Greenville County Schools Superintendent W. Burke Royster today announced the selection of Adam Scheuch, band director at Mauldin High School, the 2014-15 Greenville County Teacher of the Year.
When he was a junior in high school, Mauldin High Band Director Adam Scheuch realized that he wanted to pass along his own enjoyment of music to the next generation. Encouraged by his teachers, he began teaching private trumpet lessons to middle school students, and soon discovered that he wanted to become a teacher.
He graduated from Furman University with a Bachelor of Music in Instrumental Education, and earned a Master of Music Education from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. He has served as Band Director at Mauldin High since 2004.
Scheuch says he learned a lot during his first year of teaching that helped him become the teacher he is today. The most important lesson was that all students want to be loved for who they are. “Students participate in band for a wide variety of reasons, least of which is to become the best musician in history. The one common bond among all of my students is that they still seek the love and approval of the adults in their lives,” said Scheuch.
A 16-year veteran teacher, Mr. Scheuch has made a tremendous impact on the lives of hundreds of band students. “We use the most difficult of times to rally around each other for support,” he said. “Whether it’s the unexpected loss of a parent, or a sibling’s life cut short, our students step up to console each other. There is an outpouring of emotion and physical support that continues through their time in band.”
In 2011, this National Board Certified teacher took the Mauldin High band to New Orleans to perform during the half-time show at the Sugar Bowl. While there, they partnered with the Roots of Music, a local charity that provides needy students with free meals, academic tutoring, music lessons, and transportation. “Nearly all of the students were from the areas most devastated by Hurricane Katrina,” explained Scheuch. “Our students delivered 42 donated instruments and $450 to help their cause. Many tears of joy were shed that night as our own students learned to be more grateful for what they have.”
Mr. Scheuch wants his students to carry on a tradition of excellence not just in music, but in all aspects of life. “l convince young people that they matter, that their entire team matters, that achievements only come through hard work, and that reaching goals through hard work is satisfying in and of itself,” he said. “l have embedded in them the need to be gracious losers and even more gracious winners, to take responsibility for their actions, and to recognize how their contributions affect those around them. Music is simply the avenue I use to achieve my greatest accomplishment: I develop better human beings.”