Whether it’s with the Shield or his digital media classes, teacher Dave Winter always pushes his students toward excellence and leadership. This goal has taken him from school to school, but he has found his home at McCallum.
On Jan. 26 during FIT, principal Andy Baxa came on the announcements with the news of the 2024 Teacher of the Year. Streaming through the loudspeakers, Baxa announced a winner: Dave Winter.
In the following minutes, Shield adviser Dave Winter was presented with a celebratory cake from Baxa and the assistant principals as he was surrounded by cheering digital media and newspaper students.
Voting among the faculty happened the week before the announcement, and it was down to three finalists: Winter, science teacher Sarah Noack and coach Carlin Shaw.
Having covered and documented past Teacher of the Year announcements, Winter was in disbelief when the assistant principals revealed the news to him.
“[Teacher of the Year is] a familiar thing [to me] because we covered Adame winning last year, so it had the same ingredients, but I had a different role,” Winter said. “It was a bit of an unusual role because we [MacJournalism] are covering something ourselves.”
I am blessed to have a lot of students who try to do the absolute best with their journalistic work.
— Teacher of the Year Dave Winter
Although Winter had previously won the title back in 2018 at McCallum and was shocked by the announcement, Winter expressed his gratitude for the recognition his colleagues have given him.
“There’s a lot of great teachers here,” he said. “The fact that the teachers here think that I’m worthy of being recognized is pretty humbling.”
Winter expressed both excitement at his win and appreciation for the other candidates. He explained that he thought Noack deserved a turn at the title for her dedication to running programs at McCallum.
“Ms. Noack is exceptional in multiple ways,” Winter said. “She’s good at creating a classroom environment where people want to be there, so that’s the No. 1 thing of being a great teacher. Then she’s also doing all this extra stuff like [organizing] the study abroad trips and advising the Link Crew, so I think [those] are above-and-beyond thing to do.”
He also pointed out qualities that would have made the third finalist, Carlin Shaw, a great candidate for the title.
“A lot of people on campus don’t necessarily see what he does to help his students because it’s a different kind of teaching than traditional classroom teaching,” Winter said. “He’s helping SBS students and has a huge influence in helping them be successful.”
His path to Teacher of the Year, and teaching in general, differed from what he had originally imagined his career would be. From his college years, working at The Daily Texan at UT, Winter thought that he would be a journalist, but changed his career path when he reflected on how much he loved journalism in high school and in college. He wanted to provide that same love to other students.
He [Winter] doesn’t just support us when we’re pursuing excellence in the newspaper program, he’s always supporting us, no matter what it is.
— Shield co-editor-in-chief Alice Scott
“[I love] this feeling of being surrounded by people who are doing [journalism] the right way, and you don’t have to worry as much about the business part of it when it’s scholastic or university reporting,” Winter said. “So I am blessed to have a lot of students who try to do the absolute best with their journalistic work.”
He has maintained that feeling from his previous teaching positions at Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga., and Grady High School (now Midtown High) in Atlanta to McCallum, and enjoys the community that his current school has to offer. Winter finds it rewarding to be part of a collective experience such as the one McCallum provides.
“When you are a part of that [community], and it’s bigger than just you,” Winter said. “There’s no better feeling. We have had that here, and there have been a lot of people who have helped make that community meaningful.”
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Quarter of Shield staffers take home ILPC awards at summer 2023 journalism workshopShield staffer Gaby Esquivel said that the best parts of her 2023 ILPC summer workshop experience were the lessons she learned as a student in Bobby Hawthorne’s advanced writing course. She said Hawthorne taught her that making mistakes when writing is normal and not an indication of a lack of writing skill.
“It made me realize that it’s OK to make mistakes, especially when it comes to writing because it’s a process that requires a lot of patience.”
Esquivel said the greatest surprise of the workshop came during the awards ceremony when Hawthorne presented her an award for her persistence and diligence throughout the camp.
