In Ackerman Family Master Teaching Chair Teri Broom’s childhood home, a chalkboard hung on the wall of the garage. Although the chalkboard was originally bought for her older brother, she was the one who took interest in it.
“I just took it over and it became something I could play with,” Broom said. “My friends would come over and play school, and I would always be the teacher. If one of my friends asked to be the teacher, I’d say, ‘let’s just play another game.’”
Even at a young age, Broom knew she wanted to be a teacher. After spending more than 25 years following that passion, Broom was awarded with the title of Ackerman Family Master Teaching Chair.
Broom first taught middle school in Oklahoma City and Daytona, Fla.. Eventually, Broom found her way back to Dallas after her husband was hired by American Airlines. In Dallas, Broom began teaching at The Lamplighter School where she learned from some of her first mentors.
“I had mentors like Sheila McCarter, Marty Melton and Kathey Beddow,” Broom said. “Seeing the love of learning that they inspired in kids made me learn a lot from them.”
After teaching at Lamplighter, Broom decided to apply to St. Mark’s where she first taught fourth grade but then moved down to first grade.
As a first-grade teacher, Broom plays a big role in developing younger students into Marksmen, so she makes sure that her teaching philosophy reflects her care for her students.
“I get so invested in the boys and their progress, so I make sure that I’m doing my part to help them become their best self,” Broom said. “I don’t think you can get anywhere with a student if they don’t believe that you care about them. Once they believe that, you can get them to learn difficult things, write neatly, or be nice to one another.”
Now in her 19th year of teaching here, Broom has become a big part of the community as a veteran teacher. She has seen her students become men and walk across the graduation stage and has had the pleasure of watching her sons go through their journey at the school as well.
“I was super proud of them when they walked across that stage. It was very emotional to know that they got a great education and that they achieved something difficult,” Broom said. “That was a great moment for our family.”
Over her 19-year career at the school, Broom has faced numerous challenges but has remained strong and prevailed due to the community around her.
“My mom has passed away, I’ve had breast cancer, and I’ve had heart surgery,” Broom said. “But the love and care the parents and school have shown me has been really special.”
Through countless hours of hard work, numerous twists and turns and years of turning boys into Marksmen, Broom has been awarded the well-deserved title of Master Teaching Chair. Broom felt humbled after receiving the honor, seeing herself from another perspective.
“I still feel like I could never be as good as the teachers I’ve admired over the years,” Broom said. “After working with those people who were giants to me, I don’t consider myself to be in that same league, so the fact that someone else sees that in me and would allow me to represent all the amazing teachers in the Lower School was shocking to me.”
