With the start of the new school year, students and teachers return to the hallways of schools throughout Macon County.

This year, eight new teachers are working in the Macon County School System.

Teaching their first year in the system are: at Fairlane Elementary School - Kristen Leath; at MCHS - Ken Roark and Michael Duncan; at Westside Elementary - Joni Deering, Tanisha Rhoads, and Erica Woodard; and at RBSHS - Ken Roark, Angela Cook, and Tammy Marlow.

Teachers wrote the follow biographies for publication.

Fairlane Elementary

School - My name is Kristen Leath. I gradated from Tennessee Technological University. My hobbies are playing sports and being outdoors.

I will be teaching at Fairlane Elementary in the Special Education department.

Westside Elementary

School - Hello, my name is Joni Meador. I am a 2000 graduate of Macon County High School and a 2003 graduate of Tennessee State University.

I am married to Derek Meador. I have one step-daughter, Cassie, and a son, Isaac.

I am excited about this school year and proud to be a part of the faculty at Westside Elementary.

Tanisa Rhoads will be teaching third grade at Westside Elementary School this year. She is very excited about the opportunity to teach in her home town. She is the daughter of Don and Katie Rhoads. She loves to read, spoil her niece and spend time with family and friends. She is a member of Highland General Baptist Church where she teaches Sunday School.

Tanisha graduated from Macon County High School in 1998. She earned her Associate of Science degree from Volunteer State Community College in 2001 and her bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Tennessee Technological University in December 2000. While at Tech, she was given teaching opportunities in fourth grade and seventh and eighth grade science and literature. After graduation, she served as Interim librarian at Macon County Junior High School from December through the end of the last school year. She enjoyed being a librarian for a while but is glad to have her own group of students this year. Her future goals include, however, pursuing a masters degree in Library Science.

She is looking forward to meeting and working with students and parents of Westside Elementary. She is also pleased to have such a great faculty and staff to be starting her first full year of teaching with.

She feels that children are a vital part of our community, now and in the future. Teachers are given the gift of playing such an integral part of their development. She hopes that she will be able to offer them a positive role model and a high quality education, as children deserve nothing less.

My name is Erica Woodard. I am a 2000 graduate of Volunteer State and a 2003 graduate of Tennessee State University. I have a 3 year old daughter, Cidney, and an 11 week old son, Eli. I am looking forward to this year at Westside.

Macon County High School - My name is Ken Roark. I graduated from MCHS in 1999. After graduation, I furthered my education at Tennessee Technological University. I received a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Agriculture, with a concentration in education from TTU in the spring of 2003.

I will be splitting time at RBSHS and MCHS this year. I will be at RBSHS from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m. teaching Work Force training Program and Behavioral Intervention. Then, I will be at MCHS from 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. While I'm there, I will be teaching Soil Management and the Work Force Training program.

In addition to teaching, I will also be an assistant football coach at MCHS.

My name is Michael G. Duncan. Originally from Osceloa, Arkansas, I moved around a bit in grade school. By the time I reached high school, I was involved in music. I played in band and went to region and state competitions.

I finished high school in Marion, Arkansas, and decided to major in Jazz Performance as a percussionist at the University of North Texas.

After a semester there, quickly decided I wanted to teach. The next semester I enrolled at Arkansas State University to major in music education.

While in school, I played in a Top 40 dance band that performed regularly in Memphis and the surrounding area. I also taught private lessons at various high schools in the area.

After graduation in December 2002, I immediately began teaching at Riverside Schools in Caraway and lake City, Arkansas. While teaching at Riverside, I married Courtnie Gibson.

I always wanted to move to the Middle Tennessee area for more opportunities to perform. After a semester at Riverside, I decided to make the move and found Macon County High School.

Red Boiling Springs

High School -

Originally from Kentucky, Angela Cook has lived in Lafayette the past seven years with her husband, Kerry, and her two daughters, Jessica and Kelsey.

Angela graduated form Tennessee Technological University in December 2002 with a Bachelors degree in Secondary Education - Math. She will be teaching at Red Boiling Springs High school this school year.

Tammy Marlow will be teaching English and Theater Arts this year at RBSHS.

Tammy graduated from Cumberland University in 1989 with a Bachelors degree in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in English and received an MBA degree in 1998.

For the past 10 years, she has worked at the Macon County Times. She lives in Lafayette with her husband, Quinn, and her daughter, Ariel.