Gabriella Netsch, a driver education instructor and owner of Yankee Driving School in Wallingford, has been named a Teacher of Excellence by the National Road Safety Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing crashes, deaths and injuries on U.S. highways.
Netsch and two other awardees were honored July 22 at the national conference of the American Driver & Traffic Safety Education Association, where they presented innovative lesson plans to their peers.
"Driver education teachers are dedicated to the young people they serve and often serve as role models in ways that go far beyond driver training," said David Reich, public relations director at The National Road Safety Foundation and a member of the ADTSEA Board of Directors. "These Teachers of Excellence have demonstrated true passion for the important work they do to make driving safely a lifelong experience."
The awards are given in memory of Francis Kenel, a traffic safety engineer, former director of AAA, author of driver education training materials and mentor to countless driver education instructors.