Two teachers at Bethesda Academy, a private day and boarding school for young men grades six through 12, were granted “master teacher” status after evaluation by the South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA).

Craig Sherman and Jennifer Gilmour are the recipients of this honor. Sherman teaches social studies and history. Gilmour is a science and mathematics teacher, as well as a cottage teacher, whose responsibilities include ensuring all students staying in the cottage complete homework assignments, finish chores and are in bed on time.

“This is a major accomplishment for Mr. Sherman and Mrs. Gilmour, as well as for Bethesda Academy on several counts,” said Michael Hughes, president of Bethesda. "Firstly, an amazing amount of work goes into the application, so it is a lengthy and arduous process. Additionally, it is very rare for one school to have two master teachers named at once.”

The application process includes meeting rigorous teaching qualifications and submitting an entire portfolio for evaluation by a peer committee. It also entails presentations and exhausting interviews, endorsement letters from school officials and sample lesson plans.

“In their evaluation, SCISA staff also noted a ‘surge in professional development and teaching quality at Bethesda,’ because two of our teachers, Kim Godbee-Glisson and Elizabeth Peek, had been recent finalists for Teacher of the Year,” said Hughes. “This recognition is a tribute to our entire faculty and staff. Each consistently personifies Bethesda’s commitment to ensuring students receive a superior education that will enable them to mature into young men with the potential to lead exemplary lives.”

Having formerly been affiliated with the Georgia Independent School Association, Bethesda Academy has been a member of the South Carolina Independent School Association since 2014. SCISA is a non-profit voluntary association of independent schools responsible for establishing accreditation standards, coordinating athletic and academic competitions and providing professional development opportunities for member schools.