“When he announced my name, I couldn’t believe it to be honest,” she said. “It took me a second to realize it was my name. In the end, I am really proud of the effort I put into this experience and I wouldn't change it for anything."
Esquivel was one of four MacJ seniors to earn individual awards at the camp. Caroline Owen, who also took Hawthrone’s advanced writing class, earned a feature writing award. Social media managing editor Naomi Di-Capua won a pair of awards in the photojournalism strand of the workshop. Instructor Scott Winter awarded Alice Scott a Funkadelic Love Covenant Editor of the Year Award, which was determined by Scott’s classmates. The award was serious even if its title was not. Photo by Sophie Leung-Lieu.
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Shield trio represents MacJ at Superintendent ForumMr. Winter was in the house when Shield co-editor in chief Ingrid Smith and staff reporters Emerson Merritt and Chloe Seckar-Martinez represented MacJournalism at the AustinISD Superintendent Public Forum held Jan. 20 from noon to 1 p.m. at Marshall Middle School in east Austin. Photo by Kelly Merritt.
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Winter makes peace with the world after his Lions miss out on Super BowlMr. Winter initially decided he was going to boycott the 2024 Super Bowl after his Detroit Lions blew a 17-point halftime lead to miss out on the team's first Super Bowl appearance in team history. When he saw his round table student, sophomore Madison Crenshaw in her San Francisco 49ers hoodie the Monday after the game, he remembered that because she has rooted for the 49ers her whole life, that he promised her he would not only watch the game but root for San Francisco if they beat the Lions to make it to the Super Bowl. Selfie by Mr. Winter on his fancy new iPhone.
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Shield quartet presents at Fall Fiesta; thanks to Scott, Winter wins Trailblazer AwardOn a Sunday morning at the 2022 Fall Fiesta journalism convention in San Antonio, Shield editors Evie Barnard, Naomi Di-Capua, Sophie Leung-Lieu and Alice Scott led a 10 a.m. session informing a near-capacity journalism students on how to build a following on social media.
“I think our social media is something that’s really unique to Macjournalism and to be able to present on that was really special,” said Di-Capua, a co-social media managing editor. “It felt good to be able to show something we all work really hard on and to have people come and listen and ask questions and want to learn more about it.”
Following the session, Shield adviser Dave Winter was presented with a TAJE Trailblazer Award, thanks in part to a recommendation letter written by co-editor-in-chief Alice Scott.
“I felt like I won the award when I found out who nominated me,” Winter said.
Michael Reeves, president elect of TAJE and newspaper adviser of the The Dispatch at Bowie High School presented Winter with the award. Reeves crafted a speech for Winter that included personal anecdotes and various statements from Scott, current and former students, colleagues and even former Mac principal Mike Garrison.
“It meant everything to hear that the people who matter most me because they have worked closely with me put me forward for this recognition,” Winter said. “That’s the real award. But it was nice getting a plaque, too.” Photo by Lisa Roskens.
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MacJ day enjoys big day at NSPA Awards Ceremony in Boston last NovemberWinning the Shield's first NSPA Newspaper Pacemaker since 2011 was part of a very good day for Mr. Winter, co-editors in chief Alice Scott and Ingrid Smith and staff members junior Josie Mullan and sophomores Julia Copas and Tristen Diaz. The Oct. 20, 2023, edition of the Shield captured third place in the NSPA Best of Show newspaper competition for schools with more than 1,800 students. The MacJ Instagram account also earned distinction in Boston, placing in both categories of the NSPA Best Use of Social Media competition. The staff placed third in the nation for Social Media Reporting and first for Social Media Promotion. In addition to these four staff honors, Shield journalists also won 25 individual awards. Photos by Ashley Diaz.
