Steven Davis and Adam Moore Earn 2024’s Top Faculty Honors

Each year, Brewster bestows its highest faculty honors with The Arthur Morris Kenison Faculty Award for Career Growth and The Arthur Morris Kenison Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. Head of School Kristy Kerin revealed the 2024 recipients of these awards during her welcome remarks at Brewster’s All-School Meeting on September 3. Those incredible educators are Mathematics faculty member Adam Moore (who is also Brewster's Snowboarding and Mountain Biking coach), and World Languages Department Chair Steven Davis (who is also Brewster's Immersive Programs Coordinator). Let us tell you a little bit more about these talented men who wear several hats in our community!

Adam Moore
Mr. Moore is beginning his fourth year at Brewster, and was nominated by several colleagues to receive the Career Growth Award, given in recognition of the faculty member who over the course of the year has demonstrated the most accelerated professional growth within the Brewster Academy program. “Mr. Moore’s dedication to students is evident in the praise he receives in his course evaluations,” Ms. Kerin told the gathered student and faculty audience on Brown Field. “A fellow teacher noted that he is ‘relentlessly thinking of innovative ways to teach and connect with students.’ Another faculty member said, ‘His classroom is always lively in a positive and engaging way.’ Students know that he cares deeply about their success, both inside and outside of the classroom.”

Mr. Moore grew up in Wolfeboro, but has spent many years traveling from India to France and learning new languages. During his years at Eastern University in Pennsylvania, where he graduated with a BA in Exercise Science, he worked in a YMCA youth gym teaching children ages 8-14. He has also served as a teacher and dorm parent for Brewster’s various summer programs, where he taught team river kayaking and canoeing, led an overnight river canoeing trip, and took students into Boston for college visits. As a full-time faculty member, Mr. Moore calls upon his background in construction and architecture to help create hands-on learning experiences for his students, helping them discover the joy of learning. 

He is also a great colleague. Members of his department highlight how he has helped support new members of the department as they navigate the curriculum. He goes out of his way to help others thrive in their roles. 

“Mr. Moore enthusiastically attends professional development sessions and looks for ways to apply new techniques and ideas, always looking to bring subject matter to life in relevant ways,” Ms. Kerin continued in her presentation. “By tapping into his professional experiences prior to teaching, he is able to create unique lessons that allow students to become architects of their own learning.”

His classroom is a lively and positive place where students feel inspired to stretch, in part due to his innovation. Outside the classroom, Mr. Moore is known to bring energy, joy, and experience to our afternoon programs. “For the ways that he helps students thrive on the mountain bike trails and snowboarding slopes, and for helping students develop a genuine excitement for mathematics, we recognize this year’s recipient of the The Arthur Morris Kenison Faculty Award for Career Growth, Mr. Adam Moore,” Ms. Kerin said as applause and cheers rang out. 

Steven Davis
Living the life of the mind, Steven Davis has devoted himself to education. After earning his BA in French Language and Literature from Hood College, he went on to earn two Master's degrees: the first in French Literature from Middlebury College and the second in French and Francophone Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Currently working on his Ph.D. in French Studies from Brown University, Mr. Davis serves as the chair of Brewster’s World Languages Department and as the Immersive Programs Coordinator.

During his four years at Brewster, Mr. Davis’s contributions to the academic program have been vast and varied. “He is recognized for his tireless pursuit of growth,” Ms. Kerin said. “His colleagues note the ways that he maximizes every moment of class time, continually seeks feedback to refine his teaching, and conducts thorough research to stay at the forefront of his field. In this way, he sets a high standard for his colleagues and inspires those around him to be their best.”

Known as a lover of language, Mr. Davis has an attention to detail, precise language, and a deep desire for excellence in all forms. He has also raised his hand for a range of new challenges and leadership opportunities. “I’ve appreciated seeing the ways that these new roles have pushed him to grow his talents beyond pedagogy and curriculum to operations and delivery,” Ms. Kerin noted. “His efforts behind the scenes are invaluable, and his leadership in the academic program is deeply appreciated by all who have the pleasure of working with him. We are grateful for the ways he inspires a deep appreciation for languages, global education, and experiential learning as he leads our Interim Studies Program, oversees our immersive programs, and leads our world language department.”

The Arthur Morris Kenison Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching is given in recognition of demonstrated excellence in teaching practices and overall contributions within the Brewster Academy program, two areas in which Mr. Davis has clearly excelled.

Mr. Davis was first drawn to Brewster in 2021 for the school’s strong sense of community and its commitment to meeting students where they are as learners. “As soon as I stepped onto campus, I knew that I was in the right place—far more than a setting to carry out my work as an educator, Brewster felt like home,” he says. “Here, there is an overwhelming sense that students and faculty live, learn, challenge, empower, and grow together in pursuit of something greater than themselves.” When not busy working with students, Mr. Davis enjoys cooking, traveling, reading, playing board games, and spending time with his friends and family.

The History of the Awards
Brewster’s Career Growth and Excellence in Teaching awards are named for the late Arthur M. Kenison, Ph.D, who served devotedly on Brewster’s Board of Trustees from 1979 to 1999 as the chair of the board finance committee. The Kenison family has strong and lasting ties to Brewster: Arthur’s grandfather, also Arthur, was Brewster Class of 1899. His uncles, Frank ’25 and Arthur ’30, were also Board members, and his father Samuel was Class of 1927. Brewster's library is dedicated to the Kenison Family legacy and the Keinson House dorm is named after Arthur ’30 and his wife Doris. It is an appropriate honor to name two of Brewster’s most prestigious awards after a man who devoted himself to ensuring a sound foundation for the school his family loved so dearly.