New teacher spotlight 2022-2023

After teaching physics at Fairfax High School for nine years and Herndon High School for two years, physics teacher Thomas Usry is starting his first year at CHS.   What made you want to teach physics? What got me interested in physics is when I took my first physics class in high school, as most people do; but I took it as an 11th grader instead of a 12th grader, which was unusual from wh...

Entering his 12th year of teaching, Kyle Nam joined the math department this year from Fairfax High School. He teaches AP Calculus AB and Algebra 2 HN. What drew you to this school and why did you want to teach here? I’ve always heard good things about the Chantilly community, and frankly, it's close to my home, so that’s why I decided to transfer from Fairfax. Why did you want to teach math? ...

Coming to CHS with a diverse resume, Brittanye Mohrbacher has spent 15 years working in education, including working at a virtual school and at American University’s admissions office. This year, Mohrbacher is teaching AP United States History and AP US & Comparative Government. Why did you decide to teach at CHS? I've heard great things about Chantilly from people that live in this community an...

Coming from a variety of counseling jobs, including serving as a director of school counseling in Prince William County, Shuntina Taylor is now a new counselor at CHS. Taylor’s goal as a counselor is to provide expert help to students in finding careers and colleges. What's your job as a counselor and how do you help students succeed? As a counselor, I work with students to ensure that they are ...

A cheerful Jujitsuka, Spanish teacher Lisa Cathro enjoys sharing her love for Spanish with her students. She has taught Spanish for 10 years and loves playing video and board games during her free time.  How long have you been teaching at FCPS? Do you enjoy teaching at CHS so far?  I have been teaching at FCPS for only four years. I am so happy to be back in the classroom with my students,...

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is a class offered to students here at CHS, for those who have language barriers. Cristy Ryman is teaching this class to all grades this year. She previously taught at Loudoun County and Winchester Public Schools, as well as teaching university courses in Colombia, South America. She loves learning languages and enjoys sharing her passion with her students. ...

With 32 years of experience teaching a wide range of subjects, as well as eight years of working as an assistant principal at Herndon Middle School, Tim Hoffman has recently arrived at CHS to teach English as a Second Language (ESL). How does teaching at CHS compare to teaching at other schools? I've only been here for three weeks now, but the feeling I have so far is that I’m very comfort...

After teaching Latin at Herndon High School for the past nine years, Bethany Abelseth is a new addition to the CHS world language department. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Latin and Roman Studies and loves to write Latin poetry in her free time. Why did you become a teacher? As a kid, I was one of those weirdos who knew exactly what I wanted to do from the age of 10. This is pretty much my dr...

After working in different schools across the country, psychologist Julie Robinson is the newest addition to the psychologist team. Not only is she an avid learner and lover of outdoor activities, she is also interested in cooking.  Where have you worked before? I’ve worked in New York, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Some of the regions I’ve worked in have had only around 5,000 students, but...

With years of experience fixing cars, Ryan Byrne is a new auto body teacher who has joined CHS to teach others on how to fix cars. What is the best thing about your job so far? So far, the best thing about my job is being able to teach kids that have never really touched cars or tools before, so they can pretty much learn from the ground up. Let's say they need to do maintenance on their own ...