June 6, 2023 -- During her prep period, Heights High School art teacher Nancy Rich-Drehs received a call on her desk phone. After picking up the phone, a gentleman on the other end of the line spoke about an art award she won. Rich-Drehs thought the call was a prank: in fact, it was not.

 

“To be honest, I was shocked. I had no clue,” said Rich-Drehs. “It’s something that I never knew existed and something I did not apply for. I was really humbled by it.”

 

Rich-Drehs was one of three recipients among hundreds of candidates that earned the Cleveland Institute of Art’s (CIA) 2nd Annual Excellence in Teaching Award. Nominees for the award are identified by the CIA based on connections made throughout the recruiting process, outcomes of their students’ portfolios, and their commitment to providing opportunities for students to show their work and consider the best art colleges in the United States. 

 

Rich-Drehs began inspiring Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District students through the arts in 2004 when she started teaching at Noble Elementary. Starting in the 2011-2012 academic year, she began teaching at Heights High and has been there since.

 

Rich-Drehs currently teaches photography, metals, and jewelry. During her tenure at Heights High, she has taught art explorations, ceramics I-III, photography I-III and metals I-III. She is responsible for adding the metals program to the curriculum.

 

Rich-Drehs received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Metals and a minor in Industrial Design from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and later earned her master's degree in Art Education from Case Western Reserve University. Rich-Drehs completed her art segment in Florence, Italy. 

 

With a diverse background in the arts, Rich-Drehs is dedicated to ensuring students are continuously engaged in their coursework and are provided many opportunities to express their creativity regardless of their skill level. 

 

“We really try to make art education fun for the kids and part of it is coming up with fun and exciting projects for them to do,” said Rich-Drehs. “I think it’s very important for students to understand that you don’t have to be this amazing drawer. A lot of people associate art with drawing and that’s a raw talent.

 

We have so many kids at Heights that have so many hidden talents and we try to help them find those talents. I try to give these kids every opportunity by trying different kinds of mediums, and that was one of the reasons why I wanted to bring the metals to the high school.”

 

Her passion for art and devotion to educate students to reach their greatest potential of creativity makes Rich-Drehs a great asset to CH-UH.
 

“I love my job, I love my kids,” Rich-Drehs said. “We have many talented students and I love seeing them blossom and create. I’ve been teaching for a long time but I still love getting up every morning and going to work.”