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Students of the Demopolis City School System will kick off a new school year Thursday, August 8, and they will be welcomed by many new faces filling a variety of positions.

Earlier this summer, the board of education approved hires to fill three principal positions. Tisha Lewis will be the principal at Westside Elementary, Derrick Hester at Demopolis Middle School and Bridgett Powell will fill the role at U.S. Jones.

Last week, new employees to the system were welcomed during an orientation event. Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff credited the new principals, along with DHS Principal Blaine Hathcock, for their efforts in filling vacancies.

“This is a great group of employees. They learned a lot during the orientation and we learned a lot from them,” Kallhoff said.

Summer projects on school campuses are winding down, according to the superintendent. “We’ll have some things that will be going on, but nothing that will interrupt classes,” he said.

With doors opening to students on Thursday, Kallhoff said teachers are ready for a great school year.

“We are excited about this school year,” he said. “We have a great group of teachers and employees who are excited about teaching and learning. We can’t wait to welcome the students back.”

Following is a brief introduction to some of the new employees to the system, including those hired during the previous school year.

Linda Anderson will teach third grade at Westside Elementary School. She is from Pensacola, Florida, and has been a teacher for 20 years.

Eve Hughes will teach fourth-grade reading and history at U.S. Jones Elementary School. She is from Mobile and began her teaching career in December 2018.

Anna Foy will teach fifth-grade math and science at USJ. She is from Statesboro, Georgia and is going on her fifth year of teaching.

Katie Kolar will also teach fifth-grade math and science at USJ. She is from Colorado Springs, Colorado and is entering her first year of teaching.

Jessica Bowden will teach first grade at WES. She is from Thomaston and has been teaching for 18 years.

Shawn Castleberry, PhD, will be the band director at Demopolis Middle School and assistant director at Demopolis High School.

Zoe Lewis will teach special education. She is from Demopolis, and this is her first year of teaching.

Natasha Ladnier will teach integrated pre-k. She’s been teaching for three years and is from Bonney Lake, Washington.

Shelby Gillroy is a special education teacher from Gardendale, Alabama. She has been teaching for a year and a half.

Suzann Hughes will teach fourth grade at USJ. She is from Demopolis and has been teaching for six years.

Kristin Phillips will teach second grade at WES. She is from Camden and has been teaching for half a year.

Laurice Thomasson will teach first grade at WES. She is from Demopolis and has been teaching for five years.

Jenna Morgan will teach Kindergarten at WES. She is from Sweet Water and has been teaching for two years.

Lynn Foster will be a special education paraprofessional. She is from Boston, and this will be her first year teaching.

Julie Wright will be a seventh-grade resource teacher at DMS. She is from Linden and has been teaching for five years.

Allison Hannah will join DMS’ cafeteria staff. She is from Demopolis.

Tyreice Mack will teach first-grade at WES. She is from Boligee and has been teaching for two years.

Stacy Chandler will teach high school Earth/space science and physical science at DHS. She is from Carthage, Mississippi and has been teaching for 13 years.

Tracy Moore will teach pre-k this school year. She is from Demopolis.

Other teachers and staff that are joining the Demopolis City Schools System include Kole Thrasher, Calen Turner, Andrew Lowery, McKewn Dannelly, Clint Humphrey, Chandler Warren, Brittany Donald, R. Michelle Edwards, Cleshanah Barlow, and Miranda Maher.

(Teresa Boykin contributed to the article.)

(This article originally appeared in the Wednesday, August 7 issue of the Demopolis Times.)