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Volleyball program honors teachers at Oct. 13 home game against EastsideThe volleyball program honored teachers at its home matches against Eastside on Oct. 13. Each player invited a favorite teacher to the game, and they were provided a complimentary pizza dinner as well as thank you cards from the players they teach. Prior to the varsity game, teachers walked the court and met the coaches and the refs alongside the player who selected them as a favorite. Freshman varsity hitter Sienna Martens invited and escorted Mr. Winter, her digital media teacher, to the game. Photo by Josie Linton.
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Largest group in more than a decade attends summer journalism workshop at UTWearing the custom ILPC workshop T-shirts that they made in the Almetris Duren Residence Hall on the first night of the 2023 ILPC Summer Journalism Workshop, Shield staff members took this group photo at the end of the third and final day of the camp, which was also the day they wore the shirts for the first time. A group of 15 newspaper and yearbook staffers attended the three-day workshop on the UT campus. It was the largest McCallum group to attend the camp in recent memory. Photo by Sophie Leung-Lieu.
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Girls basketball team honors Maculty's finest on Teacher Appreciation KnightPrior to the Jan. 12 home girls varsity basketball game against Northeast, the basketball program honored Mac teachers. As part of Teacher Appreciation Knight, teachers came out of the locker room as the players do, running through a tunnel of players and being announced to the assembled crowd. Before the game, teachers were fed pregame pizza. Afterward, Bob Ely thanked the team for inviting him and congratulated them on their emphatic 68-11 victory. Richard Cowles did double duty as the game announcer and also an honored teacher, announcing the teachers in attendance before, during and after he ran through the tunnel. Mr. Winter came through the tunnel decked out in Arkansas red hat and sweatshirt repping his daughter's college instead of the Mac blue and grey. Unfortunately for Winter, the player who nominated him for the game, sophomore JV player Evelyn Jenkins, missed the game and the event because she was home sick with the flu. Photo by Veronica Jones.
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Shield Online named 2013 NSPA Online Pacemaker finalistWearing black armbands to signify their participation in #StudentPressFreedom Week, Shield online co-managing editors Francie Wilhelm and Ingrid Smith and adviser Dave Winter share a victory hug moments after National Scholastic Press Association associate director Gary Lundgren announced at lunchtime on Feb. 24, 2023, that the Shield was one of 24 Online Pacemaker Award finalists.
The 24 finalists have a chance to win an NSPA Online Pacemaker Award on April 24 during the awards ceremony at the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention in San Francisco.
Wilhelm said she was proud and happy at the news because it was an indication that the daily hard work of co-editors Eliza Jensen, Smith and Wilhelm was paying off.
“The website is very much a labor of love, and I’d like to think that love is what gave the Shield the edge against some of those other publications,” Wilhelm said. “I honestly think that if we keep doing what we’re doing, then there’s a good chance of us winning a Pacemaker this year.”
In San Francisco on April 24, Wilhelm got the news she was hoping to hear. The Shield Online was named one of 13 national 2023 Online Pacemaker winners. Photo by Julia Copas.
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Seeboth: Pajama Day proves Winter's dedication to McCallum, his studentsAsked to illustrate how Winter teaches or to describe his personality, freshman Adele Seeboth produced this story: "One day on a pajama day, no one was really going all out, except Mr. Winter of course. He was wearing a bathrobe, slippers, pajama pants, the whole deal really (and the hat obviously). A couple of students wanted a picture of him for MacJ, so instead of just standing and posing he sat down in a chair and pretended he was sleeping. Added the snoring too. He’s very dedicated, to McCallum and his students. That’s only one of the things that makes him a great teacher." Photo by Lily Castellow.
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Winter's secret plan to extend his time with Class of '22 all-starsWhen it came time to come up with a plan to teach the journalism boot camp strand at the 2022 ILPC summer workshop at the University of Texas, Winter's first thought was to ask his recently graduated co-editors if they would teach it with them. What better way to extend the time he got to work with them, he thought, than to have them co-teach his sessions with him at UT. As they had throughout their MacJ careers, Grace Nugent and Samantha Powers did what Winter asked them to do and then about five times more, creating entire lessons from scratch and teaching them better than he would have. The students in that class were so fortunate, Winter would say later, but not as lucky as he was. The experience, he said, will remain one of the best teacher moments of his career. Photo by Lillian Harris.
