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2010-11 Daniel-Mickel Foundation Master Teachers 

The 2010-11 Daniel-Mickel 

Foundation Master Teachers: 

Strong People Skills by Alice Baird 

Standing outside the chapel by the new sunflower sculpture, a gift of the Class of 

2010, are Daniel-Mickel Foundation Master Teachers, from left, Paula Merwin 

(MS), Rodney Sullivan (US), and Robin Yerkes (LS). 

20 | Highlights Fall 2010

CCES Today 

Ask this year’s Daniel-Mickel Foundation Master Teachers—Robin Yerkes in the Lower School, 

Paula Merwin in the Middle School, and Rodney Sullivan in the Upper School—what makes a 

good teacher, and “knowing your subject” never comes up. It simply goes without saying. Physics 

teacher Rodney Sullivan, for example, has a Ph.D. in his field. 

Strikingly, all three of this year’s honorees see teaching as a means for building 

character as much as knowledge. In their discussion for this article they professed a 

shared personal belief in the importance of “people skills.” Each has acquired these 

skills in different ways: Merwin, from having worked for several years as a social 

worker with adolescents in both England and California; Yerkes, from her broad and 

varied teaching background; and Sullivan, from having grown up as the ninth child in 

a family with five brothers and four sisters. Their purpose as educators is not merely 

to teach their subject but also to connect with their students as individuals. It is what 

motivates them in the classroom and beyond, enabling them to give in ways that are 

personal, transformative, and enduring. 

Another trait all three share is a sense of gratitude for being at CCES, even though that was never 

what they had set out to do. Yerkes referred to it as “happenstance,” Merwin as “serendipity,” 

and Sullivan as “part of God’s plan for me.” 

This class of master teachers is the seventeenth in the history of the award, established to 

recognize excellence in teaching at CCES. Candidates may be nominated by colleagues, students, 

parents, or administrators and are selected by a committee that includes the Headmaster, division 

heads, and representatives of the Daniel-Mickel Foundation, School Board, Parents Organization, 

and Alumni Association. It is the school’s most prestigious 

honor and carries with it a monetary award of $2,500, which the 

recipient may use however desired, no strings attached. 

In recognition of these teachers’ talents and dedication to CCES, 

the tributes printed here expand on the announcements placed 

on the website at the time of each award. 

continued 

This year’s honorees 

see teaching as a 

means for building 

character as much as 

knowledge. 

Character. Community. Excellence. Service. | 21


In the Lower School 

technology lab after the 

awards ceremony, from 

left, Lower School Director 

Denise Pearsall, Asst. 

Director Valerie Riddle, 

Robin Yerkes, and Charlie 

Mickel, who presented 

the award on behalf of the 

Daniel-Mickel Foundation. 

Lower School Technology 

Teacher Robin Yerkes: 

Giving 150% 

“My first year teaching at CCES [in 1998] 

I kept feeling like I was in the twilight 

zone,” admitted Robin Yerkes. By then, 

she had already been teaching for six years 

in the public schools in educational settings 

ranging from 7 th and 8 th grade language 

arts to middle school remedial math, adult 

GED, homebound middle-schoolers, and 

elementary classrooms in Title I schools. 

“I wasn’t used to the hugs, the parent 

support, or the respect and good behavior 

of my students,” she said, speaking of her 

first experience at CCES as a fourth-grade 

classroom teacher. 

In 2005 she moved to the position of 

Lower School (LS) Technology teacher, and 

was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis the 

following year. “I had to leave regularly 

between classes for IV transfusions,” she 

recalled, and was again amazed by the 

support she received from colleagues and 

parents. Even parents from her prior year 

classes—parents whose children were no 

longer in the Lower School—sent meals, 

as did numerous faculty members, who 

also pitched in to cover her classes during 

her medical treatments. “This could never 

have happened at any of the other places I 

taught,” she said. 

The CCES environment has allowed 

Mrs. Yerkes to blossom as a teacher. More 

than that, it has inspired her, in her quiet 

way, to return the favor by serving the LS 

community together in many special ways. 

“She makes sure that everybody on the 

faculty feels taken care of and cherished,” 

wrote LS German teacher Angelika 

Hummel-Schmidt in a nominating letter. 

“As a community member,” said LS Director 

Denise Pearsall, “she gives 150%!” 

