As students return to their classrooms to begin the new school year, they will be welcomed by the smiling faces of administrators, teachers, and support staff members. Some of those faces will be new, while some have been around a while. This week, the administration of Marietta Public Schools announces their employees for the rapidly approaching school year.
The county’s largest district, Marietta also has the largest staff – 124 members strong when all are counted.
All administrators are returning from last year. They include Brandi Naylor, Superintendent; Adam Sherfield, High School Principal/Coach; Ron Norman, Assistant High School Principal/Coach; Carrie Tucker, Middle School Principal; Dana McMillin, Elementary Principal; and Ann Rutledge, Primary Principal.
While some faculty and staff members serve in one area or classroom, Marietta Public Schools has other team members who serve multiple sites or grades.
Serving across the district are Jeral Berry, Maintenance/Transportation Director; Wendy Birks, Child Nutrition Director; Alex Doby, Athletic Director/Coach; Nate Jackson, Technology Director; Josh Jones, Technology Systems Analyst; Robin Mayes, District Librarian; Maverick McClendon, Special Education Director/Elementary Special Education; and Tammy Sherfield, Instructional Coach.
School counselors wear a lot of hats. They conduct behavioral and academic counseling, bridge any gaps between students and administrators, teachers, and parents, maintain student records, and help students identify and address issues that interfere with education.
Marietta’s counselors for the 2022-23 school year are Tonya Bucher, High School Counselor; Kimberly Fraire, High School Counselor; Candy McDonald, Primary Counselor; Heather McMahon, Elementary Counselor; and Alyson Stokes, Middle School Counselor.
Keeping buildings clean and neat this year will be custodians Bertha Carmona, Josefina Fernandez, Maria Garcia, Maria D. Salas, Maria Sanchez, Yesenia Sanchez, and Grecia Varela.
And keeping the offices running smoothly will be Cynthia O’Connor, Business Office Manager; Nati Sanchez, Encumbrance Clerk; Angela Vega, Activities Clerk/Treasurer; Danielle Winchester, Activities Clerk/Treasurer; High School Secretary Michaela Sanchez; Middle School Secretary Kristi Mansfield; Elementary School Secretary Roberta Morgan; and Primary School Secretary Denise Balog.
The “heavy lifting” of district maintenance will be handled by Steven Henson, D.J. Petersen, and Rosalio Rueda.
Teacher assistants play an important role in every school system. They provide support and reinforcement for teachers, provide students with one-on-one help, assist teachers with administrative tasks and lesson prep. Any teacher will tell you that a good assistant is worth their weight in gold.
This year, Marietta will have several important teacher assistants. Following is a list of their names and assignments: Shanna Baker, elementary library; Erin Banta, Pre-K; Glenda Bennett, Pre-K; Olivia Carmona, high school EL; Tory Douglass, Special Education/Coach; Mercedes Hill, middle school Special Education; Ronette Hunter, Pre-K; Becky Jones, high school Special Education; Maria Juanez, primary EL; Lacie Kirk, primary; Amber Mitchell, elementary Special Education; Brittany Presley, Kindergarten; Cathy Roberts, middle school library; Jazmin Salas, elementary EL; Tina Sykora, high school library; Becky Thompson, primary; Angela Wall, Pre-K; and Ashleigh Wood, primary;
In a district the size of Marietta, teachers are often shared between grades, or even sites. This years “shared” teachers include Josh Bazor, FFA/Agriculture Education; Amanda Faulkenberry, Family and Consumer Sciences; Eric Gallaway, Band Director; Erin Hansen, middle/high school ELL; Kelsi Kamesch, FFA/Agriculture Education; Sharon Manley, Yearbook, STEM, and Speech; Bonnie Petersen, Art; Jenna Phipps, Special Education; LaWanna Reed, Elementary Music; Jake Rhodes, Assistant Band Director; Julie Salas, Special Education; Amanda Sanders, EL Specialist; Derek Saxon, Elementary PE; Stacy Scarbrough, EL Specialist; Courteney Starsick, middle/high school Music; and Hope Willis, Special Education.
The primary school includes grades Pre-K through second. Primary teachers in Pre-K will be Tammy Blevins, Christina Conway, Karin Mathis, and Sheri Willis. Kindergarten teachers will be Lacee Ballard, Kathleen Burk, Heather Cummings, and Jaime Hartman,
First grade teachers for the coming school year will be Michelle Apgar, Jodi Barnes, Rebecca Chambers, and Elizabeth Spradlin, and rounding out the Primary as second grade teachers will be Kacie Bone, Mischelle Brown, Aimee Burchfield, and Bre’ Daniel.
Elementary school includes third through fifth grades. Serving as third grade teachers will be Amber Boatright, Kassie Drain, Amy Miller, and Jessica D. Wolfe. Fourth grade teachers will be Celinda Garner, Shari Hallum, Kelli Bollin, and Regina McGill, while Beth Hallum, Courtney Jackson, Ailey Self, and Jade Stein will instruct fifth grade students.
In the middle school, which serves students in sixth through eighth grades, teachers and their assignments are: Kamiah Anderson, Science/Coach; Jacob Austin, History; Marilyn Corbin, Math; Chris Dobbins, STEM; Jennifer Dobbins, Science; Ryan Gibbs, Math; Sara Gore, Language Arts; LeaAnn Hicks, Language Arts; Harry Jessie, History; and Cheyenne Rhoades, Language Arts.
Teaching freshmen through senior students are high school teachers Scott Anderson, Science; Tanica Anderson, Computers/Coach; Kenny Barnes, History/Coach; Lantze Blevins, Math; Tony Buchanan. History/Coach; Pam Higle, English; Ryan Keeton, Math/Coach; Stacey Marris, Social Studies/Coach; Ronda Norman, English; Kevin Parsons, Math/History/Coach; Stacey Roach, Science; John Shumaker, Math; and Jessica Wolfe, English.
And last, but certainly not least, helping to keep all the hungry kiddos fed will be Danna Clifton and Maria Salas.