Laura Streets, who was LeAnne Sharpe's assistant in kindergarten last year, will be a lead teacher. Laura previously taught kindergarten and first grade at Graysville Elementary School and PK at West Side Elementary School. Her assistant is Sheila Cleek. Kayla Greco is returning to JPK and will be Rachel Berger's assistant.

Jenna Leckenby is moving from JPK. Mary Katherine White (formerly Wheeler) will be Jill Johnson's assistant and our part-time database coordinator in the afternoons.

Sarah Hays will be a new teacher, and her assistant is Claudia Latture, who has been a Bright Afternoons and Bright Days counselor. Before coming to Bright School, Ms. Hays was a literacy interventionist at Apison Elementary and also taught third grade at Red Bank Elementary. She earned her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from UTC and her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction at Carson-Newman University.

LeAnne Sharpe is moving from kindergarten. 

Jasmine White is moving from PK.

Martha Hanzelik is our new P.E. coach. She was Coach Linehart's maternity sub this spring. Coach Hanzelik previously was a P.E. teacher, varsity softball coach, assistant varsity volleyball coach and head middle school softball coach at GPS since 2018. Before that, she taught P.E. at Signal Mountain Middle High School and Bruce Randolph School in Denver, Colorado. She earned her bachelor's degree in physical education with a minor in secondary education at Middle Tennessee State University and her master's degree in teaching and learning specialization in business management at Colorado State University.

Jana Evans is moving from the classroom to the Kilbride Enrichment Center, supporting students in PK-first grade. She previously taught first grade and kindergarten and was the interim librarian when she arrived at Bright in 2016. While music teacher Julia Mayo is on maternity leave through December, Karen Smith will teach her classes, and Margaret White will handle Karen's students in the Kilbride Enrichment Center.

Our new director of communications and marketing is Deanna Luna, who has been the director of digital communications and photography at McCallie since 2019. She has also served as assistant director of communications and marketing at McCallie and digital communications and project manager at GPS. During her time at McCallie, the school won several awards for its homepage, social media campaigns, admissions videos and other efforts. Mrs. Luna earned her bachelor's degree in psychology and communications at Catawba College in North Carolina and her master's degree in industrial and organizational psychology at UTC. 

Brittany Williams, who graduated from Bright in 1998, is the new director of student services. She has been a marriage and family therapist in her private practice in Chattanooga and a school-based therapist for Centerstone, working with elementary school students. She is a trained yoga teacher with 10 years of experience. She earned her master's degree in marriage and family therapy at Trevecca Nazarene University and her bachelor's degree in communication and information at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

As previously announced, Jennifer Dillon joins our team as director of finance. Jennifer has been the chief financial and operations officer at St. Andrew's-Sewanee School the last three years. She served in the same capacity at Highlands School in Birmingham, Alabama, and Congressional School in Falls Church, Virginia. She is licensed as a CPA in Tennessee and Virginia. Mrs. Dillon earned her bachelor's in public relations at Otterbein College in Ohio and her associate's degree in accounting at New River Community College in Virginia.