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The McCallum delegation at the Columbia Scholastic Press Association pose for a pic after the adviser award’s luncheon in the Low Library rotunda. Photo by Mark Murray.MacJ does New York at the 2018 CSPA annual journalism conventionThe McCallum delegation at the 2018 Columbia Scholastic Press Association pose for a pic after the adviser award's luncheon in the Low Library rotunda. Eight MacJournalism representatives attended the annual CSPA spring journalism convention. They were guests at Winter's CSPA Gold Key Award ceremony. Winter said later that he was the only recipient who brought students with him and that having them there made the event more special. At the same convention, Shield co-editors in chief Charlie Holden and Julie Robertson conducted a session on building staff community, and Winter gave a presentation on the MacJ Insta account. The whole group visited Times Square, took in a show at the Apollo Theater and went to Chinatown on a quest to find the most authentic egg roll. Photo by Mark Murray.
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Junior Shield visuals editor and social media coordinator Bella Russo, NSPA board member and ILPC director Jeanne Acton, adviser Dave Winter and seniors, Shield co-editor in chief Kristen Tibbetts, Knight editor in chief Mira MacLaurin and Shield copy editor Alex Dowd, pose with the NSPA Best of Use of Social Media Promotion, one of two first place national awards the MacJournalism social media accounts earned at the DC convention. The other first place award was for best reporting. Photo by Mitchell Franz/NSPA. (Mitchell Franz/NSPA)MacJ sweeps Best Use of Social Media categories at 2019 NSPA convention in DCJunior Shield visuals editor and social media coordinator Bella Russo, NSPA board member and ILPC director Jeanne Acton, adviser Dave Winter and seniors, Shield co-editor in chief Kristen Tibbetts, Knight editor in chief Mira MacLaurin and Shield copy editor Alex Dowd, pose with the 2019 NSPA Best of Use of Social Media Promotion, one of two first place national awards the MacJournalism social media accounts earned at the 2019 NSPA/JEA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Washington DC. The other first place award was for best reporting. Photo by Mitchell Franz/NSPA.
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Let the recorBefore Winter became a Mac teacher, he became a Mac parentLet the record show that Winter chose to be a McCallum parent before he chose to be a McCallum teacher. That decision came during a 2015 tour when Winter's son Henry was an eighth-grader and his daughter Annabel was a sixth-grader. Four years later, the three Winters dressed up for a spirit day in matching shirts and posed in Room 134. It was during a school tour with then security guard Miss Georgia in 2015 that Winter, his wife Jennifer and their two kids learned that McCallum had two theaters and not just two gyms. After that joyous discovery, it was only a matter of time before they all committed to McCallum for the aspiring dancer (Annabel) in the family. Winter said that McCallum has been a blessing for his family and that 2023-2024 has been a particularly good academic year. Henry graduated cum laude from University of Texas at Dallas in December and Annabel made the dean's list as a sophomore in the Walton business school at the University of Arkansas. Winter thanked all of the McCallum teachers who helped prepare both of his children to be successful in college. Photo by Anna Schlett.
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A Room 134 full of Mr. WintersWhile being voted Teacher of the Year was a humbling honor in Winter's own words, he said it probably can't compete with the day that his editors came to school dressed as him for Dress as Your Favorite Teacher Day on Sept. 29. On the day Francie Wilhelm, Alice Scott, Sophie Leung-Lieu, Lanie Sepehri, Naomi Di-Capua and Morgan Eye (not pictured) all came to school wearing some version of the trademark Winter uniform: baseball cap (either UT-Dallas for his son, Arkansas for his daughter or UT-Austin for himself), Mac T-shirt, coffee mug, coffee Thermos and, of course, a camera and/or a lanyard or two around his neck. Photo by Sofia Saucedo.
