The MASTER Teacher – From a Single Need to a Complete Solution

The Need

In 1963, Robert L. (Bob) DeBruyn began his career in education. On his first day, after a warm welcome from the principal, he was sent into the classroom with nothing more than a teacher’s handbook, a grade book, a textbook, a class roster containing 150 names, and the expectation that he would be a highly effective teacher.

Throughout that initial year, he witnessed numerous first-year teachers with great potential lose their enthusiasm and ideals by Thanksgiving. He also observed more experienced teachers stumble as the months passed. Teachers of all experience levels began to dislike the profession as a whole—including students, parents, colleagues, and administrators.

More than 40 years later, similar situations continue to occur in schools throughout the country. Too frequently, teachers are asked to learn and grow alone through trial and error. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way.

The MASTER Teacher® Service

Throughout his experiences, Bob realized one crucial fact about education: To be an effective teacher, one must be able to understand and relate to students. He also recognized that many teachers become disenchanted and leave the profession due to a lack of continuous training and assistance. He believed that specific attitudes and skills, emphasizing academics and relationships, are necessary for teacher success and satisfaction—and these attitudes and skills must be introduced and fostered by the school or district administration.

To fulfill this essential need, Bob wrote a brochure in 1968, which he called The MASTER Teacher®. In 1969, he founded this company using the same name. The goal of both the brochures and the company was to give teachers continuous professional training.

From the first brochure, The MASTER Teacher has built not only a strong program for teachers but other crucial services that reach every kind of educator all over the world.

A Complete Professional Development Solution

Over more than 30 years, The MASTER Teacher has discovered other needs in schools and developed methods for providing effective solutions for professional growth and development for all educators.

We have added nine publications to our line—each devoted to a specific role within the learning community. School employees, from the educational office professional to the superintendent, and even parents have the opportunity for continuous learning and access to assistance. Plus, many of our publications, including The MASTER Teacher®, now have companion web components that provide more resources to help educators and parents tackle the challenges of today’s schools.

Our solutions have extended beyond publications to include numerous books and videos that provide more in-depth professional development on specific subjects. Our books are written with reflection and growth in mind, often including forms, activities, and space for notes. Our videos are professional, engaging, and the perfect length for staff development sessions. Our books and videos target paraeducators, classroom teachers, special educators, mentor teachers, principals, superintendents, parents, and many others in the school community.

We have also developed e-learning solutions. Our easy-to-use, effective, self-directed learning environments are used to train thousands of educators each year. We offer six different e-learning centers that target many roles in the school community, including paraeducators, office professionals, substitute teachers, classroom teachers, and special educators.

Last, but certainly not least, we have added countless award products for educators that recognize and encourage professional excellence in unique and appealing ways.

And we continue to discover practical methods to further enrich the professional lives of educators.

The Future

From one man with a mission to over sixty employees and growing, The MASTER Teacher has developed and matured.

We will continue to provide educators with cutting-edge professional development solutions as we advance into the future.