13 new teachers came to Bryant this year, replacing the 15 teachers that left last school year. They come from various places across the nation, and each teacher brings a different perspective to the school.  

Spanish Teacher Jessica Wilson came to Bryant through a job fair, despite not getting the position that day

“Unfortunately nobody was leaving,” Wilson said. “I got a email from [Dexter Barksdale] one day, and he was like ‘Hey, we have two teachers retiring, you should apply.’” 

Coming to Bryant, Wilson noticed a change in the size of the school population.

“Where I worked at previously, I had a student body population of like 1000 kids total,” Wilson said. “I knew the campus was bigger, but I did not expect it to be like a small community college campus.”

Math Teacher Katherine Barnes came to Bryant wanting to teach at a public school after teaching at Lisa Academy, a private school located in Little Rock, for four years. 

“I was interested in going to a public school and interested in going to high school, and this is one of the schools that gave me an offer, and it has a really good reputation,” Barnes said.

One difference Barnes noticed at Bryant is the extracurriculars available here. 

“There’s more activities in sports, or my old school was focused on you know, like academics and STEM activities,” Barnes said.

Spanish teacher Nilka McAda was already comfortable with the campus. McAda previously worked in China and in Malvern, but also worked at Bryant as a paraprofessional in 2017.  

“I already knew the campus because I worked here in 2017,” McAda said. “I moved here in 2015, moved to the U.S., and before that I used to teach Spanish abroad.”

Though coming from different places, teachers like Wilson enjoy their experience and the people here at Bryant.

“I think it’s honestly really refreshing. I feel like most of the kids here are really respectful,” Wilson said. “I honestly genuinely like my co-workers, which is really awesome. So overall, good things.”