Mark Oglesby teaches AP US Government and Politics and AP Comparative Government and Politics in the OCHS Social Studies Department. is the head Volleyball coach, assistant tennis coach, and advises Youth Assembly and FCA. Growing up and attending school on the west coast, Mark has taught around the country, as his commitment to his faith and family have led him. After stops in Washington, Michigan, and Texas, he moved to Georgia to be near his ailing mother and began teaching at OCHS in 2019. 

As a teacher, Mark has taught history (US and World), government (including both the AP courses), geography, and psychology. Mark believes the study of social studies is critical to preparing students to be productive, responsible citizens. He strongly supports Horace Mann’s idea that “schoolhouses are the republican lines of fortification” and to sustain our representative government, students need the critical thinking skills that the study of social studies provides. 

Mark has advised student council, FCA, Youth and Government/Youth Assembly, and We the People in his career and will advise at OCHS. Likewise, he has coached basketball and football as an assistant, and has been the head coach of baseball, tennis, and volleyball during his time as an educator. Mark will be coaching at OCHS as well, as he believes it helps make him a better teacher and allows him to connect with students. Mark has received local (Maple Valley (WA) Teacher of the Year and Howell (MI) Teacher of the Year), state (Michigan Teacher of the Year finalist, Michigan Civic Education Teacher of the Year, and Michigan DAR History Teacher of the Year), and national (James Madison Memorial Fellowship and American Civic Education Teacher Award) recognition in his teaching career. 

As a student, Mark has primarily studied history and political science, earning his B.A. in Education (History and Geography) at the University of Nevada, Reno. As a Madison Fellow (James Madison Memorial Fellowship), he took classes at Georgetown University for his Masters in Social Science from Eastern Michigan University. 

Mark has served on the College Board’s Test Development Committee for AP US Government and the Instructional Design Team for the redesigned course. He also serves as a Table Leader/Reader scoreing the AP US GoPo exam. He helped train teachers from the Czech Republic and Slovakia on democracy education and presented at multiple local, state, and national conferences. Mark has served as a city councilmember, a delegate to a national convention, a political party chair, a greeter at his church, and volunteer at organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Children’s Hunger Fund, and Ronald McDonald House. He will look for opportunities to be involved in the Oconee community. When he isn’t teaching, Mark enjoys sports, reading, and traveling with his family.

For more information, see Mr. Oglesby’s CV.