By PATRICK BUTLER Staff Writer, PioneerLocal.com

Nikki Krieger regularly brings ladybugs, ants, tadpoles and other critters to her 5th-grade class at Nettelhorst School, 3252 N. Broadway. But everyone’s fine with it.

In fact, they’ve even given her an award.

The fifth-grade teacher with a reputation for thinking outside the box was one of 24 winners of this year’s DRIVE (Delivering Results through Innovative and Visionary Education) Awards at an “Oscar like” ceremony at the Chicago Hilton.

During her seven years at Nettelhorst - most of them in kindergarten - she has organized “Mommy and Me” days, dads’ picnics, and regularly held end-of-school release parties for the butterflies and smaller animals and raffled off the frogs.

The small-town Michigan transplant never expected to be a Chicago Public Schools teacher when she and some friends came here to spend a summer a few years ago.

When her friends opted to stay in Chicago, Krieger dropped off her resume at Nettelhorst and promptly got hired to teach computers and kindergarten.

Surprised as she was by her decision, Krieger admits she was even more surprised by the DRIVE Award.

“I was shocked. So shocked I didn’t go up on stage right away. I thought it was someone else until they told me to get up there,” said Krieger, who hopes to eventually get into school administration without giving up working directly with kids. “I want to be in a position where I can try to help everybody.”

Each of the winners received a $2,500 check, a $1,000 stipend for their school, and membership on the Teacher Leadership Advisory Council, which meets with Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan four times a year.

Krieger says she’s already planning on using part of that money to get a frog habitat, magnifying glasses and more tadpoles.

“And I still plan on doing ladybugs and ants again,” she laughed.

Source: PioneerLocal.com