It’s been a great first month at Carolina Forest High School, and a new school year brings many new faces, students and staff alike! For the 2025/26 school year, CFHS would like to welcome the new teachers and educators who have come to bring unique experiences, energy, and dedication to Carolina Forest! The Prowler would like to recognize all of the new teachers and staff to our school family.
The new teachers and staff at The Forest are Matthew Cornett, Lonnie Ray Cox, Isabella Demark, Kathryn Doss, Noel Freeman, Mary Garber, Angela Kinkeade, Lisa Leonard, Amelia Mccauley, Benjamin Pardue, Payton Session, Martin Sasser, and Dontavia Brown. We are excited to have them at our school and look forward to their success here! Being a teacher is a very rewarding job as they get to educate the younger generations and help them to develop new skills, grow, and accomplish their goals and to reach for their dreams!
Joining a new school, whether you’ve been teaching for a long time or are new to teaching, can be a very nerve-racking and stressful experience.
Kathryn Doss, who teaches chemistry, commented on her experience of being a new teacher and her life at The Forest. Doss decided she wanted to become a teacher after she completed an international internship in Sorrento, Italy. While interning in Italy, she worked in ecotourism and educated tourists on the importance of marine conservation. When she came back home, she realized that she had a passion for teaching the younger generations about the importance of taking care of the environment.
Doss mentioned that her subject chose her.
“In a way science chose me not the other way around. I grew up in a family that prioritized reading, and I happened to find an old marine biology textbook at a thrift store. Ever since then I have loved science, and I knew when I decided to teach that I needed to be a science teacher.”
Doss also mentioned the one thing she wants students to know about her.
“One thing I want you to know about me is that I genuinely care about your success—not just in this class, but beyond it. I’m here to support you, challenge you, and cheer you on. I believe learning should be meaningful and fun, and I’ll do my best to make sure you feel seen, heard, and valued every step of the way.”
Doss showed how she has a passion for her job and for helping the younger generation in their education and even far beyond it.
Angela Kinkeade, an ESOL teacher, also shared her experience of being new at The Forest. She knew what her calling was in life and worked to achieve it and later, started to help students learn a new language.
“I began my career as an English/Language Arts teacher but later added on a certification in ESOL because I love that population of students. I love their cultures, family stories, and I also love seeing how hard they work to learn a new language while preserving another language.”
Matthew Cornett, who teaches English, mentioned how he knew he wanted to become a teacher when he watched a movie in his junior year called The Dead Poets Society, as he was moved by the way the professor inspired his students using poetry and language.
Cornett has been teaching for 25 years and shared his experience on being back in the classroom at The Forest.
“The hardest thing for me about being a new teacher again after being away from the profession for a few years is learning all of the new technology. It’s amazing how much things have changed for the better in that area and there is so much out there to enhance the classroom. But I am picking it up and enjoying the process.”
Teachers play a vital role in our communities, as they educate students and, eventually, send them out into the world with priceless knowledge, important memories, and an understanding of the world around them.
