For Scott Drake, Forreston is more than a workplace. It’s the place that raised him, shaped him, and now gives him the opportunity to pour back into the next generation. A 2011 graduate, he remembers his teachers and coaches vividly—many of whom are now his colleagues. “Mr. Heinz was my English teacher, then my principal, and now he’s my boss again. Mr. Zick was my chemistry teacher and baseball coach. Now I get to work alongside them. That’s super cool.”

Drake’s career path started in Polo, where he spent four years teaching elementary PE. When a position opened at Forreston during the COVID era, he jumped at the chance to return. “Interviewing for a job during COVID was wild,” he recalls. “But being back here has been the best connection. It’s home.”

Now in his sixth year at Forreston, Drake teaches junior high PE, stepping into the role long held by the legendary Mr. Schurr, who retired after 31 years. “He’s the goat,” Drake says with a laugh. “He was my coach, and he even won Illinois PE Teacher of the Year in 2003. If I can do half of what he did, I’ll be successful.” He also teaches classroom driver education and previously led strength and conditioning courses at the high school. Coaching remains close to his heart—junior high girls basketball at present, with stints in baseball and golf along the way.

Another figure who shaped Drake’s journey was Coach Jonathan Schneiderman, his varsity basketball coach. “He didn’t give up on me,” Drake recalls. “I hadn’t seen the floor in three seasons, but he convinced me to stay out my senior year. Coming off the bench on a team that was one game from state ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made.” Years later, Drake coached alongside him and now even teaches Schneiderman’s son and coaches his daughter. “It’s truly a full-circle moment,” he reflects.

For Drake, physical education is about far more than push-ups and sit-ups. “There’s so much more now,” he explains. “At the high school level, it’s about preparing kids to stay healthy after graduation—without a weight room at their disposal. At the junior high level, it’s about sparking interest in movement, showing them they can do more than they thought. Even just walking the track matters. It builds habits for life.”

The district’s commitment to wellness excites him. Forreston junior high students now walk or run the track after lunch every day. “It’s been huge,” Drake says. “It wakes you up, gets the blood flowing, helps focus—especially for our students with ADD and ADHD. Studies show physical activity improves brain activity. PE isn’t just about health; it makes you better prepared to learn.”

Drake also serves on the Education Foundation Board, which raises money through an annual golf outing and channels it into grants and scholarships. “It’s the best thing—we get to give money away,” he says. “Whether it’s a standing desk or classroom tools, the stuff our teachers request is so cool. You see right away how it helps kids.”

Away from school, his life is full with his wife, a nurse at the children’s hospital in Madison, and their 18-month-old daughter. “Someday I’ll get back to more coaching,” he says, “but right now it’s parenting time.”

Ask him what makes Forreston remarkable, and he doesn’t hesitate. “It’s the people,” he says. “Staff, students, community—everyone here makes it special. I’ve never had a day where I dreaded coming in. Mondays are Mondays, sure, but I’ve never felt like I didn’t want to be here.”

That’s the kind of full-circle story Forreston does best: a student who grew into a teacher, a player who became a coach, and now a leader shaping opportunities for others. Scott Drake’s story is living proof that when Forreston raises you, it never really lets you go.