Congratulations DMC Teachers of the Year!

24/25 DMC Teachers of the Year

Early Education Teacher of the Year: Nicole Schultz 

Mrs. Schultz is the Lead Teacher for the 3's half-day program and Assistant Teacher for the PreK and JrK classes. She recently celebrated her ten-year work anniversary at DMC. 

Top word from her peers to describe Mrs.  Schultz:  Fun

• Nicole can get the best smiles out of our students. 
• She comes to work every day full of energy.  
• She loves the Lord and lets that be known through her words, actions, and t-shirts.
  
   

Additional accolades from her peers: 

• Her light for Christ shines and she spreads that light to those around her.  
• Her interactions with staff show her desire to be a disciple of Christ.  
• By loving the kids she spreads that love to the parents.  She is great at welcoming them into our classroom and walking beside them while they raise their children.  
• She is a prayer warrior for our staff, children and families and that is one way of putting her roots deeply in Christ and she is overflowing with thankfulness.

Elementary Teacher of the Year: Mr. Barker 

Mr. Barker is a second grade teacher at DMC and is in his 11th year teaching at DMC. He even completed his student teaching at DMC before being hired full-time. 

Top word from his peers to describe Mr. Barker: Creative!

• Mr. Barker has always had a very engaging environment in his classroom.  He uses many different teaching styles to grab his students’ attention. 
• Mr. Barker is known to have special visitors he claims are his cousins who come to his classroom to help teach, from Master SkyBarker and Agent BarkHair to Sheriff BarkLaw and Dr. BarkenStein. They all have a strange resemblance to Mr. Barker himself, who is nowhere to be found when the cousins visit.  
• No one hooks the students better on learning than Mr. Barker.  The amount of excitement I have seen about everyday activities is truly amazing.

Additional accolades from his peers: 

• He is the ultimate classroom shepherd, calmly inviting students in to learn and grow from Jesus' teachings.
• Mr. Barker works tirelessly to equip his students with head and heart knowledge so that they can take the next steps in the faith and school journey.  
• Mr. Barker nurtures hearts in such incredible ways, using scripture to lead students in caring for others, which creates the ultimate class culture.  
• Mr. Barker is like the CEO of DMC...the Chief Encouragement Officer.  His impact reaches far beyond his walls as he influences so many students in all grades.

Middle School Teacher of the Year: Mrs. Katie Norwood

Mrs. Norwood is in her third year teaching 7th grade English Language Arts at DMC Middle School.

Top words from her peers to describe Mrs. Norwood: Positive Leader and Encourager

• Mrs. Norwood is quick to encourage students of their identity in the Lord and their purpose in His world.  
• Mrs. Norwood has been a leader on our staff since day one.  She not only serves as a Christian Professional Learning Community leader for the English Language Arts department, but she also humbly steps in to help new teachers with classroom management, veteran teachers with assessment rubrics, and our entire staff with research based strategies.  
• She genuinely knows her students and has a desire for each student to succeed. She brings such positivity and is always solutions-focused. 
  
  

Additional accolades from her peers:

• Mrs. Norwood goes above and beyond to assist students, support other teachers, and bring Christ into her content every day.
• Her class has authentic, spontaneous, and planned Biblical worldview integration that helps our students see Christ in literature, writing, and language.  
• In her lessons, she looks for ways to make learning real and meaningful for students. She pushes them to look at their content with a biblical worldview and encourages students to dig deep into their own faith.
• She cares very deeply about her work and knows that the work she is doing today will have lifelong impact on the students she teaches.

High School Teacher Mr. Zane Vredenburg

Mr. Zane Vredenburg teaches High School Art and has been teaching at DMC for ten years. 

Top words from his peers to describe Mr. Vredenburg: Accepting and Welcoming 

• Mr. Vredenburg’s demeanor creates a welcoming environment where students feel safe. He uses multiple teaching strategies and makes all students, art students and non-art students, feel welcome in his room. 
• He seems to carry acceptance for everyone and it's tangible to students. 
• Students that feel out of place find a place in his room. He has a gift for creating a space for marking a student's gift when no one else may see it. 
  
   

Additional accolades from his peers:

• He opens up doors for students to use their creative, unique, under-utilized, often overlooked gifts that God has given each of them, equipping them to step into who they are created to be. 
• Mr. Vredenburg has the incredible and unique job of helping students develop their art and design skills while also helping them to reflect on, create, and appreciate the beauty and creativity God has woven into our world. 
• Mr. Vredenburg creates a space students enjoy coming to during their Independent Learning Times, and he patiently mentors each individual student to meet them where they are and help them grow further. 
• Mr. Vredenburg has a thoughtful and reflective nature. It never fails that when staff interact with him, they enjoy his patience, steadiness, calming demeanor, and the depth of thought and consideration he brings to everything he encounters.