Honoring Faculty & Staff

As the 2020-2021 school year comes to a close, the faculty and staff of St. Mark’s gathered together in the Great Hall one last time before the summer break. Eugene McDermott Headmaster David W. Dini honored several colleagues for their longevity and special service to the School. 

The Ackerman Character Education Award was established by the Edward and Wilhelmina Ackerman Family to recognize a teacher whose work is focused on the total development of his or her students, with particular emphasis on character and morality. The 2021 recipient is history teacher Bryan Boucher. 

The John H. Murrell Excellence-in-Teaching Award was established as a means of recognizing and rewarding teachers for outstanding classroom teaching. It is also a method for providing incentive to mid-career teachers to remain in the teaching profession. The program is intended to be a tangible expression of gratitude to members of the St. Mark’s faculty for their outstanding work. This year’s recipients are math teacher Jeff Hale, history teacher Michele Santosuosso, and ceramics instructor Scott Ziegler. 
 
The Superior Staff Awards are given to members of the non-teaching staff, nominated by their colleagues, for their outstanding support of the parents, faculty, staff, and students of St. Mark’s. The 2021 recipients are security team member Doug Brady and Development Assistant Dansby Erwin. A special award was also presented to Erin Woods for her tireless work leading the School’s Food Services team this year.

The Ralph B. Rogers Alumni Award is given annually to a teacher or staff member of St. Mark’s School of Texas who has made an important and pioneering contribution to the mission of the School and the School community. The 2021 finalists for this award are math teacher Janis Oprea and science teacher Doug Rummel and the 2021 recipient is Nurse Julie Doerge. 
 
Finally, the School bid a special farewell to its retiring faculty and staff, including Patti Frank, Rebecca Jenkins, Catherine Wetzel, Joe Milliet, Verna Smith, Doc Browning, and Steve “Hollywood” Walker.