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Winter's three decades advising publicaitons began with a question: 'Would you like a classroom?'Dave Winter has been advising publications since well before his current students were born. In the spring of 1993, while a floating first-year teacher at Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga., he was asked this question: “Would you like a classroom?” After answering affirmatively without hesitation, he was told he was the new yearbook adviser. Three schools and more than two decades later, Winter is still at it. He has been at McCallum, advising publications and teaching photojournalism, since 2015. For the better half of his 56 years, he has been married to his better half. He tries to avoid embarrassing his two amazing children on his social media account but occasionally fails. One of those amazing children, his daughter Annabel, captured this image of him working hard at his desk in the summer of 202o, while finishing the yearbook and working on NSPA individual contest entries. The portrait was her assignment for the ILPC summer photojournalism workshop which like everything else in the summer of 2020 was virtual not in person. Photo by Annabel Winter.
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Adviser Dave Winter, co-editor in chief Sophie Ryland and staff reporter Alex Dowd pose with the staff’s STAR awards and Ryland’s Dewitt C. Reddick Memorial Scholarship, all received at the ILPC final awards ceremony on Sunday at the LBJ Auditorium. Photo by Caleb Melville. (Caleb Melville)MacJournalism captures three 2019 Star Awards, including online GoldAdviser Dave Winter, co-editor in chief Sophie Ryland and staff reporter Alex Dowd pose with the staff's STAR awards and Ryland's Dewitt C. Reddick Memorial Scholarship, all received at the ILPC final awards ceremony on Sunday May 5, 2019, at the LBJ Auditorium.
The weekend of state journalism competitions started off well with sophomore Bella Russo and junior Kristen Tibbetts representing MacJournalism in the feature writing competition at the UIL State Academic contest. Tibbetts placed fifth among 5A competitors, making her the first McCallum student journalist to place at UIL State during Mr. Winter’s tenure as adviser. The final competition of ILPC weekend also went well for McCallum as sophomore Caleb Melville captured first place in the on-site photography competition for his three-image photo essay about photojournalist John Moore’s Sunday keynote address. Junior staff reporter Stella Shenkman earned honorable mention honors in the same competition.
On Saturday, the combined staffs of the Shield newspaper and Knight yearbook combined to earn six Tops in Texas awards and 63 5A Individual Achievement Awards. On Sunday, MacJournalism won three Star Awards in the same year for the first time in school history. The Shield Online was one of two scholastic websites to win a Gold Star Award for online newspapers. It was the first Gold Star for the website in its young history. The print newspaper won a Silver Star, and the yearbook won a Bronze Star. Senior co-editor-in-chief Sophie Ryland won the Dewitt C. Reddick Memorial Scholarship, worth $1,000.
Photo by Caleb Melville.
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Winter: charter member of the Madelynn Niles Fan ClubShield co-editor Alice Scott appreciates how Winter doesn’t just cheer for his student journalists while they perform their newspaper duties, but also while they pursue their other extracurricular activities. As an example, Scott recalled that Winter showed up announced at the marching band's rehearsal performance at Nelson Field before they departed for the 2021 UIL State marching competition. He brought a sign in support of then band president and flute player Madelynn Niles, who has then a senior and co-editor in chief of the Shield. “He doesn't just support us when we're pursuing excellence in the newspaper program,” Scott said. “He's always supporting us, no matter what it is.” Photo by Morgan Eye.
