Brenda Stevens teaches visually impaired and blind students for Clay County Schools.
By Lorrie Ross
Staff Writer
Clay County Schools’ newest teachers were featured in a recent edition of the Clay County Progress. Yet there are five additional new faces at Clay County Schools: Natalee Palmer, Angela Hodges, Colby White, Cierra Roberts and Brenda Stevens. This group of five is not new to teaching — just new to Clay County Schools.
First, we meet Palmer, Hayesville Primary School’s new exceptional children teacher. Palmer, who is a Cherokee County native, has lived in Murphy her entire life. She has a five-year-old daughter named Nora.
Besides working at The Sweet Tooth in Murphy for 17 years, Palmer worked for Cherokee County Schools for eight years prior to joining Clay County Schools for year nine as an EC teacher. “My mother is a retired teacher and inspired me to get my master’s in education,” she said. “This is my first time teaching in the age range of 3-5.”
Her favorite teaching moment was when she started working with teachers who had taught her in middle school. “I look forward to learning a lot this school year and creating new relationships with my co-workers,” she added. “Hayesville has been very welcoming and generous to me. I am thankful for all the love and support as I venture out on my new job.”
Hodges has joined Hayesville Middle School as the EC adaptive curriculum teacher. “An adaptive curriculum teacher supports diverse learners with adaptive teaching students’ different abilities preparing them for transition post-graduation,” she said.
Hodges moved from Hendersonville, N.C. to Hayesville three months ago and she brings an extensive background to Clay County Schools. She graduated from Brenau Women’s College in 1991, then received a Master of Education in interrelated special education from Brenau University in 1996. She retired from Hall County, Ga. schools after working 30 years in special education, with 23 of those years at South Hall Middle School. She had begun her career with Hall County Schools in 1991 and retired from there in the spring of 2021.
“After teaching at the elementary school level my first five years, I was moved to South Hall Middle School,” she said. “I felt that I could connect well to the middle grade students. I bonded well with students and they understood I was there to be their advocate.”
She added, “I never wanted to see students struggle in school. I believe that all students can learn when they are taught in ways that meet their needs.” What does she look forward to at Clay County Schools? “I want to support Clay County Schools with seeing my students as well as all students succeed and grow,” she said.
She and husband, Chad, have three grown children and one grandchild. The couple enjoys taking hikes with their goldendoodle, Molly, and their border collie, Lou. “My husband and I enjoy fall Saturdays cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs. Go Dawgs.” she grinned. “I could spend hours in my porch swing reading a book or just admiring the beautiful North Carolina mountains.”
White has joined the Hayesville High School math department to teach math three, honors math three and math four. Prior to coming to Clay Schools, White taught for two years at Robbinsville Middle School, four years at Andrews High School and four years at Robbinsville High School.
“The high school age group is more of the level of my sense of humor,” he smiled. “Middle schoolers are cool, but high schoolers are cooler.”
White is a lifelong resident of western North Carolina and both of his parents are educators. “My mother and I were fortunate enough to be N.C. Teaching Fellows,” he said, proudly. In addition, White’s wife, Jill, is assistant principal for Hayesville Middle School and Hayesville High School. The couple’s daughter, Everly, attends Hayesville Primary School as a kindergartner in the dinosaur class.
“I feel like I hit my stride as an educator during year two and around year four the teaching game ‘slowed down’ for me,” he said. “I’m looking forward to much of the same.” When asked what else he would like to add, White ended with something very important to him. “Pineapple belongs on pizza.”
Roberts is a fourth-year math teacher, who originally taught math at Murphy Middle School before joining the math department at Hayesville High School in January. “I really enjoy teaching high schoolers because they are young adults trying to figure out what the next step in their life is going to be and I get to be there to help navigate them,” she said. “ I have always enjoyed working with kids. My love for teaching started at a very young age when I would set up a pretend classroom and teach different math lessons to my younger cousins.”
A graduate of Murphy High School, Roberts is a lifelong Murphy resident. “My dad’s side of the family have all lived in Murphy while my mom’s side of the family are from Georgia,” she explained. “I have an older sister, Nicole, who I have always looked up to. My mom, Nicole and I have always been close and I couldn’t ask for a better support system.”
Roberts does not have one favorite teaching memory, “I love when past students come back to visit me and catch up,” she said. She plans to make new memories at Clay Schools.
“I am looking forward to building new relationships with new students and trying to make math a subject they enjoy learning,” Roberts ended.
Stevens teaches visually impaired and blind students for Clay County Schools. “Being a TVI, I work with visually impaired and blind students from 3-21 years of age,” she explained. “My job is to help them become as independent as possible in their school setting. Aside from teaching braille to a totally blind student or one with a degenerative eye condition, there is assistive technology and self-advocacy skills that need to be taught in order to ensure independence.”
Her career began in the fall of 1998, when she started working with a blind student as a substitute one-on-one in St. Louis Public Schools. “I did not know what I wanted to do with my educational degree before that sub job,” she said. “I added certification for VI/B to my teaching license. I worked for two years as an Itinerant Teacher for the Visually Impaired with the St. Louis Public Schools while getting my certification, before moving to Missouri School for the Blind from 2000 to 2005.” That summer, she moved to North Carolina to live nearer a sister. She began working for Rowan-Salisbury Schools as an itinerant teacher for the visually impaired until the end of the 2023 school year.
“With this job, I am unable to choose an age level to work with. VI/B is a low incidence condition, so unless you are working at one of the schools for the blind, you work with a large age range and skill levels,” she explained. “I love introducing the PK students to tactile books and teaching them how to explore. Later teaching to the same or another student braille and the joy of reading, with tactile graphics. At the Missouri School for the Blind, I was able to teach the 13-21 year old cooking and social skills. However, I have noticed over the years a lack of braille and tactile materials for the youngest of the students — the 3-8 year olds. I would like to do something to make a difference with that age group.
“In Feb. 2023, on my birthday, I moved to Murphy, at the request of my son,” she continued. “This year I am looking forward to my students learning enough technology to use it in her class to take notes.”