By Lorrie Ross
Staff Writer
As reported in last week’s Clay County Progress, seven new teachers joined Clay County Schools for the 2025-2026 school year. This week, meet the four you did not get to meet last week: Whitley Grizzle, Lynette Holloway, Katarzyna Kaczmarek, and Carissa Owenby.
These veteran teachers have started at Clay Schools, along with the three we introduced last week: Elizabeth Arreaga, Olivia Cook and Madison Crawford.
Grizzle has been teaching for 13 years and is happy to return to Clay County Schools. As a teacher of Exceptional Children, she will be working with kindergarten through second grade children at Hayesville Primary School.
She and her husband live in Blairsville, Ga. “We have family in neighboring counties,” she said, “I enjoy spending time with family and friends, camping and being creative.”
To Grizzle, being a motivating force to her students is important. “I enjoy teaching children and watching them learn new skills,” she added. “I hope to be a light to my students and help them achieve their goals.”
Holloway has brought her teaching experience to Hayesville High School, where she will be teaching the adapted curriculum classroom. This is year four of teaching for her, but she also worked for three years as a teacher assistant while earning her degree from Liberty University.
Holloway’s previous teaching experience was with schools in Cherokee County where the lifelong Murphy resident lived. “Hanging Dog to be exact,” she smiled. “Isaiah Jacobs, my best friend throughout my school career, is a big reason I became a special education teacher. Isaiah taught me so many life lessons that I cannot wait to share with my students. My mom was also a teacher for 30 plus years, so I spent a lot of time in her classroom during the summers and after school. I remember always wanting a classroom of my own one day.”
She previously taught grades kindergarten-fifth grade. “High School will be a big adjustment for me,” she explained. “However, I am super excited for the change and can’t wait to work on daily life skills with my students. I have a great team and can’t wait to see what this year brings.”
Kaczmarek is another new face at Hayesville High School, but she is far from new to teaching. Prior to joining HHS, Kaczmarek was a teacher in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla. school system for 18 years.
“My name is Katarzyna, Kasia for short, but everyone calls me Kat,” she said. “My husband and I moved to Hayesville a year ago and absolutely love it here. We have a son and a daughter, both of whom are out of the school system and pursuing higher education. We also have two spoiled dogs, a German shepherd and a coonhound.”
She will be teaching several sciences at HHS: physical science, chemistry, physics and possibly forensic science. “I love working with students and particularly enjoy sharing my love and enthusiasm for science,” she continued. “I teach the older students because of the subjects I prefer to teach, but I enjoy teaching all grade levels. I’m really looking forward to getting to know my students and everyone in the community and feel privileged to be here.”
Owenby has been teaching for 12 years. Now, she is teaching seventh grade English Language Arts at Hayesville Middle School. “I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember,” she said. “However, one very special teacher, Mrs. Leek, is the reason I ultimately became an educator.”
Owenby hopes to make a difference for her students the same way. “I hope I can make a difference in their lives, just like my teachers did for me,” she said. “Middle school is a new adventure for me and I am really enjoying getting to know my students. I am most excited to get to know all my students and fellow staff members. This community is the best. I am also looking forward to cheering on and maybe even coaching some Jackets again.”
Owenby is also a proud mother. “I am blessed to be the mom of three little girls, Sadie, Nora and Ellie,” Owenby said. “They are the most important part of my life and I am so grateful that God chose me to be their mom.”
Owenby ended, “This is where I graduated from and I’m so glad to be a Jacket again.”