Michelle Dressel,an eighth-grade social studies instructor and department chairwoman at Loch Raven Academy, was named Baltimore County?s Teacher of the Year at an emotional mid-day ceremony in Towson on Friday.
“I think what surprised me the most is the belief my principal and other educators had that I deserved this award among all the deserving teachers in Baltimore County,” she said.
But the car was a big surprise, too.
“When I learned there was [a] car, I was like, ?This can?t be true,? ” Dressel said. “School teachers don?t get new cars.”
They do in Baltimore County ? or at least use of one for a year. The gift from Toyota, along with a check from Comcast toward a new laptop, will be needed as Dressel spends the next year teaching and taking over teacher-representative duties from last year?s winner, Jodi Grosser-Gonzalez.
The 13-year teaching veteran, who graduated from Dulaney High School, will spend much of her time representing Baltimore County and public school teachers across the state and in Annapolis, working with state legislators on education issues from time to time.
Dressel has a bachelor?s degree in social sciences from Towson University and a Leadership in Teaching with a Technology Concentration master?s degree from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland in Baltimore.
She has helped tutor the school?s top Black Saga competition teams, contributed to the new statewide black history curriculum, integrated Internet and projection technologies into the school?s social studies program, written curriculum for the Baltimore County Office of Social Studies and developed a new Health, Law and Finance magnet for Loch Raven.
But she is a unique teacher, said Loch Raven Principal Linda Wilson, not just because of her efforts after school or writing for the county course outlines.
“This award is about what teachers do everyday in the class room,”Wilson said. “The real power is there. Teachers like Michelle accept the challenge every day of facing 40 students and get them to focus on something other than themselves ? which is often the words in front of them. She teaches them how to study history and what it means and why it is relevant today.”
