The Bright School welcomes five new classroom teachers and a new school counselor for the 2018-19 school year. The new teachers are Rachel Berger in JPK, Jill Johnson in PK, Heather Cooper in kindergarten, Farrah Barto in fourth grade and Jennifer Galloway in fifth grade.  Rachel Desmond is our new counselor.

Due to increased enrollment to nearly 340, the school added two more classrooms of junior pre-kindergarten (JPK) and pre-kindergarten (PK). This brings the number of classrooms per grade to three for grades JPK through fifth.

Teachers in several grades have switched to other grades. Karen Smith moved to first grade, and Emily Satterfield to second grade. There were no changes in the third grade team.

Rachel Desmond - School Counselor
Ms. Desmond was the school counselor for two years at Rossville Elementary School, where she worked with about 500 students. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Auburn University and her master’s degree in counselor education at the University of Virginia. During her master’s program, she worked in the Albemarle County public schools and in the Student-Athlete Transitional Academic Readiness Program at UVA.

Rachel Berger - JPK
Mrs. Berger has been a preschool teacher at Belvoir Christian Academy since 2004. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She joins Karen Thompson and Cathy Hicks on the JPK team.

Jill Johnson – PK
Mrs. Johnson comes to Bright after eight years teaching at Highland Plaza United Methodist Preschool. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She joins the PK team of Emily Hon and Katie Shirley.

Heather Cooper – Kindergarten
Mrs. Cooper has 16 years of teaching experience, most recently as a kindergarten teacher in Hamilton County and in Georgia. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama and her master’s degree in education from Walden University. She joins the kindergarten team of Jana Evans and Bill Greene.

First Grade team: Karen Smith, Merrill Levine and LeAnne Sharpe
Second Grade team: Denise Hurlbut, MacKenzie Taylor and Emily Satterfield
Third Grade team: Allie Hyer, Kendra Reasor and Cindy Womack

Farrah Barto – Fourth Grade
Mrs. Barto has been a reading and language arts teacher for elementary and middle schools in the area and last taught at Red Bank Middle School. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a master’s degree in secondary English education from Middle Tennessee State University. Her husband, David, graduated from Bright in 1988. She joins the fourth grade team of Amanda Angel and Allison Sakich.

Jennifer Galloway – Fifth Grade
Mrs. Galloway spent 11 years at Prince of Peace Catholic School in Taylors, South Carolina, and taught fifth, fourth and second grades. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Western Carolina University. She joins the fifth grade team of Brenda Austin and Ann O’Brien.

Early Childhood Assistants

JPK
Mady Ashe-Mrs. Rachel
Chasity Robinson-Ms. Karen
Kayla Greco-Mrs. Cathy

PK
Jasmine Mathews-Ms. Emily
Hannah Layton-Mrs. Katie
Madison Simmons-Mrs. Jill

Kindergarten
Kortney Gordon-Mrs. Heather
Amy Hutcherson-Mr. Bill
Abbie Cook-Mrs. Jana