By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–The Union City School System teaching roster is essentially set for 2019-20.
Three hires at UC Elementary and two more at both the middle school and Union City High School have been finalized by Director of Schools Wes Kennedy.
Kennedy called the teaching staff additions “top-quality people and teachers, who’ll fit perfectly in their positions and with the rest of our outstanding faculty.
“They all come with glowing credentials and recommendations. They were all impressive in their interviews and we’re looking forward to them joining what I believe is the best group of teachers and administrators anywhere.”
Ellen (Bearden) Hopkins and Alyx Minyard have been hired as first-grade teachers and Randi Lynn McBride will join the UCES staff as a third grade ELA (English Language Arts) teacher.
The recently-married Hopkins is a graduate of Union City High School, where she was a standout member of the Lady Tornado tennis team. She will coach both middle school tennis squads in addition to teaching at UCES.
Hopkins previously taught in the Knox County System and is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a B.S. in political science and an M.S. in elementary education.
Minyard, with a B.S. in education from UT Martin, has three years of experience teaching third grade and another in first grade at Margaret Newton Elementary School in Lake County.
“I decided to join Union City Schools because I wanted to be able to invest in the future of the children in my home community and spend more time with my family,” she said. “I am so excited to be teaching first grade next year!”
McBride will be a full-time teacher for the first time, but has served as a temporary fill-in before at UC Elementary and UC Middle. She also worked via a year-long internship at Medina Middle School as a third-grade teacher and graduated with both elementary and middle school endorsements from Union University.
McBride additionally served as a missionary in Northern Uganda for 18 months, learning the national language and beginning a literacy program for students of all ages to learn to read and write in Karamojong.
“I have loved the time that I’ve already spent in the Union City School System and knew I wanted to be a part of this school family,” McBride said. “It is such a privilege to be a part of Union City Schools and I’m so excited to work alongside such wonderful teachers and administrators.”
McBride will also serve as an assistant high school volleyball coach to Jodi Powell.
Casey Arnett will fill a fifth-grade math role, while Macie Morris has been hired as a seventh-grade science teacher at UC Middle School.
Arnett comes to the Union City system from Lake County, where she taught for four years.
She received a bachelor’s degree in education from UT Martin.
Morris is a graduate of the University of Alabama-Huntsville, with a B.S. in biological science. She played softball at Auburn beforehand, and has extensive experience teaching and coaching in Alabama.
Married to assistant UT Martin assistant baseball coach Hunter Morris, the family moved to northwest Tennessee last summer and Macie took a job as a science teacher and head softball coach at Dresden High School.
She’ll assist J.B. Suiter with the Union City programs.
“My family is beyond excited to join the Union City family and I’m looking forward to continuing a tradition of excellence in the classroom and on the field,” Morris said.
Kelly Shanks will teach both algebra and chemistry at UCHS, while Monty Mooney will serve as an educational assistant there and also assist with the high school tennis teams as well as the middle school girls’ basketball program.
Shanks comes to Union City High School from Jackson, where she taught for more than 25 years – the majority of that and most-recently at Trinity Christian Academy. She also has public-school classroom experience at both Jackson South Side and Northside.
She graduated from Union University with a B.S. in chemistry and later earned an M.A. in education from Union, with an emphasis in curriculum development.
“I’m extremely excited to begin the next chapter of my teaching career at Union City High School, where academics are held to an exceptionally-high standard,” Shanks said. “The motto of ‘No Excuses’ – when it comes to the expectation of hard work and commitment – strongly appeals to how I live.
“I’m looking forward to being a part of a team where faculty, staff, administration and students are all working toward a common goal of excellence in every facet of school life.”
Mooney will bring a unique skill set to UCHS, with many years in a leadership role in the manufacturing sector.
He’s a graduate of Bethel University with a B.S. in organizational management.
With extensive experience playing, teaching and coaching tennis, he’ll also serve as an assistant coach to Tom Sisco with the high school tennis program and Bearden with the middle school. Mooney is already a familiar face to many in the UC tennis community, with his daughter, Elizabeth (Miller), having both played and coached the Purple and Gold netters.
Mooney will additionally help with the UC Middle School girls’ basketball program after working with numerous local travel teams over the years.
“I am very honored to be part of the Union City School System as I’ve witnessed firsthand what an excellent organization we have,” he said. “I am looking forward to working with our young people – something I’ve been passionate about my entire life.”
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