Schenectady 'teacher of the year' accepts honor, returns to lesson

PHOTOGRAPHER: Kathleen Moore

A biology teacher who is willing to dance through her classroom, pretend to rip apart enzymes and ask passersby to donate their DNA for student analysis is Schenectady’s teacher of the year.

Annie Chien, who teaches at Schenectady High School, was surprised by a morning visit from Superintendent John Yagielski. Her students burst into cheers when he announced her award.

But Chien didn’t seem surprised. She calmly looked at the crowd of journalists and teachers and asked them to donate strands of hair for the students’ DNA experiments.

“Would you guys like to donate your DNA? We need African, Hispanic…” she began. The crowd stayed silent, watching her, and she added, “Are you expecting me to say something? Really, we need DNA!”

Then she posed for one picture, with her students, and went back to her lesson.

For more on the story, see Friday’s print and online editions of The Gazette.