Mary Lee Drouin is an English teacher at Burrillville High School in Rhode Island. For the 21 years she has been teaching, she has remained committed to both innovation and tradition in education. School Stories, aired on the Learning Channel, documented a week in her classroom as she helped students find the wisdom of the classics through the barriers of academic challenge. Her efforts as recounted in G. Wayne Miller's book Coming of Age, published by Random House in 1995, have been praised in The Washington Post, Teacher Magazine, and Education Week.
After studying English and secondary education at Rhode Island College, Mary Lee went on to pursue a career as both teacher and performer. A singer-songwriter with the traditional music ensemble Pendragon, she has been honored as a regional top vocalist, nominated with Pendragon for three consecutive Boston Music Awards. Mary Lee also serves as artistic director of the Blackstone River Theatre.