McDaniel Named Teacher Of The Year By State Council For Social Studies

Ste. Genevieve Middle School (SGMS) social studies teacher Michael McDaniel has been recognized as the 2019 Teacher of the Year by the Missouri Council for the Social Studies (MCSS).

McDaniel has been a part of the Ste. Genevieve R-II School District faculty for the past 15 years.

He teaches American history I, American history II, and current events. He serves as the chair of the history department.

Since beginning his teaching career with SGMS, he has also served as the baseball coach for the Ste. Genevieve High School varsity team.

In the classroom, McDaniel has worked to integrate curriculum that highlights new technology.

As a lifelong learner of history, McDaniel strives to share that enthusiasm with students by showing them new ways to connect to history in today’s digital age.

“We at SGMS are not only proud of the great honor Mr. McDaniel has received by earning this award, we are also happy that his title can serve as a conduit through which other educators can see the great things going in our school, and in particular, in Mr. McDaniels’ classroom,” SGMS principal Dr. Scott Mercer said.

McDaniel is a member of MCSS and makes presentations for the group. He also works as a consultant for curriculum development at the Ste. Genevieve Museum Learning Center.

In order to introduce students to the history of their hometown area, McDaniel has worked with community leaders to organize:

• an annual Civil War Day with the local Sons of Union Veterans encampment;
• the Time Traveler’s club, which works in collaboration with the Ste. Genevieve County Clerk’s Office to conduct building-wide mock elections; and
• the implementation of National History Day at SGMS.

(Information in a release from the Ste. Genevieve R-II School District.)

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