Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School welcomes twelve new faculty members for the 2019-2020 school year. Pictured are, front row (l-r): Amber Miller, Anna Raley, Ashley Burnett, and Julia Johnson. Back Row (l-r): Clark Wright, Le’Aqua Shoates, Hagos Yohannes, Yuhuan Long, Quashona Antoine, Justin Mercer, Jackson Roper, and Dustin Barnes. (RGNS)
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School will welcome 12 new faculty members for the 2019-2020 school year. Classes begin Wednesday, August 28.
“This year’s new faculty bring vast knowledge and experience to Rabun Gap and will undoubtedly contribute to our legacy of excellence,” said Head of School Jeff Miles. “We look forward to introducing them to our community.”
Quashona Antoine will join Agata Potter, current Lower School music teacher, to expand Rabun Gap’s music programming for the school’s youngest students. She will teach Lower School music on Fridays throughout the 2019-20 school year.
Antoine is a singer/songwriter and has spent many years performing and teaching, not only in the United States but also abroad. Antoine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Catawba College and has performed everywhere from Disney World to Dr. Maya Angelou’s 85th Birthday Celebration. She has given private vocal lessons since 2010.
Dustin Barnes will join the Middle School faculty, teaching eighth-grade science, and will co-lead the varsity basketball program alongside his former high school coach, Rabun Gap Coach Roger Cox.
He comes to Rabun Gap from Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida, where over the past five years he has taught AP Geography, Marine Science, Earth-Space Science, and Environmental Science.
Barnes earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Florida in 2009, and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Lynn University in 2018. Barnes also has extensive coaching experience; at Admiral Farragut Academy, he served as JV and varsity basketball coach. Prior to this role, he coached numerous AAU and high school teams across Florida and Georgia.
Ashley Burnett comes to Rabun Gap with years of teaching experience across a broad range of levels. Burnett earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Western Carolina University with a minor in communications. In her career, she has taught English as a Second language at Southwestern Community College, Spanish and English as a Second Language at Highlands High School, and served as a translator for numerous organizations.
Burnett will join the Middle School faculty, where she will teach Spanish. She will also coach middle school boys soccer in the fall and Cirque Out in the spring
Julia Johnson, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in social work from Western Carolina University, comes to Rabun Gap as Director of Lower School Counseling after an extensive career in social work across Western North Carolina.
She will work with our Lower School students on wellness initiatives and in social and emotional areas. She will join the administrative team at the Lower School as a partner with parents and teachers.
Yuhuan Long, who started teaching some Upper School Mandarin classes part-time last school year, has joined Rabun Gap as a full-time faculty member this year.
Long has been teaching Mandarin since 2011 to students of all ages, and most recently taught at various high and middle schools in North Georgia.
A native of China, Long earned a Master in Teaching Chinese at Minzu University of China in Beijing and a bachelor’s degree in Chinese Language and Literature from Baoding University.
Justin Mercer comes to Rabun Gap from Darlington School in Rome, Georgia, where he was teaching Modern World History and a senior elective called “Sports in Society.” At Darlington, he received the Excellence in Teaching Award. As a member of the faculty there, he also coached middle school soccer and served on a dorm team.
Mercer holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s in history education from Auburn University and is a published author and Eagle Scout. In his career, he has taught in a public school environment as part of his graduate work, and as a volunteer teacher in Pago Pago, American Samoa through the World Teach Organization.
Mercer will join the English Immersion Department, working in the Upper School to support international students in Humanities 9 and 10. He will also coach soccer in the fall and spring, and serve on a dorm team.
Amber Miller is a familiar face at Rabun Gap. She has taught classes for the Studio for several years and joined the middle school faculty part-time last winter. She is joining the Middle School faculty full time this year. Miller will support Middle School Cirque Out in the fall and direct a first-time-ever Middle School Musical this winter.
Miller is the perfect fit for Rabun Gap’s middle school arts program: she is multi-talented and capable of teaching voice, dance, and performance. She holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts in Musical Theater from Mars Hill University. In her career, she has taught tap, jazz, lyrical, creative movement, contemporary, and ballet, both for The Studio and Betsy’s School of Dance and was once a student of Rabun Gap’s dance instructor, Heidi Spoon.
Anna Raley is joining the Upper School Humanities Department this year.
She has taught history and coached soccer and basketball at St. Michael’s Catholic High School in Alabama.Raley has also served as assistant director and house supervisor for the Advanced Studies Program at St. Paul’s School.
Raley graduated from Huntingdon College with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Secondary Education and earned a MALS in cultural studies from Dartmouth College.
Raley will coach volleyball in the fall and middle school girls soccer in the spring.
Jackson Roper will join Mark Green as an Assistant Athletic Trainer this year.
A native of Franklin, North Carolina, Roper joins Rabun Gap after having just completed his Master of Science in Exercise Science at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. Prior to attending Liberty University, Roper earned a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from Western Carolina University.
Roper will teach three sections of weight training in the Upper School and will assist Green in keeping our athletes well and thriving. Through his education and professional journey, he has experienced high-level athletics and traveled internationally.
Le’Aqua Shoates will join the Niles Bolton Middle School faculty this school year as Middle School Dean of Students.
Shoates served as a middle school humanities teacher and chair of diversity, equity, and inclusion at The Alexander Dawson School in Las Vegas, Nevada, before coming to Rabun Gap. Before moving to Las Vegas, Shoates taught for five years at Hapeville Charter Career Academy in Atlanta.
She is a graduate of Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and creative writing. She also holds a Master of Education degree with a concentration in curriculum, instruction, and assessment from Strayer University, and is currently working on her doctorate in education. She will coach middle school girls basketball this winter and serve as head middle school track coach this spring.
Clark Wright joins the Upper School faculty, where he will teach humanities and support students in the Teaching and Learning Center. He will also lead the varsity baseball program and serve as a dorm parent.
Wright comes to Rabun Gap from Charleston, South Carolina, where he was the varsity baseball coach at North Charleston High School. He spent his summer in Hungary coaching club-level baseball for a range of age levels, serving as the hitting coach for the Hungarian National Team, and playing on a semi-pro team.
Wright earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Georgia in history and both played and coached for the University of Georgia Club Baseball team.
Wright grew up in New York City and is an alumnus of Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, where he boarded throughout high school
Hagos Yohannes, a native of Ethiopia, comes to Rabun Gap from China. He will be working as a math teacher in the Upper School and will also serve as a dorm head.
Yohannes has more than 20 years of experience teaching a range of subjects in high school and college and is a true master teacher and a life-long learner. In 1986, he earned a Baccalaureate in theology and philosophy from the Catholic Major Seminary of the Eparchy of Adigrat, Ethiopia, in affiliation with the Pontifical University of Urbaniana.
