by Jennifer Perry Middleton/Jefferson Jimplecute
Jerry Brannen, who was recently named the new principal of Jefferson High School, will begin his 28th year of education this fall with the Bulldogs.
A Shreveport, native, he comes to the district from Paris, Texas, where he has spent the past eight years as a teacher, coach and administrator.
Brannen said that he and his wife, Elizabeth, are looking forward to making Jefferson their home and that they have felt extremely welcome in the two weeks he’s been with the district.
“I chose to work in Jefferson ISD because it was a high school principal’s position and that has been one of my goals when I moved into administration,” he said. “I wanted to come to Jefferson to be a part of a great district and to move closer to my family who live in Louisiana. We also wanted to move closer to our grandchildren who live in Daingerfield. Jefferson puts us in between all of them.”
The new principal is a 1989 graduate of Shreveport’s Southwood High School and in 1996, earned a bachelor’s degree in education with a minor in history from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Oklahoma. There, he was captain of the college’s football team and was named All-Conference Offensive Lineman.
In 1996, Brannen also received lifetime certifications in Secondary Health Education and Early Childhood Physical Education. In addition, he currently holds a valid Texas teaching certificate in Social Studies Composite, obtained in 2013.
In 2018, he earned a master’s degree and certification in Educational Administration from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas and completed his Superintendent certification from there in 2021.
Brannen’s teaching career has brought him to many districts throughout the Lone Star State. He first spent three years teaching and coaching in Denison, Texas, and then spent six years in Paradise, Texas. He then served a year as the defensive coordinator at Olney and then spent three years in Millsap, Texas. From there, his career took him to Pittsburg, Texas, where he served for six years before moving to his most recent position in Paris. Of all his years in education, he has taught and coached for 24 of them.
Superintendent Rob Barnwell said Brannen was chosen from 25 applicants.
“The committee based its decision to offer the job to Mr. Brannen due to his experience in education, his interview, information gathered from reference calls to folks who have worked with and know him, and his overall drive to help others be the best they can be,” he said. “He has high expectations of himself and of those around him. He is intelligent, driven, and he has a strong work ethic. He loves Jefferson and wants to be here. Those qualities reflect what we were looking for.”
Brannen said that the strong influences in his life include his parents, who taught him the values he uses today.
“They taught me to always be polite and to treat others with the same respect that I want to be treated with,” he said. “They also taught me to be honest and to do the right thing no matter the outcome.”
In addition, he was inspired by his ninth-grade World Geography teacher, who was also one of his coaches.
“He made his class fun and interesting which made me learn about the subject area,” Brannen said. “I guess this is why I have a minor in History. He also pushed me in athletics to become the best that I could be in whatever sport that I participated in.”
This coach also helped Brannon choose the field of education, he said, as he realized in college that being a certified public accountant wasn’t in his future, but education was.
“I knew that when I sat in that (accounting) class for the first three weeks that I did not want to crunch numbers all day, so I went into the education field,” he said.
On a personal note, he and Elizabeth have three children, two sons and a daughter, a daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. All their children are grown and the couple enjoys spending time with them, along with riding their Harley. Brannen said he likes gto watch college football, especially the SEC teams and LSU. He collects Harley Davidson and LSU memorabilia and his wife collects snowmen.
Brannen said one of his goals in his new position as JHS principal is to make JISD one of the best districts in East Texas that people want to move their children to due to the high quality of the academic and athletic programs.
Another of his goals is for JHS to achieve five to seven distinctions in the annual ratings from the Texas Education Agency.
“This is going to take some hard work by the students, teachers and the administration of the high school, but it can be achieved if we will all roll up our sleeves and go to work,” he said. “There are great students and teachers in Jefferson and we can achieve this goal. There is one thing that no one can ever take away from you and that is your education. It is our duty as educators to provide the students that we are entrusted with an education that is the best that can be achieved. I know that this is a lofty goal, but I do expect that we will get to this point due to the great educators that we have in Jefferson ISD.”
Brannen added that everyone has been friendly, supportive and kind in helping him get settled in and ready for the 2021-22 school year. He thanked Superintendent Barnwell, Assistant Superintendent Walker, Curriculum Director Dr. Phillips and all the other other district administration, including Laura Dossey, who is the new JHS Assistant Principal, high school secretary Mrs. Furlow and all of the support staff of the district.
“I am looking forward to learning about all of the traditions that Jefferson ISD has and supporting the students of the district in all of the activities that they are involved in,” he said. “This is going to be a great place to work and live due to the people of Jefferson…My wife and I are truly excited about this new endeavor in our lives and what is going to take place in Jefferson ISD and the town.”