8th Grade Science

My family and I are all from Washington State and recently moved to Rutherford County in the spring of 2023. This is my 13th or so year of teaching at the secondary level. Initially after college, I was a personal trainer/athletic performance coach where I worked with middle, high, and collegiate athletes to help them become better at their sport. I felt called to use my degree in Biology with a broader audience and make a greater impact on the lives of adolescents. I went back to school and earned my teaching credential shortly after. A 7th grade middle school position opened up near my family so I began teaching and also coaching boys basketball but at a different local high school. My family moved further away from the middle school I was at but was blessed with an opening at the high school where I was coaching basketball and secured the position. After several years, the feeder middle school where my wife was a school counselor had an opening which allowed for me to also teach everyday leadership in addition to science. I continued to coach basketball but also added girls hoops to the mix. Over half a decade later, our family made a cross country trip through Nashville and fell in love with the people, food, landscape, and way of life in the area. We sold our home shortly after and was able to find the perfect home for our family close to the Stewarts Creek Campus where I was hired in the late spring to teach science and coach the girls basketball team.