March 29, 2012

Brendan Burchard	Mary Dermit

Morningside College presents educator and teacher of the year awards   

The Regional Center for Teaching and Learning at Morningside College has presented the 2012 National Alumni Educator of the Year Award to Brendan Burchard, a teacher and coach at Bishop Heelan High School in Sioux City, and the 2012 Siouxland Alumni Teacher of the Year Award to Mary Dermit, health science head teacher for the Sioux City Community School District.

Morningside President John Reynders and William Deeds, Morningside’s vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, presented the awards at a banquet on Wednesday, March 28, in the college’s Olsen Student Center. To be considered for the awards, candidates must exemplify the qualities of an effective educator, have made a significant contribution to the field of education, and have had a positive impact on students and their families.

Burchard, a 1964 Morningside graduate and a 1960 graduate of Bishop Heelan High School, started working as a teacher and coach at Heelan in 1969. During his 43-year career at Heelan, Burchard has taught a variety of subjects in the religion department and has coached football, track and wrestling. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War and a retired member of the 185th Air Refueling Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard based in Sioux City. Burchard also has a master’s degree from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D.

Dermit received a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Morningside in 1993. She joined the Sioux City Community School District in 1995 as a school nurse. In 1998, she became an occupational health teacher and established the health science department for the school district.

Other nominees for the Siouxland Alumni Teacher of the Year Award included:

Sioux City –  Robert Barry, East Middle School; Richelle Burr, Emerson Elementary School; Imelda Garcia, Irving Elementary School; Charles Hoberg, North High School; Nicole Margeas, Riverside Elementary School; Kelly McElrath, East High School; Steven McHugh, West High School; Mary Miller, Crescent Park Elementary School; Debbie Parrott, Joy Elementary School.

South Sioux City – Joseph Schmith, South Sioux City Middle School.                                                                                                       

Iowa – Beth Kirby, West Monona Central Elementary School, Onawa.

South Dakota – Mary Hamstra, Dakota Valley Elementary School, North Sioux City.

Morningside founded the Regional Center for Teaching and Learning in 2001 to work collaboratively with other institutions and agencies to improve education in the tri-state region. Peter Hathaway serves as the center’s director.