Character in Action: Faculty Beyond the Classroom

The work of forming character is not confined to the classroom at St. Mark’s. Rooted in a program that develops responsibility over time, from engaging a community to serving it and ultimately leading it, this formation is both intentional and deeply lived. Every day, faculty and staff model lessons of character and leadership through their words and actions. It’s a practice that goes beyond the classroom — and beyond campus — long after the school day has ended.

For Lower School teacher Lauren Fischer, the connection between teaching and parenting is immediate and deeply personal. “We can’t expect kids to live up to their ideals and exhibit citizenship if we’re not striving for and modeling it ourselves,” she said. “Becoming a parent has amplified that tenfold.” That alignment between expectation and example is central to St. Mark’s approach. The language of character and leadership is not simply delivered to Marksmen — it is lived by the adults who teach them. 

Middle School math teacher Lauren Logan sees that responsibility as inseparable from the work itself. “I believe we cannot teach character effectively without practicing it ourselves,” she said. “If I’m asking a Marksman to lead with empathy or stay composed under pressure, I feel a personal responsibility to do the same in my own relationships and community. If I'm going to talk the talk, I have to walk the walk.” Across divisions, faculty describe a shared understanding: character formation begins with self-awareness. The curriculum invites reflection, but also accountability. 

In Fischer’s home, that language is woven into everyday moments with her young sons. “One of the most salient examples is talking about an attitude of gratitude,” she said. “It’s really borne out in actions, not just in saying ‘thanks.’” What begins as a classroom concept becomes a way of seeing the world — recognizing effort, acknowledging others, and cultivating empathy. “It’s not just reminding them to thank their teachers,” Fischer explained. “It’s having follow-up conversations about the care and effort behind what others do. An attitude of gratitude is the key to a happy life as I tell my students, so I definitely bring that sentiment home.” Another simple but powerful word — notice — has become part of that shared vocabulary. “With my Marksmen, I’m always guiding them to ‘notice’ how they leave a space or how their words make someone feel,” she said. “I do this all the time with my sons… ‘Do you notice how your brother felt?’ I want both my students and my children to be active observers, finding ways they can contribute positively to their communities.” 

For Logan, a newly introduced Leadership Loop — Engaging Conversations — prompted an unexpected shift in her own daily interactions. “I realized I often relied on the overused greeting of ‘Hi, how are you?’ out of habit rather than genuine curiosity,” she said. What followed was a more intentional approach to even the briefest exchanges. “I’ve become more mindful in passing moments with students and colleagues, prioritizing active listening and asking follow-up questions to foster deeper relationships.” It is a small adjustment, but one that reflects a broader truth: the formation of character often happens in ordinary moments. “Teaching the principles of character and leadership has made me much more mindful of the small choices I make,” Logan said. “Whether it’s how I speak to my family or how I handle a disagreement with a friend, I want my actions outside the classroom to reflect what I talk about inside it.” 

For Martin Stegemoeller, Upper School faculty member and Malcolm K. and Minda Brachman Master Teaching Chair, the relationship between teaching and parenting is reciprocal. At home, he and his wife emphasize the same principles he teaches his students. “We talk to our girls every day about being positive, being inclusive to kids on the margins, expressing gratitude and affection,” he said. “When we get positive feedback about how they are at school, we let them know that means the most to us.” At the same time, parenting has deepened his understanding of the very work he has spent decades leading. “Raising our own kids has been an education in how impulsive children are — that’s simply the starting point for their behavior,” he said. “I have become more patient.” That patience and the accompanying perspective translates directly into his work with Marksmen. “Seeing how much of our own misery is self-created, especially through competition, has been an education,” he added. “It reinforces how important it is to recognize those patterns in order to change them.” 

Perhaps most powerfully, Stegemoeller describes a shift in how he understands meaning itself. “Parenting has taught me that meaning and feelings don’t always move together,” he said. “The meaning comes through the identity of being responsible for someone else and helping them develop a healthy soul.” That clarity of purpose and of responsibility sits at the heart of character and leadership.  

At St. Mark’s, this work is not confined to a single classroom or division. It is collaborative — across disciplines, roles, and relationships. “Mentoring middle school boys is a shared responsibility,” Logan said. “We hold one another to the same standards of excellence we expect from our Marksmen.” That mutual accountability extends beyond campus as well, shaping the way faculty show up for their families, their colleagues, and their broader communities. 

For Fischer, that connection is especially visible in her communication with parents. “Just as I find these lessons trickling into my own home, I want families to be part of that same conversation,” she said. “Character and leadership formation matters just as much as academic growth.”  

At its core, the Character and Leadership program asks not only what we teach, but how we live. For the faculty of St. Mark’s, the answer is not contained in a lesson plan or a single moment in the classroom. It is reflected in the way they speak to their own children, the way they engage with colleagues, and the way they move through the world. The work endures because it is lived, and in that living, it becomes something far more lasting than a curriculum.