BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — An environmental science teacher at Broken Arrow Public Schools has been named Oklahoma's Teacher of the Year for 2018.
Gradel has taught at Broken Arrow Public Schools for 21 years.
A 29-year veteran educator, Gradel began her teaching career after receiving one of the first women's basketball scholarships to West Virginia University.
One of Gradel's biggest student project was instructing her students to design a large-scale aquaponics system.
The system provided clean water and a sustainable food system to raise fish and plants for impoverished orphans in a remote region of Kenya.
After months of research and data collection, Gradel and her students then traveled to Africa to complete the system.
The winner is chosen after extensive interviews with 12 finalists by a 20-member panel of judges.