February 27, 2009
Mater Dei teacher named top educator
Long-time Mater Dei teacher Benedictine Sister Mary Francis Williams has been named the 2009 High School Teacher of the Year by the University of Evansville and the Evansville Courier and Press.
“Her dedication to students and the Mater Dei school community is beyond definition,” said Donna Halverson, director of schools. “She does the little things with great love and devotion like being the scorekeeper at the girls’ volleyball and basketball games for over 30 years. She is the teacher that students know and remember.”
She began teaching at Mater Dei in 1967. She has been the business education teacher throughout her career at Mater Dei, and now teaches business education as well as keyboarding and computer technology.
Halverson said a former student described Sister Mary Francis as the “teacher who motivated and inspired us, the one who is in the center of our fondest high school memories and the one teacher we will never forget when we think of Mater Dei High School.”
Halverson noted that “for the generations who have walked the halls of Mater Dei High School that one unforgettable individual who reached minds and touched hearts is Sister Mary Francis. This award is such a fitting tribute to her.”