Sra. Cindy Avendano, who has taught Spanish at Bright since 2016, is a new American citizen. She and her husband and their two daughters were naturalized in a ceremony on Tuesday in Nashville. They moved to Chattanooga from Puebla, Mexico, in 2010.

Sra. Avendano teaches first through fifth grades. Fellow faculty and staff wrote her congratulatory notes and decorated her classroom with patriotic bunting and flowers.

Sra. Avendano is pictured with Mrs. Hyer's fifth grade class.