WENTZVILLE, Mo. – A local teacher has won $500 for helping students in need. Not only does Kaycee Dragone teach 7th-grade science at Wentzville Middle School of the Wentzville School District, but she also offers counseling services to adolescents at a private practice in Troy, Mo. On top of that, Dragone coaches cheerleading at Wentzville Middle School and is currently in the process of earning her PhD.

Her mom, Kelly Ewing, nominated Dragone for KPLR’s Tools For Teachers award of $500 from Weber Chevrolet after she noticed the difference she was making in young people’s lives.

“She will tell you it’s not important how much money you have, or the car you drive, but rather that she was important in a life of a child,” Ewing wrote in her nomination. “If she impacts one child to do the right thing, make better choices, or help them through a crisis, she is completely fulfilled.”