Pattonville High School driver education teacher Tom Iffrig was selected as a national Teacher of Excellence award recipient by The National Road Safety Foundation and the American Driver & Traffic Safety Education Association (ADTSEA).Five Teachers of Excellence were honored on July 25 at the ADTSEA national conference in Vancouver, Washington, where they will present innovative lesson plans to their peers.
In May, Iffrig was named the 2022 Missouri Teacher Excellence Award nominee by the Missouri Driver Safety Education Association (MODSEA) during its annual state conference.
Iffrig, a Pattonville alumnus, started teaching in Pattonville in 1997 as a middle school health and PE teacher. In 2007, he moved to Pattonville High School as a driver education teacher and has previously served as a coach for boys and girls soccer at Pattonville High School.
Shared in the national Teacher of Excellence press release, "Iffrig had been teaching physical education and health in Pattonville for 12 years and wanted to change to an area where he felt he could make more of an impact on the lives of his students. Since becoming involved in traffic safety education in 2007, he said he's poured his heart into becoming a better driver education teacher, attending conferences and taking courses. He also now teaches as a part-time driving instructor in a neighboring school district. He's brought many innovations in driver instruction to his schools, teaching about new technology in cars and also using simulators. He encourages his students to be active in community service, leading by example with his involvement in the annual Seat Belt Challenge in Pattonville.”