His colleagues have said:

• When I think of him, I think of 'personal best,' a term some athletes - gym rats, runner, bike riders, and swimmers, are always working towards. And this correlates with being an exemplary teacher and being a student in his classroom. He pushes his students and encourages his students to reach their 'personal best.' His perseverance, dedication, and yes, competitive spirit, make him a shining example of what an exemplary teacher can and should be.

• He is dedicated. He brings history alive for his students. He teaches respect - respect for adults, respect of others, and most importantly, respect for self.

• He is an exemplary teacher because he truly knows the standards and addresses them in his lessons. He also willingly helps other staff members in their lesson planning to better address the standards. He does not just teach a lesson, he keeps fine-tuning the lesson until all students understand the concept.
  
  
• What is exceptional about him is that rather than just accepting student output that is anything less than excellent, he goes back and 'builds a better mousetrap' through redesign of his lessons. Furthermore, even if he is satisfied with the output, he still goes back to his drawing board to improve upon it.

• He is a servant to his students. In the hours that he is teaching at Columbus, he gives himself over, completely, to making sure that each of his students progresses academically and socially. He is a model of reflective scholarship, a characteristic that his students assume upon leaving his classroom each June. Mark is a great teacher!

Mark Ouweleen has extremely high expectations for himself and for his students. Through his unwavering and relentless pursuit of excellence his students, year after year, meet and surpass grade level standards. He is truly deserving of this recognition for sustained Teaching Excellence.