Clayton-Bradley Academy announces new leadership appointments. Mary Liford has been named Elementary Principal for the lower school which includes preschool through fifth grade. Rebecca Wolfenbarger will be the upper school principal for grades six through nine. Susan Wagner is Director of STEM Curriculum.
Mary Liford, was an educator with Maryville City Schools for thirty years, and looks forward to serving in supporting the faculty, staff, and families with best practices and highly effective teaching strategies.
Liford received her Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education from Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee. She earned her Master’s degree in Administration and Supervision from Lincoln Memorial University and also the University of Tennessee and Stanford University.
As a professional educator, Liford is a member of the National Education Association, the Tennessee Education Association, and has been the liaison for Maryville City’s Association. She is a member of the National Geographical Society for educators and is certified in Teacher Instructional Growth for Effectiveness and Results (TIGER) Model. She is trained and certified as a Coach and Mentor for teachers. Mary also received training and certifications from Stewards of Children; Quantum Learning; Common Core Standard in Reading/Language Arts; Co-Teaching and Support for Instruction.
Throughout her career, Mary has held many leadership roles both serving and chairing on school and system-wide committees. She was selected by the Director of Schools to serve on the Planning Team to help create, develop, and implement Maryville City Schools first and only year-round school, Fort Craig School of Dynamic Learning. Fort Craig School of Dynamic Learning was a school of choice in the city of Maryville and was recognized throughout the state for its high quality of education.
Mary Liford is married to David Liford. She and her family are active members of East Maryville Baptist Church. Her son attends the University of Tennessee.
As the Elementary Principal for Clayton-Bradley Academy, Liford shares the school’s vision and hopes to encourage and nurture the love for learning through engaged instruction and an effective learning environment.
Rebecca Wolfenbarger joins Clayton Bradley Academy after thirty years in public education. She is thrilled by the new opportunities being a part of the creative process of building a new school affords her.
Wolfenbarger earned a B.S. Degree in English Secondary Education from East Tennessee State University. Later she earned an M.S. in Supervision and Administration and an Ed.S. in Curriculum and Development both from Lincoln Memorial University.
Wolfenbarger is a native of Johnson City, Tennessee where she served as a seventh and eighth grade English teacher. She moved to Maryville after one year where she worked as a seventh and eighth grade English teacher for Maryville City for nine years. During that time she spent a year as a middle/high school English teacher in Melbourne, Victoria Australia as the TN representative in the exchange program sponsored by the Victorian Board of Education. After nine years as a stay-at-home mom for sons Eric and Doug, she returned to work for Blount County Schools where she served over a period of nineteen years as a high school English teacher and administrator, system-wide special education coordinator, and middle school literacy leader.
Wolfenbargers’s professional affiliations include Association for Supervision of Curriculum and Development, National Council of Teachers of English, International Reading Association, Professional Educators of Tennessee, and Alpha Delta Kappa teacher’s sorority.
Rebecca has been married for thirty-three years to husband Will. They have two sons, Eric of Murfreesboro, TN and Doug of Spring Hill, TN. They are members of First United Methodist Church where Rebecca sings in the choir.
Susan Wagner comes to Clayton-Bradley Academy with 13 years teaching experience in the Blount County School system. She earned her Ph.D. in Literacy with a cognate in Adult Education from the University of Tennessee. She previously earned her M.S. in Instructional Technology from the University of Tennessee and her B.A. in Child Development and Learning with teacher licensure from Maryville College.
Wagner taught upper elementary students at Porter Elementary including multiage and looping classes in third, fourth, and fifth grades. As teacher, some of her responsibilities included being leader of the school-wide data response team, along with supervising student teachers from Maryville College, Tusculum College, Tennessee Tech, and the University of Tennessee.
She is a member of the International Reading Association, National Education Association, Tennessee Education Association, the Blount County Education Association and the East Tennessee Historical Society and First Families of Tennessee. She has led professional development in using data to guide instruction, using technology in the classroom, and system-wide professional development in reading and writing instructional strategies. She has been a multiple-year participant in the Teaching American History grant at the East Tennessee Historical Society and has also served as lecturer for the University of Tennessee’s education department.
She is a 2008 recipient of the Tennessee Award of Recognition for Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities. In 2013, she was named Blount County 4-H Teacher of the Year.
Wagner enjoy traveling and has led students groups on tours of Nashville, Washington, D. C., Europe, and Great Britain. She is married to Terry Wagner and has two sons, Luke and Nolan.
Clayton-Bradley Academy is a year-round independent STEM Academy. The non-profit organization, Innovative Education Partnership, Inc., in collaboration with Clayton Homes and Executive Director, Pat Bradley. CBA opened in July 2013 with grades K-6 and will be expanding through ninth grade for the upcoming 2014-2015 school year.