St. Mark’s instructor named National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year

The adviser of the newspaper and yearbook at St. Mark’s School of Texas was named the 2021 National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA).

Ray Westbrook, who started at St. Mark’s in 2001, was selected from 17 finalists from across the country. He is the adviser to The ReMarker newspaper, The Marksmen yearbook and Focus, a special interest magazine.

“No one is a better fit for this award. I can only thank Mr. Westbrook for elevating our journalism program,” says Josh Mysore, the editor-in-chief of the Marksmen yearbook. “I am the man I am today thanks to Mr. Westbrook’s steady guidance as a journalism teacher, publications adviser, and genuine confidant.”

The awards program is co-sponsored by the Dow Jones News Fund with help from the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and The Wall Street Journal.

Edmund J. Sullivan, the executive director of the CSPA, commented on Westbrook’s work at St. Mark’s over the past 20 years.

“His journalism program at St. Mark’s School in Dallas, TX has developed a national reputation for in-depth reporting, top notch writing and editing as well as mastery of storytelling. They successfully tackle a wide range of topics, many considered taboo in other schools, with sensitivity and professionalism,” Sullivan says.

Westbrook will get a plaque, a one-year subscription to The Wall Street Journal and access to webinars from The Poynter Institute. He will also be featured in an interview during the CSPA Convention Showcase on March 19, and one of his students will receive a $1,000 scholarship to study journalism in college.