Many new teachers were welcomed to the MHS family this year.
Gardner Moseley teaches Algebra I and Algebra II classes.  Moseley attended Vestavia Hills High School, and then Birmingham-Southern where he acquired his B.S. in Mathematics.  He then went to UAB, where he earned his Master’s in Secondary Education.
“My favorite thing about teaching is helping students succeed,” Moseley said.
Moseley is married and has a daughter. His hobbies include running, playing the guitar and playing golf.  Moseley also enjoys reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Lindsey Williams is also a new math teacher, teaching Algebra I. Williams graduated from Prattville High School. She attended the University of Florida where she received her Bachelor’s in Mathematics, and she is currently in school at UAB working on her Master’s degree.
“I believe that the overall goal of a teacher is to help her students become better people,” Williams said.
In addition to her academic classes, Williams will be helping to coach soccer this year.  Her hobbies include reading and exercising, and she enjoys watching all Disney and Pixar movies.
Jessica-Lynne Gothard is another new math teacher who will be teaching Geometry and Algebraic Connections this year.  She graduated from the Loveless Academic Magnet Program in Montgomery.  Gothard earned her B.S. in Mathematics at AUM, and she is currently working on her Master’s in Math Education at UAB.
“I was inspired to become a teacher by my high school Calculus teacher,” Gothard said.  “She always made math exciting and taught how it could be used in everyday life.  I hope I can pass on that fun side of math to my own students.”
Gothard remarked that MHS reminds her of her own high school, due to the low ratio of students to teachers, an encouraging and friendly staff and spirited students. She has been married for two years and her hobbies include gardening, softball, tennis, crafting and sewing.
Steven Mizzell is the new intervention teacher.  He attended St. Clair County High, and earned degrees at Gadsden State and Jeff State Community College before completing his Bachelor’s in History at UM. He is now pursuing his Master’s degree in Education at UM.  He enjoys teaching because he likes building relationships while helping others.
“I believe that the most important part of being a teacher is to prepare students for the real world, and help them to contribute to their families, friends, community and country,” Mizzell said.
He commented that at MHS he can sense the eagerness for progress in the community as well as the school.
He enjoys competitive sports such as basketball, football, baseball and golf.  In his spare time, Mizzell enjoys listening to his favorite musical group Little Big Town and watching his favorite movie O Brother Where Art Thou.
Charles Lowery is the new lead special education teacher this year, and he also teaches social studies via long-distance learning.
Lowery received his high school diploma at Sulligent High, and then attended Mississippi State University where he received his Bachelor’s in Social Science, and UAB where he earned his Ed.S. in Educational Leadership.
“I aim to build relationships with the teachers and students this year, as well as keep the students focused on meeting graduation requirements,” Lowery said.
Lowery is also retired from the military where he worked in computer software and technology.  An interesting moment Lowery shared occurred when he was at Ft. Lewis, WA on a military exercise with the Alabama National Guard.
“I picked up a copy of We Were Soldiers Once…And Young, when an elderly gentleman approached me,” Lowery said.  “He told me his picture was in the book and his name was “Snake” Crandall who, as fate would have it, won the Medal of Honor in 2007 while I was in Baghdad, Iraq working for his old unit, the 1st Cavalry Division.”
Lowery was awarded a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq.
The new physical education teacher and basketball coach is Greg Dickinson. He attended Clarke County High School and earned degrees at Jefferson Davis Community College, North Georgia University, and Auburn University of Montgomery.
Dickinson previously taught at Thompson High and Vestavia Hills Central Elementary.
“My goal for students is to help them understand the importance of exercising while having fun at the same time,” Dickinson said.
Dickinson is married and, in his spare time, enjoys playing sports, working out, spending time with family and watching Alabama football.
Other new teachers include chorus teacher Melissa Stano, science teacher Christeen Muthiah and history teacher Christopher Galloway.