Timothy Christian School congratulates our 2023 David W. Gottshall Teacher Excellence Award winners, Ms. Ruthy Brookman and Mrs. Juliana Dagnall!
The David W. Gottshall Teacher Excellence Award, named after the beloved first superintendent of Timothy Christian School and established by a generous donor in 2001, comes with a $1,000 gift which is given annually to one outstanding teacher in elementary and one outstanding teacher for secondary. After carefully reviewing the selection criteria, all nominees are reviewed and the TCS Leadership Team selects the winners.
This year’s Elementary teacher of the year is known as a true servant of the Lord. Ms. Brookman puts her love for Jesus into everything she does for the children. An outstanding educator, Ms. Brookman has faithfully served Timothy Christian School for 25 years. As the elementary choir teacher, Ms. Brookman teaches all of our 200 plus elementary students and prepares them to perform at our annual Christmas and Spring concerts, which are a highlight of the year for our elementary families! The words to the songs she has the children sing consistently remind them of Jesus, pointing them to the Savior for years to come.
Ms. Brookman is a wonderful asset to our TCS community. Known for her enthusiasm for teaching, she loves to make things fun for her students and they love her for it! Above and beyond the classroom, Ms. Brookman can be found outside after school hours blowing bubbles with her students! She is also a prayer warrior who diligently prays for her students and colleagues. After receiving the award, Ms. Brookman shared, “Mr. Gottshall hired me. I loved him. It is an honor to receive the David. W. Gottshall Teacher Excellence Award in his name! TCS is a very special place for me. I actually trusted Christ on the campus of TCS when New Durham Chapel borrowed the facility for our VBS overflow when I was a kid.”
Mrs. Juliana Dagnall clearly has the gift of teaching. She brings history to life for her middle school and high school students! Her love and passion for history is contagious! She takes great time in lesson planning to make sure to use a variety of methods from more traditional to highly creative activities to communicate what students need to know in a way that touches all different learning styles.
Mrs. Dagnall cares about her students, spending extra time putting together an extra assignment or explaining a concept or just being available in her room for students to stop by. She is approachable and students feel comfortable sharing what is going on in their lives or talking about deeper things. She prays with and takes time to talk to students about their relationship with Christ and challenges them to grow deeper.
Additionally, Mrs. Dagnall goes “above and beyond” in the ministry of Timothy Christian School. She uses the gifts that God has given her in extra curriculars outside of the classroom. She has enthusiastically gone on retreats with students and has spent hours painting props and rehearsing with actors and actresses to make sure the play was ready to go. Her gift of planning and love for our nation’s capital spurred her (and her husband) to be the driving force behind getting the 8th grade Washington DC trip off the ground. When we needed someone to address the high school girls during the spiritual life conference on the subject of dating and purity, she did not back down from the challenge but did so with biblical truth saturated with grace and love. Mrs. Dagnall has made a tremendous impact on both the Middle School and High School this year.
Dr. Smock presented the prestigious David W. Gottshall Teacher Excellence awards to Ms. Brookman and Mrs. Dagnall at the end of year awards chapels where they were celebrated by their students, parents, and colleagues.