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MacJ editor surprise Winter on his 50th birthday in Room 134Winter turned 50 during on Sept. 4, 2017, at the start of his third year teaching journalism at McCallum. His yearbook and newspaper editors in chief—Elena Henderson, Julie Robertson, Kennedy Schuelke and Charlie Holden—marked the occasion by decorating his classroom and showing up before school with fresh bagels and a present. It occurred to Winter that it is no coincidence that the two years the faculty voted him teacher of the year, he had a strong senior class that worked very hard and made him look like he was a good teacher. 2017-2018 and 2023-2024 are also the only two years during Winter's tenure when MacJ had an editor in chief serving her second year in that role: Robertson in '17-'18 and Alice Scott in '23-'24. Photo by Mads Olsen (probably). Olsen photographed everything for MacJ back then.
Winter has taught only journalism for the second half of his teaching career. Before journalism, he taught topics like English, economics, and U.S. and world history. When he taught at Wheeler, he was offered the position of yearbook adviser.
“I started doing yearbook and eventually I started [working with] newspaper because we decided to combine the staff and make one big leadership team,” Winter said.
After a while of teaching both subjects, however, Winter realized that newspaper was what he loved most, and wanted to be involved with primarily.
“I realized that as much as I loved doing yearbook, the newspaper was my specialty and the thing I can help with the most, and I got to where that was my thing,” Winter said.
He [Winter] really loves journalism and loves photography and getting that new story out and you can see that it’s contagious among his editors and staff reporters.
— Principal Andy Baxa
For the past nine years, the highlight of working at McCallum for Winter has been seeing the good in people getting to be so hands-on with the McCallum community.
“I like writing stories about the people doing great things here,” Winter said. “I know journalism is sometimes bad news, but I like catching people doing the things that make [this school] great and then telling that story and having my students do the same.”
Senior Shield co-editor-in-chief Alice Scott is grateful to have been in Winter’s newspaper class all four years of high school, describing it as a rewarding experience she’s thankful for.
“I think that it comes down to Mr. Winter’s leadership of the program and his ability to keep on making opportunities for people to succeed,” Scott said, “while also always believing in his students to succeed.”
Scott also feels that Winter is a great role model, deserving of the award due to his dedication to helping his students understand and produce news, photographs, and the paper.
“Everything he does is for the students to learn,” Scott said. “He is good at letting this be a student-led publication [and he teaches] us to step up without forcing us to. It’s important because it teaches us executive function and making decisions ourselves.”
When you are a part of that [community] and it’s bigger than just you, There’s no better feeling that you have than the sense of community.
— Winter
Scott also appreciates how Winter doesn’t just cheer them on for newspaper duties, but also for other extracurriculars staff members have.
“He doesn’t just support us when we’re pursuing excellence in the newspaper program, he’s always supporting us, no matter what it is,” Scott said.
Principal Andy Baxa admires that Winter is passionate about the topic that he teaches and can pass that on to his students.
“You can tell he really loves journalism and loves photography and getting that new story out, and you can see that it’s contagious among his editors and staff reporters,” Baxa said. “The people in the program are always relentless, and I feel like they take the lead from Mr. Winter.”
He also thinks that Winter deserves the award for all the hard work he does to keep the school community up to date.
“He does so much that goes unnoticed for the school, the students and for our community,” Baxa said. “A lot of people rely on MacJ to know what is going on at McCallum and just having that resource available is amazing.”
![Baughman explains part of the procedue of a lab in forensics to senior Sam Sherrill. “[Baughman] believes in each of her students and gives them all her time and energy in helping them to be successful,” senior Ella Irwin said. Photo by Dave Winter.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/DSC09946-475x317.jpg)
Lily • Feb 16, 2024 at 8:44 pm
This was such a great article! It really captures what Mr. Winter has done for the school and how he has positively impacted student’s lives.
chris • Feb 15, 2024 at 2:33 pm
this story is so good and also mr winter deserved the best teacher award!
Natalie • Feb 15, 2024 at 10:02 am
I really like this article because it gives a lot of quotes and stories of students and how Mr. Winter impacted their experience at McCallum positively.
Edward Johnson • Feb 11, 2024 at 2:59 pm
I have had a lot of good teachers, but Mr. Winter is my favorite. Edward Johnson c/o 21