Nakoda Elementary School music teacher recognized for making a difference in his student’s lives

Music is a valuable skill for kids to learn, and a teacher on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation has been recognized by his community for the work he's doing.

MINI THNI - Drew Van Allen is in his 10th year as music teacher at Nakoda Elementary School, west of Calgary but this year turned out to be a little bit more special than all the rest.

At the end of March, Van Allen and five other teachers from all across Canada were nominated at the Junos for the 2025 MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award. Van Allen didn’t win but says it was an honour to be recognized.

“The kids sent me off the day of with a red carpet, the whole atrium was filled (with students and) banners that they made,” Van Allen said.

“I still have kids coming up to me saying, ‘it doesn’t matter that you didn’t win, just being nominated was a win in and of itself’ and that’s true.”

Nakoda Elementary principal Aimee Cutknife said Van Allen was nominated by the schools’ vice-principal and said it was amazing that he made it to the finals out of all the teachers in Canada. She said he’s invested in the local community on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation.

“He wants to know about the people, he wants to know about the culture and he wants to know about the language,” she said. “He’s continuously learning about what connects to the kids so he brings that out of them and then they have something to relate to.”

Traditional instruments

Nakoda Elementary School has students from kindergarten to grade five and Cutknife says Van Allen teaches the students a variety of genres and uses traditional instruments to play them.

“They’re so excited about all of his concerts, his programs, his music videos, whatever it is, it always incorporates the kids’ culture and language,” she said.

The students have played country music, grunge, heavy metal and an 80s tribute over the years.

“When people hear Nirvana but they hear it being played by a bunch of grade fours, that has an Indigenous twist, it immediately creates a bridge that we weren’t intending to do but it just it intrinsically happens within the project,” said Van Allen.

Grateful

Van Allen said he’s grateful to have the support of his administration who provide all the tools he needs.

“If you don’t have an administration that values music education and puts faith in you as a music educator, it’s a real loss,” he said.

“Because math is important, science is important -- but music has this additional benefit that helps kids develop self-love, self-definition, expression, a sense of value and importance built right into the curriculum.”

Van Allen credits the community’s support for being welcoming and trusting him with teaching their children.

“I’ve always had a hard time with words, I’ve never had a hard time with music,” he said. “I love playing music and I think my role is just to show (the students) how fun it can be and if I’m mimicking and demonstrating how enjoyable it is for me, I think intrinsically that just rubs off on them.”

Building confidence

Van Allen has watched his young students come out of their shell and blossom in his classes, building their confidence.

“This provides all the kids a safe space to explore themselves, to figure out where they fit in, to just make mistakes without any fear of consequences,” he said. “Because that’s where your true learning comes is by stumbling through all your mistakes.”

In 10 years in the Indigenous community, Van Allen still sees many of his former student’s who’ve grown up.

“I was just filling up with gas the other day and I have one of my students behind the counter say ‘because of your music class I fell in love with guitar’,” he said. “That’s a win, right? I can retire right there!”

Van Allen and his students make videos of their music and post them on YouTube here.