New Faculty for 2018-2019

As I have written previously, I am convinced that one of the most important aspects of my job is hiring the right teachers to join the faculty of our school. I echo this theme each year when I write this blog post, but it really is true. Identifying the teachers that align with our culture and mission is critical to the sustained success we have enjoyed at Brainerd Baptist School. I have often joked that "retirement and babies" are most often the culprits for change in our faculty, and this has once again proven to be the case this spring. 

While we had more openings this year than I can ever remember having at one time, we were blown away with some amazing applicants for our open positions. What was particularly encouraging for us was the number of alumni and former faculty who applied. With so many great applicants, just selecting the candidates to interview was a challenge. However, our faculty teams did an amazing job interviewing many candidates for our positions. Please join me in welcoming the following new teachers to Brainerd Baptist School for the fall of 2018.

• 1st Grade - Ms. Natalie Daniel - Natalie is a graduate of Brainerd Baptist School and was involved in our STUCO organization before attending Baylor School. She is a recent graduate of Birmingham Southern College where she was involved in activities like lacrosse, Honor Council, student government, and many more. 
   
• 2nd Grade - Mrs. Christy Martin - Christy is a former first grade teacher at Brainerd Baptist School. She trained under Mrs. Deb Stromberg, and her first students are now seniors in high school! She also graduated from Baylor School before attending the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga to earn her degree in elementary education. After taking time to have children and assist her husband in their family business, Christy is excited to return to the classroom.
   
• Bible/Chaplain - Mr. Preston Kane - Preston is also a graduate of BBS. He then graduated from David Brainerd Christian School and attended the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. He has spent a year in Mongolia on mission work during college, and has recently returned to Chattanooga after living in Louisville, KY, where he attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Preston and his wife, Alex, are the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl, Elowen. 

In addition to the new hires, we have made the following internal moves:

• K4 - Mrs. Karica Harner will be moving from a teacher assistant position into a teaching position. Karica is finishing up her master's degree in education from Liberty University and has been waiting for the right opportunity to move into a teaching position.
• K5 - Mrs. Rebecca Stubblefield will be moving from K4 to K5. Rebecca also recently completed her master's degree in education from Carson Newman University and has been patiently awaiting a full-time position. 
• PE/AD - Dr. Chad Owens will be moving from the Bible/Chaplain position to serve as our PE teacher/AD. Over the last few years, Dr. Owens has helped coach both volleyball and basketball. He is an exercise, nutrition, and wellness enthusiast and is looking forward to building upon the foundation that Coach Ledbetter has put in place.
• K4 - Mrs. Chelsey King will be moving from K5 to a K4 position. Mrs. King has taught K5 the last two years. Mrs. King recently had her third child and is moving into a part-time teaching position to accommodate her new schedule.