To illustrate: she co-chairs the LS Faculty 

Sunshine Committee, directs the student 

handbell choir, serves as leader of the CCES 

Daisy troop and assistant leader of the 

Brownie troop (for whom she coordinated 

this year’s Girl Scout cookie sale—4,000 

boxes by 50 girls), produces the LS literary 

magazine (which takes pains to include 

a contribution from every student in the 

school), puts together the PowerPoints for the 

weekly chapel services, teaches classes during 

Summer Encounters (she also directed the 

Adventure Camp program from 2003 - 2005), 

and publishes the LS Specialists Newsletter, 

to name just the most visible of her many 

activities. In addition, Robin commutes every 

day from Moore, SC, and has three young 

children, fourth-grader Alex, third-grader 

Melanie, and first-grader Amanda. 

“I have worked at Christ Church Episcopal 

School for 19 years, and I have seen many 

wonderful teachers,” said LS Secretary 

and alumni parent Janie Sickinger, 

who wrote a detailed letter in support of 

Mrs. Yerkes' nomination. “Robin Yerkes 

surpasses all of them in her integrity, work 


CCES Today 

ethic, compassion, patience, and general 

willingness to do anything to help other 

teachers, parents, and students.” 

“It Just Falls Into Place” 

So how does she do it all “I do a lot of what 

I do because it just falls into place,” she said, 

downplaying her generosity with her time 

and talents. “Being a Christian, I strive to be 

a servant and to do the best I can for others.” 

That sense of Christian mission also inspired 

her to serve as Coordinator of Children and 

Youth Ministries for Foothills Church, PCA, 

in Spartanburg for five years before coming 

to CCES. 

None of which detracts from her role in 

the classroom, which, after all, is what the 

master teacher award is all about. “Robin 

Yerkes does an outstanding job as the 

technology teacher at our Lower School,” 

said Mrs. Pearsall. “She works with students 

to make sure that they have the skills to 

use the computer and coordinates learning 

engagements and projects with the gradelevel 

teachers to make using the skills 

meaningful for the students. Robin also 

encourages our faculty members to utilize 

technology and helps teachers stretch their 

skills in a very cooperative way. Teachers 

feel comfortable asking Robin for help!” 

So, of course, do students and even parents, 

both of whom she has been seen tutoring 

during her free time. “Robin is always ready 

to help and extremely patient,” noted Mrs. 

Hummel-Schmidt. “You can approach her 

with any kind of technology problem; she 

will never make you feel inappropriate. She 

approaches everybody with greatest respect 

and kindness….[She] is a true role model 

for us all. She handles all challenges with 

dignity and grace.” 

With Robin’s broad academic skills—she 

loves math and still tutors math up to the 

college level—and the “people skills” she 

developed working with troubled adolescents, 

struggling adult learners, and disadvantaged 

students, she is able to focus on the 

individual student, tailoring her approach in 

a very personal way. For example, when Will 

Guzick ’07 was a student in her fourth-grade 

class, she taught him algebra as enrichment. 

When he graduated, he wrote her a letter 

saying, “I guess it’s never too late to thank 

your fourth-grade teacher.” 

As technology teacher, she has had a significant 

impact on the LS curriculum in all grades. 

“Robin has worked tirelessly to revitalize the 

technology curriculum to make it relate to IB 

planners,” noted Mrs. Sickinger. This aspect 

of her job requires her to work cooperatively 

to serve all the classroom teaching teams in 

the school. With her own technology lab 

classrooms comprising all the students in the 

school, from Primer to grade 4, she is able 

to discern each child’s progress over their LS 

careers. “I love to see students as they develop 

into intelligent, articulate young children,” 

she said. “I can literally see the effect a CCES 

education has on their development.” 

“I always wanted to be a teacher,” Robin 

confessed. “My high school chemistry 

teacher once told me, ‘If you want to teach, 

do it, and be the best teacher you can be.’” 

It is advice she has lived by—and that has 

helped earn her the appreciation of parents 

and students—and the recognition of the 

2010-11 master teacher award. 


When Will Guzick '07 

graduated, he wrote Mrs. 

Yerkes a letter, saying, "I guess 

it's never too late to thank your 

third-grade teacher." 



Sixth-grade reading teacher 

Paula Merwin enjoys 

the applause from, left, 

Charlie Mickel, and from 

students, faculty, and family 

members after the surprise 

announcement of her award. 

