Houston High Faculty and Staff
Administration
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John Taylor
Principal
Mr. John Taylor began his career in education in 1992 as a History teacher at East High School. While at East, he coached football and baseball. After teaching at East for three years, he accepted a history teaching position at Houston, teaching both standard and AP classes. While at Houston he has coached football, wrestling, and softball. Mr. Taylor has been an Assistant Principal since 2004 and began his tenure as principal in 2018.
Mr. Taylor’s educational background includes a Bachelors of History from Rhodes College and a Masters of Education in Educational Leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University. He is married to Marje, a Special Education Teacher for Bartlett City Schools and has two children, Matthew (Class of 2015) and Charlotte (Class of 2018).
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William Gillespie
Vice Principal
With over 25 years of experience in high school education, Mr. Gillespie brings expertise in instructional leadership, testing coordination, and curriculum supervision to the HHS administration team.
Mr. Gillespie attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and earned his B.A. in English Literature before completing his M.S. in Curriculum and Instruction in 1996. He additionally holds an EdS in Educational Administration from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
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Shannon Blackburn
Assistant Principal- 10th Grade admin, Communications, ESE Co-Teach Admin, Testing, Safety
Ms. Blackburn serves as an assistant principal with a focus on assisting teachers' development of instruction and organizational expertise which she fine-tuned in Kentucky’s Fayette County Schools as a school administrator. She brings a wealth of leadership experience and a Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Missouri.
Ms. Blackburn comes with over 15 years of experience in education and has served in various leadership roles, including District-level Instructional Coach, Assistant Principal, and most recently, Principal of Ashland Elementary School in Lexington. In her many roles, Ms. Blackburn is foremost an instructional leader, well-versed in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data to meet the needs of all students as well as identifying interventions to support their individualized learning.
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Mrs. Miller brings fifteen years of educational experience to the job. After spending a decade serving as a school counselor in Clarksville, Tennessee, she transitioned to serving in administrative roles in both Memphis and Nashville during the past five years.
Miller holds her Ed.S in Instructional Leadership from Austin Peay State University, a Bachelors in Psychology, and a Masters in Counseling and Personnel. Currently, she serves as an adjunct professor in Human Performances at Southwest Tennessee Community College teaching others effective counseling techniques.
In 2017, she published a book about the impact of non-academic factors on ACT scores, a long research project connecting her school counselor roots to her current role as a change-maker in administration. Miller has guided graduation teams of teachers, coaches, and school counselors around the work of improving graduation rates, Naviance, ACT Prep, and Ready Graduate metrics.
Her husband, Scott Miller, is an exceptional education teacher in Bartlett Schools and she is a mother to three children. In her spare time, she is a devoted member of her church and enjoys singing.
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Paul Ross
Assistant Principal- 12th Grade admin, parking/traffic, textbooks
Mr. Ross joined Houston High School as an Assistant Principal after serving as the Principal of North Pontotoc Middle School in Mississippi. Prior to serving as Principal, Mr. Ross served 3 years as an Assistant Principal at Oxford High School and 9 years as a history teacher at White Station High School. Mr. Ross completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Missouri- St. Louis with a degree in Secondary Education/Political Science and his graduate studies at Trevecca Nazarene University with a degree in Educational Leadership. He and his beautiful wife, Jerica, are the parents to three kids (River, Canyon, Meadow). In his down time, he enjoys the outdoors, great music, good 'Que, and making memories with his 3 children.
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Dr. Thomas Suchman
Assistant Principal- 11th grade admin, attendance, buses, and lockers
Dr. Suchman left the Kansas City area (Lees Summit, MO) to attend Rhodes College and stayed in Memphis. Graduating with a teaching license and a degree in English, Dr. Suchman was thrilled to start teaching at HHS early in his career. Determined to never stop learning, Suchman completed a masters degree in education at Cumberland University and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy at Vanderbilt University. When not teaching, Dr. Suchman enjoys reading, growing his record collection, studying cinema, playing with his dogs, swimming and cycling. He is also an avid fan of punk rock and spent years playing, touring, and recording with different bands. |
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Marvin Townsend
Assistant Principal- 9th grade admin, 504 coordinator, Alternative School
Townsend began his career as a social studies teacher in 1993; with highly impactful positions at Highland Oaks K-8, Southwind Middle School, and Bartlett High School. At Bartlett High, he served as an Assistant Principal for three years before being recruited to serve on the Shelby County School’s [Legacy] PIT Crew, a district-level position that worked one-on-one with teachers and principals to improve instruction across the county. After the merger-demerger, Townsend accepted a job as an Assistant Principal of Germantown High School (GHS) and then eventually the Vice Principal. By 2019, he had been promoted to the Senior Principalship of GHS.
