The beginning of the 2024-25 school year brought with it a wave of new staff members. The United States is in the midst of a teacher shortage, so competition between schools to land new hires is fierce. It is especially difficult for a growing school like Lightridge, where there were twenty-eight positions added for this school year alone. Several teachers new to the school offered their perspectives on the drive behind coming to Lightridge.

Meet Alison O’Bryan
O’Bryan teaches four sections of band with Jamieson Carr and Jonathan Phillip and one section of treble chorus with Helai Rutan.

“It’s really cool because I get to be a part of both programs,” said O’Bryan.

Before coming to Lightridge, she taught band and chorus at William Wetsel Middle School in Madison County and Key Middle School in Fairfax County. She says that teaching there gave her the experience to be successful teaching two programs at Lightridge.

O’Bryan not only heard wonderful things about Lightridge, but she also knows the music directors on a personal level, having gone to high school with Rutan. She continues to learn more about the community at Lightridge and is excited about being a high school director, which is something she has always wanted to do as an educator.

“I couldn’t wait to be a part of such a strong music community,“ said O’Bryan. “I’m beyond excited to work with students that have the same passion for music as I do.”

Meet Nick Cramer
Cramer teaches Intro to Business Marketing and Sports Marketing. He has been teaching for fourteen years and previously taught history at a South Florida private school, where he also coached track and field. His move to the Lightridge was sparked by a change in his family.

“I recently had a daughter,” said Cramer, “and I wanted to make sure she had a good education and grew up in a safe area.”

He heard about Lightridge and LCPS through his friend, Lightridge math teacher Matthew Crisp, who he went to graduate school with. He applied for a job and when he got it, he packed up and moved to Virginia.

He is most excited about the abundance of opportunities to get involved in school and sports, and to connect with his students to help them learn.

Meet Anna Nocera
Nocera is a first year teacher who recently graduated from JMU where she majored in English and secondary education. She teaches 9th grade academic and 10th grade honors English.

Nocera had several job opportunities in Loudoun, but it was the interview process that swayed her.

“I ended up loving the principals at Lightridge the most,” said Nocera, who also had very positive interactions with some of the teachers in the English department. Those meetings are what helped her make the decision to start her career here.

She is most excited for the school culture at Lightridge.

“I find that the students here get really excited about pep rallies and spirit week,” she said. “ I’m really excited to see that throughout the year.”