24 | Highlights Fall 2010 

Middle School Reading 

Teacher Paula Merwin: 

Asking Students to Think Deeper 

A sense of adventure propelled this 

British-born reading teacher to jobs on 

two continents (“above” more than two, if 

you count her time in air as a stewardess). 

It also led to a few years in Los Angeles 

working on a TV pilot and in TV and film 

production. 

A sense of deep commitment motivated 

her to serve as a social worker for troubled 

adolescents in England and in California. 

Commitment, adventure, and a sense of the 

emotional needs of young adolescents are all 

evident in Paula Merwin’s reading classes 

and in her leadership (with eighth-grade 

geography teacher Donna Burns) of the 

Middle School (MS) “Peace Program.” 

“Twelve-year-olds are insular and selfabsorbed,” 

said Mrs. Merwin. “It’s my job 

to help them to empathize with characters 

that are very different from them, to 

encourage them to see other perspectives.” 

You will not find that stated as a 

curricular objective anywhere in her job 

description, but her emphasis on pointof-view 

underpins all that she undertakes 

in the classroom. In her nominating 

letter, MS Director Val Hendrickson 

wrote: "Paula Merwin's classroom is 

a tangible example of a lively place for 

sound learning. I have watched Paula 

ask her students to think deeper than 

normally expected for middle-schoolers. 

In fact, her lessons in literature focus on 

elements that go far beyond the run-ofthe-mill 

Middle School character/plot 

analysis….Her high expectations for their 

learning and thinking are well-framed 

and supported with thorough planning 

of instruction, and Paula models a strong 

work ethic.” 

“Paula opens the door for divergent 

thinking for her students; she encourages 

them to risk thinking ‘outside the box,’ but 

she demands support for that thinking. 

This kind of framing encourages critical 

thinking, with corresponding substance, of 

the level that should be the gold standard 

for all classrooms. Though very challenging, 

it is also clear that, in some almost magical 

way, Paula’s lessons are stimulating and 

engaging for students across ability levels in 

her classroom.” 

A Relationship That Elicits 

Students’ Best 

That “almost magical way” is the 

relationship that Merwin builds with 

each student. “It’s the teacher-student 

relationship that elicits the best from 

students,” she says. “They know I care 

about them, so I don’t have to be strict with 

them.” 

CCES parent and Alumni Director Viviane 

Till provided examples of Merwin’s impact 

on her own children: “I will forever be 

indebted to Mrs. Merwin for instilling the 

love of reading in both of my sons. My 

older son, Steven, never seemed to find 

books that appealed to him until sixth 

grade. Mrs. Merwin was able to zero in on 

his interests and find books that sparked 

excitement and curiosity. She literally

CCES Today 

opened up the world of reading for him. 

“My younger son, Robert, was a different 

story. His weak reading skills made all his 

classes difficult. Mrs. Merwin took the time 

to find out what made Robert tick and how 

to overcome his obstacles. In the process, 

his reading level increased by two-and-a-half 

grade levels, and he now reads with gusto 

and delight!” 

“I describe myself as a coach,” comments 

Merwin. “I coach my students as 

individuals.” Assistant MS Director Betsy 

Burton explains the impact this approach 

has on students. “Sixth-graders are lucky 

to have Mrs. Merwin expect the best from 

them. She has a knack for challenging them 

and supporting them at the same time. She 

believes that each and every child can and 

should be pushed to go and to grow beyond 

what he or she might believe is his or her 

own limit.” 

Passionate About Her 

Students’ Well-Being 

Noted for her compassion, Merwin is 

sensitive to her students’ and colleagues’ 

emotional needs too. Having worked with 

troubled youth, she is able to sense when 

her students are in pain and is perceptive 

about “the maelstrom of emotions” that stir 

children of this age. She played an active 

role in developing the advisory program 

for the sixth-grade team, and, noted Mrs. 

Burton, “she was a natural choice to assume 

a leadership role when we implemented 

our Olweus program.” Olweus, which the 

students have renamed “Peace @ CCES,”is a 

bullying prevention program that originally 

hailed from Norway. It empowers teachers, 

parents, and students to thwart bullying by 

addressing the behaviors of bystanders and 

victims as well as perpetrators. 

