Middle School English teacher Andrew Dolan was named The Mark Stephens 1760 Chair for Inspirational and Engaging Teaching during the end-of-year faculty breakfast. The Mark Stephens 1760 Chair for Inspirational and Engaging Teaching is awarded every three years to a current full-time faculty member of the Lower, Middle, or Upper School who teaches three courses or more and has completed at least a third year of teaching at the Academy. The selection will be based on outstanding, engaging teaching which promotes a creative, experiential, innovative spirit and stimulates intellect, curiosity, imagination and academic risk-taking in their students, as well as inspires interest in, and passion for, their subject. Head of Middle School Jonas Jeswald presented Dolan with the award:

"As I prepared to present this Chair today, I found myself thinking about what made Mark Stephens great. Mark was creative, he was curious, he was imaginative, he was fun, he was passionate, he was always willing to try new things while constantly thinking about how he could connect with his students and build relationships with them. Mark and I met throughout the eight years I worked with him. Each time he would arrive with document full of ideas, typically printed in a whole bunch of colors, and often many pages long. 

Today’s recipient of the Mark Stephen’s Chair is different than Mark, yet from my perspective, the best of Mark is alive in him. Like Mark, he loves to think, to brainstorm, to try, to read, to process (his last triennial reflection letter was a whopping 19 pages long), and he is an absolute kid magnet who works across every area of our Middle School to figure out what makes them tick, to motivate them, to inspire them, to teach them. He engages our students on the athletic field, as an advisor, and most importantly in the classroom where, as one of his nominators wrote, “when you step into his room, you are transformed into another world, and usually one with a whole lot of diagrams, impressive drawings, and text scrawled all over the boards.” 

This recipient is constantly thinking about what he teaches, how he teaches it, and how he can make the content more accessible and engaging for his students. He thinks, creates, tries, asks for feedback and tries again. There are so many ways he has creatively tried to engage his students in the study of vocabulary, reading, and writing. 

As Department Head he has worked with his colleagues to assess what they are doing every year. He has done Kast grants, created units with graphic novels, shifted approaches, and listened well. He has also pushed the envelope a bit, working with the 8^th grade team and Director of Student Life Kate Cassidy to partner with Brightview Senior Living Center during the 8^th grade Memoir Unit. I wish you could have seen firsthand the relationships that many of the 8^th graders built with their memoir mentors this year. Adorable, inspiring, and heart-warming, are three descriptors that come to mind. He and his sixth-grade English colleagues have partnered with the sixth-grade science team to do a grade wide water project, which this spring saw multiple cross divisional share out moments on the Quad and in the 1^st and 2^nd grade classrooms. His humility in this work is powerful. He never wants to rock the boat too much, always has on his mind that we must prepare our students for the demands of Upper School, regularly wonders if he is making good decisions, pushing too much, not doing enough of this, or doing too much of that.

What I’m not sure he realizes is, that by taking the approach he does, by modeling passion, care, and love for his work, his students, and his colleagues, and being vulnerable by acknowledging he is not an expert in everything (he’d tell you he’s not an expert in anything), he is showing us all how to be lifelong learners, and how to be an inspiring and engaging teacher.  

And when I spoke with Mark just a few days ago to let him know who the recipient of this Chair would be, his response says it all: perfect choice. He and I then reminisced about a moment during one the check-ins Mark and I were having in the first or second year of this teacher’s Middle School career. Mark was sharing how he had just seen him in action, diagrams on the board, books all over the room… he’s got “it”, Mark excitedly told me with that Mark Stephens passion that you have to see to know. Boy was Mark right.  

Andrew Dolan, from the basketball court, to the football field, to the classroom and everywhere in between, thank you for promoting creativity, sparking curiosity, and being willing to inspire us to take risks and try new things. Please join me in thanking and congratulating Middle School English teacher and Department Head Andrew Dolan for receiving the Mark Stephens 1760 Chair for Inspirational and Engaging Teaching."

Congratulations Mr. Dolan!