New Faces in Knox County Classrooms

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When school resumed last week in the Knox County Public Schools, new students were not the only unfamiliar faces that could be seen in classrooms throughout the district.

Twenty three teachers, all new to Knox County, were hired this summer to join the district’s team of educators.

“This group of new teachers brings enthusiasm and energy that will have a positive impact on our learning environment and help foster relationships with the students that they teach,” said Frank Shelton, public information director for the district.

“We met with the new teachers during induction the day before school started, and you could feel the excitement and eagerness to get started.”

The new hires are a result of several retirements and transfers that took place at the end of school last year.

“We will certainly miss the knowledge and wisdom that our veteran teachers brought to the classroom, but we also look forward to the new innovative teaching styles of this new generation of educators,” said Shelton.

Among the new teachers are five from the Teach for America program, which the school district partnered with last year.

“Teach for America places recent college graduates into urban and rural classrooms, like Knox County, for two years,” said Shelton.

“They are very talented group of young adults, who were high achievers in college, and who bring with them much diversity and many life experiences. We look forward to having them with us.”

New teachers in the Knox County Public Schools include:

Jason Baker, Knox Central
Lori Bargo, Lynn Camp
Andrew Brown, Lynn Camp
Whitney Bruce, Lynn Camp
Bryce Butler, Knox Central (Teach for America)
Samantha Buchanan, Lynn Camp
Robbi Cobb, Central Elementary
Victoria Engelhardt, Knox Central (Teach for America)
Marc Estep, Lynn Camp
Chessa Fernandez, Lynn Camp (Teach for America)
April Gonzalez, Knox Central
Kimber Hall, Lynn Camp
Dustin Johnson, Lynn Camp
Terry Jones, Lynn Camp
Jennifer Lamb, Knox Central
Stephanie Lawless, Lynn Camp
Brittany Mills, Knox Central
Elizabeth Mills, Lynn Camp
Travis Mills, Knox Central
Phil Russell, Lynn Camp
Leah Stoner, Lynn Camp (Teach for America)
Hector Urbaneja, Knox Central
Bjorn Wastvedt, Knox Central (Teach for America)