Holly Bradley is one of the new teachers at Italy High School, but the campus is not new to her. She attended Italy schools beginning in the 3rd grade and graduated from IHS in 2008. In high school, Holly was a cheerleader and participated in softball and track.

She was an instructional aide last year and did her student teaching here in Italy. She is excited about her first teaching job being here in the community and school that she loves. She had an offer to teach in Hillsboro, but decided that she wanted to teach in Italy instead.

“Mrs. Bradley did a wonderful job this past year as an instructional aide,” said Lee Joffre, Italy High Principal. “She is committed to helping students learn and perform at a high level. We are very lucky to have a teacher of her caliber.”

Bradley will teach Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry. She will also coach Junior High volleyball, basketball and track. She attained an Associates Degree in Business Administration before completing her degree from Texas A & M Commerce this year in Math.

“While pursuing my degree, I was hired at Italy ISD as a substitute teacher and did that for three years,” Bradley explained. “It was during that time that I discovered I enjoyed teaching. I realized that I liked teaching the older students so that is why I chose secondary education as a career.”

One of Holly’s goals is to teach her students on a level that they can understand. She said that geometry can get confusing for students because they will be using letters in addition to numbers in math problems. She also wants the students to have fun while learning. She plans to use some of the Dr. Seuss books for that.

“I plan to incorporate English into the math lessons with Seuss books. They can learn ratios and other math formulas this way and hopefully it will help make learning math fun. I think the students need to be reminded that they can enjoy their inner child through learning.”

Bradley believes that students learn life skills, relationships and time management at school. She knows first hand that teachers can teach their students life skills that will help them after they graduate.

“I want to be an asset to our district,” she said. “I believe Italy is holding our kids to a higher standard of learning and I want to be a part of that.”

Holly is excited about teaching for another reason – she knows many of the girls she will be coaching including her niece. She said she has watched most of these girls grow up and she also knows most of the students she will be teaching.

“Italy is home,” she said. “I love living here and am happy I will be working here. Because I attended Italy schools, I feel I have a vested interest. Casey Holden is my mentor. I learned so much from her while I was doing my student teaching. “

Holly married Eric Bradley, a member of the Red Oak Fire Department, in 2009. They have one son, James, who just celebrated his first birthday. She loves spending time with her family. The Bradleys are members of Central Baptist Church here in Italy.