“Paula is passionate about the social 

and emotional well-being of students,” 

comments Mrs. Hendrickson. “Over the 

last three years, Paula has given countless 

hours to the planning and implementation 

[of Olweus]. She has collaborated with 

outside consultants, worked seamlessly 

with faculty co-chair Donna Burns, 

and been a touchstone for our inhouse 

planning committee, including 

parents. Based in large part on Paula’s 

wise reflections and articulate advice, the 

program has been a success….Through her 

choices of literature for teaching, in her 

interactions with students, and in parent 

conferences, I have observed Paula ‘get real’ 

in a manner that communicates her caring 

and the value she places on justice….[Her] 

nurture of student competence, provision 

of intellectual rigor, and a palpable focus 

on students as people are absolutely the 

best of what an educator can offer.” 

In other words, she teaches hearts with the 

same intensity as she teaches minds. 


Paula Merwin “encourages 

critical thinking, with 

corresponding substance, of the 

level that should be the gold 

standard for all classrooms.” 

–Val Hendrickson 

Robert Till, one of twelve 

students in Merwin's 

classes last year whose 

reading level jumped 

several grade levels, 

displays a certificate of 

achievement. During 2009- 

10 one of her students 

posted a gain of more than 

4 years in reading level; 

six jumped more than 3 

reading levels. 



Hands in pockets, Dr. Rodney 

Sullivan beams at the 

announcement of his award 

as Upper School Daniel- 

Mickel Foundation Master 

Teacher, part of Awards 

Night ceremonies at Christ 

Church the evening before 

Commencement. He is flanked 

by, at left, Charlie Mickel and 

right, former CCES President 

Lee Cox. 

26 | Highlights Fall 2010 

Upper School Physics 

Teacher Rodney Sullivan: 

Being Significant 

Dr. Rodney Sullivan could be teaching 

physics at the university level. He could be 

doing cutting-edge, original research in his 

field. 

But at least for now, he teaches six different 

physics courses in the CCES Upper School 

(US). 

Don’t take that as a sign of skewed 

priorities. Although his intentions were 

never to pursue a teaching career, he believes 

he is doing exactly what God intended for 

him. 

“I would rather be significant than 

successful,” he explained. 

It is a goal that many would say he has 

achieved in the four short years he has been 

teaching at CCES. 

CCES parents Roger and Debbie Stone 

summed up the consensus of students, 

parents, and colleagues in a nominating 

letter that ran almost three single-spaced 

pages: “Dr. Sullivan is an educational leader 

to his students. They respect him as an 

intellectual and admire him as a mentor and 

role model.” 

Last year the Student Council named him 

their “Teacher of the Year.” In other words, 

in addition to being respected, he is loved. 

Is this unusual for a physics teacher We 

think so—especially for one who sets the 

academic bar so high. But Rodney Sullivan 

is an unusual man. 

From Making Robots to Finding God 

in the Physical World 

A native of Greenville, Dr. Sullivan grew 

up “within walking distance of downtown,” 

the ninth in a family of ten children. His 

father was an automobile mechanic, and as 

a child, Rodney played with his dad’s tools. 

“I made robots and toys out of Coke cans 

and cardboard,” he recalled. That was the 

beginning of his fascination with how things 

work. 

A top high school student, he applied 

mainly to engineering schools, but chose 

to attend Presbyterian College (PC) in 

Clinton, SC, on a football scholarship with 

hopes of taking advantage of their dual 

program in engineering and physics. Injuries 

forced his retirement from the team after his 

sophomore year. “That allowed me to take 

full advantage of all the other things PC 

had to offer besides athletics,” he said. The 

result was that he earned so many academic 

and service awards and participated in so 

many campus activities in leadership roles 

that a listing of them on his resume would 

have taken a full page, had they not been 

presented in two side-by-side columns. 

At the time he began his graduate studies 

at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, 

Rodney thought that he was heading 

toward an engineering career. “But the 

more I learned about physics, the more I 

saw God revealed to me in His physical 

laws.” Awestruck by the magnificence of 

God’s design—the subject of a book he is 

working on—he went on to earn a Ph.D. in 

Chemical Physics in 2004. 

What began with questions about how

CCES Today 

manmade machines work ultimately led 

him to much bigger questions about how 

the universe that God created works at its 

most fundamental level. 

