As the 2014-2015 school year started, HHS grew rapidly as we welcomed new teachers, teachers from other schools, and even alumni to the Heritage family. Lots of the new teachers came for lots of different reasons. Coach Ledbetter’s story about becoming a teacher is not just one that you hear every day.

A 2013 graduate from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), Coach Ledbetter started his teaching career last year at Lakeview Middle School where he was a P.E. teacher and on coaching staff with the LFO football team. Ledbetter enjoyed the middle schoolers a lot but when he had the opportunity to come to a high school and teach and coach, he could not resist. “The middle schoolers were just so young, and it was almost like babysitting. I could build relationships with them somewhat, but not in the ways that you could build one with a high school student. High school students would be easier to relate to just because not too long ago I was in their very same shoes.”

Going into college, Ledbetter had no idea what he wanted to do. He knew that he wanted to be involved with sports, and he knew that if he became a P.E. teacher he could coach and be with students, which is what he felt like God was calling him to do, but he had never been in the classroom until this year. When Coach Ledbetter became a Christian, he realized that God’s purpose for his life was not to just become a teacher, but to also become a teacher who could pour into students’ lives every day.

Now Coach Ledbetter is the quarterback coach for the football team and has been on staff here at HHS for half a school year; he is already enjoying it so much. “Even though Heritage has not been opened very long, there are already so many traditions that are different than other schools, and I don’t think the students realize how lucky they have it. The pride in the school and the support from the administration, starting with Mr. Bradford and the way he can keep us all focused, but also having a good time just makes it a great environment to be in.”