First year teacher Drew Hoover at École Senator Riley Middle School comes from a family of teachers, his grandparents, sister and uncle all teach school.

One uncle who is an RCMP member, went to school to be a teacher.

And at times didn't think he would follow that path, but after seven years of post-secondary education he's glad he did.

The Foothills School Division has nominated École Senator Riley Middle School teacher Drew Hoover for the Edwin Parr Teacher Award.

2017 Edwin Parr Teacher Award, is an annual award presented by the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) recognizing outstanding first-year teachers in each of the six ASBA Zones.

He graduated from the University of Lethbridge with bachelors degrees in education, majoring in social studies and physical education.

When you walk down the hallway with him, students are lifting their hands up for high-fives, teasing him about the Regina Pats hockey Jersey he is wearing with cargo shorts on a casual dress day.

Hoover said a couple of years ago his style of teaching might not have worked, let alone given him the chance to win an award for his first year of teaching.

"I'm a people person and especially the kids at this school they need relationships, they need people that want to know them, and care about them and care to get to know them."

And for him that happens naturally.

"I am genuinely interested in what these kids are doing outside of school."

 

He likes to know things like, do they watch hockey, what are they listening to, and what are they involved in.

"I get to know them on a professional, but also on a personal level, and because of that relationship piece with the students they give you so much more."

He added the focus in education right now is student centred focus.

"Informed practices, but it starts with knowing who is in your classroom. How do they learn and how do they acquire knowledge."

If you know who they are as people, you can use that to essentially help develop them in terms of their citizenship and in terms of being the best type of people they can be."

For Hoover it's not a Monday to Friday gig, he is a teacher all the time and he loves that part of his life,

He added it is also rewarding to be doing this job in the Foothills School Division, where he grew up going to school in Okotoks, but also spending time in High River doing things like jumping off the bridge and playing street hockey.

"I'm from here and that is massively rewarding, to give back to the community."

"A lot of kudos should be given to the division for the way they develop young teachers. It was crazy tough coming in here. I came in in the middle of the year.

He started at Senator Riley last year coming in half-way through the year to a class that had a couple of teachers quit.

The support he got from fellow teachers, and people in the community, makes this a shared nomination, he added.

The Edwin Parr Teacher Award, an annual award presented by the Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) recognizes outstanding first-year teachers in each of the six ASBA Zones.