Being True, Real, and Personal 

His ultimate goal is to have his own research 

laboratory (probably in partnership with 

one of his brothers) to experiment with 

alternative energy sources, but after earning 

his degree, he began teaching physics at 

Piedmont Technical College in 

Greenwood. He was there two 

years when his wife received a 

job offer in Greenville and they 

relocated here, at the same time 

that CCES was seeking a physics 

teacher. While he freely admits 

that teaching at the high school 

level was never part of his original 

plan, he is more than happy to 

be teaching at CCES now. That’s 

because it fits with two of his most 

important guiding principles. 

First of these is that “I try to live 

my life to glorify God. I come 

to work every day because I work 

for the Lord.” One of the things 

he loves about CCES, he said, is 

“being able to go to chapel with 

the kids and pray with them.” It 

was a sentiment echoed by both 

his fellow master teachers, Robin 

Yerkes and Paula Merwin. 

He expressed his second guiding 

principle this way: “Wherever I 

go, I have to make that place— 

and myself—better.” 

While he personally believes that 

is a tall order because of the very 

many accomplished teachers 

at CCES (compared against 

whom, he says, “I am the least of 

these”), his students recognize the 

difference he has made to them. 

An example of that is expressed in 

the sidebar by Macon McLean ’10, below. 

Certainly, physics is not everyone’s favorite 

subject, nor are the great majority of the 

students in his classes going to go on to careers 

as physicists—although his AP students 

did post a 100 percent pass rate in 2009 

and 2010. The secret of his popularity with 

students is not that he jokes around with them 

or injects some levity in his lessons; it’s that 

he makes every effort to “show them genuine 


From Cosmological Phenomena to 

Marvel Comics Supervillains 

Dr. Sullivan is one of my favorite teachers that I’ve had the pleasure of learning 

from throughout my years at CCES. 

One of the many wonderful things about Dr. Sullivan is how positively he 

responds whenever a student engages him. From cosmological phenomena to 

Marvel Comics supervillains, Dr. Sullivan is always happy to have a conversation 

with his students. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stayed late after class into 

lunch period just talking with him about anything and everything. He’s a veritable 

font of information, not just on physics, but the history of science, its applications, 

technology, and nearly anything else you can think of. 

This enthusiasm shines through all his work and doings. If one of his students is 

struggling and they show willingness to work, Dr. Sullivan makes every possible 

effort to help them out. For instance, although I demonstrated very little promise 

during my first year of physics, Dr. Sullivan never gave up on me and formed a 

brand-new advanced physics class for me and two other students, in which I 

improved drastically. 

But Dr. Sullivan isn’t all-work-and-no-play. He’s always cracking jokes, 

singing random songs with unabashed abandon, and coming up with fun little 

demonstrations to illustrate physical principles. 

Being under Dr. Sullivan’s tutelage for the last two years has been a growing 

experience for me. His tough tests have forced me to buckle down like never 

before. His vibrancy has kept me engaged in the subject material every day. His 

ability to convey complex information easily and swiftly has kept me informed 

and constantly learning. 

I guess what I am trying to say is that Dr. Sullivan is an invaluable asset to the CCES 

faculty and the Christ Church community at large. Keep up the good work! 

Macon McLean ’10 



love. I am not preparing them necessarily to 

be physicists,” he says, “but I want to prepare 

them to be great in life.” 

Toward that end, he sums up his philosophy 

of teaching as being “true, real, and 

personal. I try to make everything plain 

and simple, I am truthful, and I try to get 

to know my students personally.” Echoing 

what Merwin and Yerkes both expressed, he 

said, “It’s all about the relationships.” 

He knows that his students “may not be 

built like me. That’s fine. So show me what 

“I would rather be 

significant than successful.” 

–Rodney Sullivan 

you are passionate about, and be the best 

you can.” 

Erin Carter ’10 confirmed his approach. 

“His positive attitude is seen in and out of 

the classroom. He sets up pick-up games 

with his friends on Sundays in the gym 

to show off his mad basketball skills, and 

then he shows up for some of the students’ 

athletic games on the weekdays. He takes 

an interest in his students’ lives. I’ve seen 

him attending the school plays, the football 

games, and the basketball games.” 

Sullivan freely admits, “there are no 

bounds or limits to my imagination.” 

Neither, apparently, are there bounds to his 

enthusiasm for getting to know the young 

people in his classes, nor to the joy he 

experiences in teaching and in “being where 

God wants me to be.” ■

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