He has two children, both adopted, that attend Germantown Municipal Schools. Issac, a fourth grader at Riverdale School and Oscar, a sophomore at Houston High School remain at the center of his decision as well as his spare time. Townsend enjoys being outdoors, especially time out on the boat at the lake with his children and family.
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Office and Clerical Staff
Comas, Maria | Clerical - Financial Secretary | [email protected] |
Craig, Tamika | Clerical - Visitors, Raptor, Medical |
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Griffith, Teresa | Clerical - SPED Secretary | [email protected] |
Simpson, Amanda | Clerical - Guidance, Records |
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Pecor, Nancy | Clerical -Attendance | [email protected] |
Burton, Susie | Clerical - Attendance | [email protected] |
Thompson, Natalie | Clerical - Payroll, Substitutes | [email protected] |
Whitworth, Dana | Clerical - Financial Assistant | [email protected] |
Becker, Chad | Athletic Director | [email protected] |
Espinoza, Manuel | Plant Manager | [email protected] |
Jones, Earvin | Plant Manager | [email protected] |
Spain, Traci | SEL | [email protected] |
Waldrup, Celeste | School Nurse | [email protected] |
Manuel, Robert | TV Media Engineer | [email protected] |
Nutt, Tyler | TV Program Director | [email protected] |
Technology Support
School Technology Support | ||
Young, Cathy | Instructional Technology Coach |
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Alternative School, The Pointe
Tingle, Lorrie | Alternative School Instructor | [email protected] |
Diroff, Suzy | Alt School Assistant |
Counseling and Guidance
Fisher, Denise | Counseling - Intervention | [email protected] | Office: 901-756-2370 x 6042 |
Haddow, Dan | Counseling/Instructional/Leadership Support | [email protected] | |
Handy, Beth | Counseling - 10th | Office: 901-756-2370 x 6046 | |
Kinney, Brenda | Counseling - 12th | [email protected] | Office: 901-756-2370 x 6044 |
Kreitz, Ashley |
Counseling-
Postsecondary Readiness (9th & 11th)
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[email protected] | |
Riggan, Linda | Counseling - 11th | [email protected] | Office: 901-756-2370 x 6043 |
Schmitt, Sara |
Counseling-
Postsecondary Readiness (10th & 12th)
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[email protected] | Office: 901-756-2370 x 6019 |
Skaggs, Emily | School Psychologist | [email protected] | |
Wells, Lana | Counseling - 9th | [email protected] | Office: 901-756-2370 x 6045 |
Library
Underwood, Clint | [email protected] |
Wilder, Ruth | [email protected] |
Career and Technology Education
Alsbrook, Beth | [email protected] |
Bell, Steve | [email protected] |
Boggan, Cristy | [email protected] |
Boyer, Tim | [email protected] |
Camp, Addison | |
Coleman, Lesley | |
Forrester, Randy | [email protected] |
Houston, Bill | [email protected] |
Juneau, Craig | [email protected] |
Kinler, Kendall | |
Phillips, Christa | [email protected] |
Rose, Gretchen | [email protected] |
Thomas, Monica | [email protected] |
Uhiren, Chad | [email protected] |
Wartenberg, Gerry | [email protected] |
English
Becker, Chad | [email protected] |
Brookshire, Courtney | [email protected] |
Chandler, NaToya | |
Condra, Sarah | [email protected] |
Cox, Andrea | [email protected] |
Holt, Edward | |
Hunter, Ginny | [email protected] |
McKinney, Valerie | [email protected] |
Middlekauff, Jason | [email protected] |
O'Brien, James | |
O'Brien, Kelli | [email protected] |
Ransom, Grant | [email protected] |
Rowe, Theresa | |
Steepleton, Meredith | |
Vezina, Zeke | [email protected] |
Exceptional Student Education
Griffith, Teresa | Clerical - SPED Secretary | [email protected] |
Browley, Brian | SI/AAD ESE Teacher | [email protected] |
Coltharp, Ginny | ESE Co-Teacher | [email protected] |
