surprised with the good news Nov. 6 at their schools by division leaders, administrators, colleagues and students.

The teachers and their awards are:

• Amanda Drinnon, an English teacher at the Advanced Career Education Center at Hermitage – $15,000 to embark on a six-country African safari to explore diverse landscapes, cultures and wildlife, informing the teaching of global literature and helping foster students’ critical thinking.

• Ellen Jewell, a social studies teacher at Brookland Middle School – $15,000 to travel to London and Quebec to research British and Canadian perspectives on the American Revolution and investigate how these historical narratives continue to shape the United States’ relationships with the U.K. and Canada.

"I'm just so happy that I get to do all of these incredible things and bring them back to my school," Drinnon said. "I'm so proud of the ACE Center at Hermitage, and I want to show off our school and all of the accolades that we get here."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. I'm so honored to be able to do that and to be able to share them with my colleagues.

"We have our vet science program, and I'm going to be able to talk about an African safari with them. I'm just so excited."

The school also had a grant recipient in 2023, when ACE Center teacher Andrew Givens used his award to travel to New Zealand to study a youth entrepreneurship program.

Ellen Jewell, social studies teacher and teacher fellow at Brookland Middle School (at right), is congratulated Thursday by Ryan Young, the Henrico School Board’s Fairfield District representative, and Amy Cashwell, HCPS superintendent. (Courtesy Henrico Schools)

Jewell plans to bring what she discovers in the U.K and Canada "back to my students, because so often, history is only taught from the perspective of the winner."

Jewell serves as a teacher fellow at Brookland. HCPS teacher fellows are experienced instructors who spend part of their work time serving as coaches and mentors to other teachers. She is in her 30th year of teaching.

In addition to the two award recipients, five other HCPS teachers were finalists:

• Nirali Jantrania, Deep Run High School: $1,000;

• Sarahann Wicker, Holman Middle School: $1,000;

• Lindsey Hurlburt, Douglas S. Freeman High School: $1,000;

• Kristen Knarr Roberts, Tuckahoe Elementary School: $1,000;

• Mary Dunaway, George Moody Middle School: $1,000.

The selection process included a nomination, an interview and submission of a project proposal. Proposals include an approximation of the amount needed to fund the candidate’s proposed project.