Gast, Victoria | ESE Co-Teacher | |
Gladney, Meredith | ESE Co-Teacher | |
Little, Hillary | SI/AAD ESE Teacher | [email protected] |
Nannie, David | ESE Co-Teacher | [email protected] |
Nobert, O'Malley | SI/AAD ESE Teacher | |
Sadler, Caroline | SI/AAD ESE Teacher | [email protected] |
Stephenson, Nancy | ESE Co-ESE Teacher | [email protected] |
Thomas, Haley | SI/AAD ESE Teacher | [email protected] |
Wiley, Katrina | ESE Co-Teacher | [email protected] |
Anderson, Elizabeth | SPED Educational Assistant | |
Cole, Andrea | SPED Educational Assistant | |
Esaw, MiKeisha | SPED Educational Assistant | |
Houck, Kim | SPED Educational Assistant | |
Houston, Kisha | SPED Educational Assistant | |
Luckett, Becky | SPED Educational Assistant | |
McElhenny, Tiffany | SPED Educational Assistant | |
McKessey, Melissa | SPED Educational Assistant | |
Morman, Valerie | SPED Educational Assistant | |
Nichols, Sierra | SPED Educational Assistant | |
Pounders, Robert | SPED Educational Assistant | |
Saylor, Cody | SPED Educational Assistant | |
Thompson, Shea | SPED Educational Assistant | |
Williams, Treville | SPED Educational Assistant | |
Watkins, Courtney | Transitional Case Manager | [email protected] |
Smith, Shelby | Workplace Readiness Job Coach | [email protected] |
Jessop, Kimberly | Part-time Physical Therapist | [email protected] |
Fine Arts
Christie, Kell | [email protected] |
Carpenter, Kevin | [email protected] |
Hamilton, Drew | [email protected] |
Healy, Kinsey | [email protected] |
Kang, Long Long | [email protected] |
Schulter, Amanda | [email protected] |
Spillman, Bobby | [email protected] |
Taylor, Matt | [email protected] |
Foreign Language
Almonte, Alexis | Spanish | |
Ferryman, Kristin | Spanish | [email protected] |
Johnson, Marilyn | French | [email protected] |
Latvatalo, Piia | German/French | [email protected] |
Penrod, Doreen | German | [email protected] |
Purcell, Erin | Spanish | [email protected] |
Riley, Katie | Spanish | [email protected] |
Simone, Abigail | Latin | [email protected] |
Stewardson, Betsy | Spanish | [email protected] |
ESL | ||
Puri, Sunita | ESL | [email protected] |
Mathematics
Abel, Shawn | [email protected] |
Bansal, Sarita | [email protected] |
Collins, Ashton | [email protected] |
Field, Brian | [email protected] |
Flexsenhar, Betsy | [email protected] |
Gaylord, Kevin | [email protected] |
Harvey, Wayne | [email protected] |
Ku (Lee), Seulah | [email protected] |
Lewis, Martin | |
Ross, Jerica | [email protected] |
Shirley, Nelson | |
Smith, Jackie | [email protected] |
Stevens, Chris | [email protected] |
Williamson, Bradley | [email protected] |
Ziai, Marjan | |
Response to Intervention (RTI)
Freeman, Amanda | RTI Coach | [email protected] |
Gilbert, Kelsey | RTI Interventionist- Math | [email protected] |
Chandler, NaToya | RTI Interventionist- English |
Science
Domek, Susan | [email protected] |
Ducey, Melissa | [email protected] |
Horan, Shawn | |
Kennon, John | [email protected] |
Marcone, Stacy | [email protected] |
Minton, Jessica | [email protected] |
Perry, Bill | [email protected] |
Perry, Tim | |
Poole, Martha | [email protected] |
Smith, Miriah | [email protected] |
Wakefield, Josh | [email protected] |
Whaley, Angela | [email protected] |
Yale, Tori | [email protected] |
Social Studies
Benzing, Tony | [email protected] |
Brock, Nathan | [email protected] |
Chrestman, Nicole | [email protected] |
Hamlett, Scott | [email protected] |
Lubin, Brooke | [email protected] |
Morris, Tim | [email protected] |
Plaisance, Candace | [email protected] |
Quinn, Ryan | [email protected] |
Robinson, Michael | [email protected] |
Sabau, Robert | |
Seboldt, Erin | [email protected] |
Wolff, David | [email protected] |
Wellness
Martin, Kim | [email protected] |
McCarter, Lane | [email protected] |
Thomas, James | [email protected] |
Pendleton, Becky | [email protected] |