By Debbie Adams
William Byrd High School begins the 2024-2025 school year with three new administrators and
10 new faculty members.
Travis Anderson is Byrd’s new principal, replacing Tammy Newcomb who was named
Executive Director of Administration for the school system. Anderson grew up in
Mechanicsville, Va. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a Master’s Degree in
Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech, and a Master’s Degree in Educational
Leadership from Radford University.
He began his career with Roanoke County Public Schools in 2012 as a math teacher (mainly
geometry) at Cave Spring High School. In 2018, he became the testing coordinator at William
Byrd High School. In 2020, he was named as an assistant principal at WBHS. One of his most
impactful duties has been coordinating the multi-million-dollar William Byrd Renovation and
Expansion Project.
As for his special interests, Anderson loves Hokie football and seldom misses a home game; in
fact, he estimates that he has only missed three or four games since 1996.
He and his wife, Christine, have four children, a 2-year-old, 6-year-old twins, and an 8-year-old.
They are active members of Clearbrook Baptist Church.
“I love working with the William Byrd students and the community, and I am excited for the
new opportunity to lead in this community,” Anderson said. “There is a lot of positive history
and tradition to build on.”
New Assistant Principal Hannah Prater began her teaching career at WBHS in 2017 as a
geometry and Algebra teacher. This past year, she became the testing coordinator. She has
served as Senior Sponsor for several years, organized pep rallies for the past six years (which she
will continue), and coached JV girls basketball.
She is originally from Naperville, Ill. She earned her undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech
and her Master’s certificate in Educational Leadership from James Madison University. She will be assuming the duties Anderson covered in his years as assistant principal at Byrd, plus serve as
the Data Based administrator, handling scheduling and Synergy needs.
New Assistant Principal Kevin Richardson served as Dean of Students at Hidden Valley Middle
School last year. He has been with Roanoke County Public Schools for 21 years. He was born
and raised in Northern Virginia and graduated from Annandale High School in Fairfax.
He earned his undergraduate degree from Appalachian State University and a Master’s degree in
Education from James Madison University. In his career, Richardson has taught special
education for 10 years, social studies for nine years, and served as Dean of Students at both
Hidden Valley High School and Hidden Valley Middle School. This year he will be responsible
for everything related to the school building and parking, and the Terrier of the Month
program— the duties of Phillip Martin who was named to Central Office as Supervisor of Social
Studies.
Richardson and his wife have lived in the Byrd community for 16 years, where he has
volunteered as a rec baseball and soccer coach.
James Barth will be teaching math at William Byrd, namely Geometry and Algebra Functions
and Data Analysis. He is originally from Tennessee but has lived all over the country since
college. He has been living in the Roanoke/Vinton area for the past two years.
He graduated from Virginia Tech with a Mechanical Engineering degree. This is his first year as
a full-time teacher; he worked in Roanoke County last year as a substitute teacher.
“I’ve also worked in Outdoor Rec/Ed teaching,” Barth says. “I enjoy seeing students learn and
helping that process. I picked math because I have real world experience with working in
engineering and know it well.”
Katie Durica is co-teaching geometry at WBHS and serving as a Case Manager in special
education. She is a graduate of Cave Spring High School and earned her BS in Psychology from
Virginia Tech. This is her first year in teaching.
“I’m in education because I want to watch the next generations learn and grow!” Durica says. “I
was a student in Mr. Anderson’s geometry class before he moved to WBHS and now I will be
teaching geometry under him!”
As for her special interests, Durica did marching band through high school and college. “I have a
cat and a dog, and I am getting married at the end of the school year.”
Carly Graybill will be working as an English 10 teacher at William Byrd High School and
Hidden Valley High School.
“I’m a Vinton girl, born and raised!” Graybill says. “I attended William Byrd High School
myself, so it’s especially meaningful to be able to teach there this year. I have been working with
the WBHS English department the past couple of years as a part-time remedial tutor, so I have a
bit of experience in education!”
“I have a bachelor’s degree from Roanoke College in Secondary English Education and a
master’s degree from Old Dominion University in Library Science and Information, which will
be officially awarded to me at the end of August.
“I have always enjoyed reading and finding that perfect story with which I relate. During my
time in school, I faced some difficult medical challenges, and I had wonderful teachers and
administrators that helped me achieve my goals and guide me back to the Byrd community!
Therefore, I always wanted to give back and try to be that teacher for someone else! Alongside
my school community and friends that have always supported me, I have to give a shoutout to
my wonderful family who has always helped me achieve my goals!”
Rachael Haddon is a special education teacher, co-teaching Algebra I, AFDA, and Computer
Math at Byrd. She is from Mechanicsville, Va., and attended the University of Mary
Washington.
“I have been teaching for five years,” Haddon says. “I am a career switcher. In my first career, I
worked as a volunteer manager with several non-profits.
“I chose to come to William Byrd because I live in the area and my kids will be at Byrd in a few
years. I am involved in the Vinton Booster Club as a coordinator and as a coach for flag football
and girls lacrosse. I enjoy the outdoors, hiking and camping. My family and I have hiked every
state park in Virginia.”
Angie Harmon is teaching special education, English 10. She is originally from Roanoke and
graduated from Cave Spring High School. She earned her Master’s degree from Liberty
University and has been teaching for six years. She taught in private schools for many years; but
“Roanoke County has always been home to me, so I decided it was time to come back.”
She chose special education because, “I saw the difference in the lives many Roanoke County
Schools played in close family members with learning disabilities and wanted to pay it forward.”
Her special interests include needlework, “exploring out of the way locations,” and spending as
much time as possible with her husband and four children.
Phillip King is teaching English in grades 9 and 10. He is originally from Roanoke and a
graduate of Hidden Valley High School. He earned his Bachelor and Master’s degrees from
Radford University. This is his first year in teaching. He says he was “inspired” by his sixth
grade English teacher, Mr. White, to become a teacher. As for special interests and hobbies, he is
“invested in comic studies.”
Kate McDaniel will be working at both WBHS and Cave Spring High School as librarian. She
is originally from Lynchburg and a graduate of Brookville High School. She graduated with her
Bachelor’s degree from James Madison University, and her MLIS from the University of
Tennessee at Knoxville. This is her 21st year in education— 12 teaching and nine in the library.
“I have always loved reading and learning about just about anything, so I figured that teaching
and then being a librarian would allow me to share those loves with students,” McDaniel says.
“Being able to hand students a book and have them come back to me with excitement in their
faces is one of my favorite things!”
In her spare time, “I enjoy reading (obviously!), traveling, cooking and trying out new recipes,
spending time with family and friends, playing games with my niece and nephew, and sports.
Jason Oldaker is teaching Robotics, Electronics, CAD, Architecture, and Woodshop for grades
9-12. He is originally from central West Virginia and a graduate of Lewis County High School.
He attended Glenville State University and now has 20 plus years in education, with over 18 in
Southwest Virginia. He was recruited by the Career and Technical Education Department.
He says he chose his subject area because, “Technical Education can be a lucrative and cost-
effective alternative to a traditional college education.”
His interests outside of teaching include traveling, guitars, and landscaping.
Martha Wade is teaching Algebra I at WBHS. She is from Salem and a graduate of Salem High
School. She earned her Master’s degree from Mary Baldwin. She has been teaching for 23 years.
“I want to teach students math who disliked it as much as I did in school and show them how
they can learn,” Wade says.
She has lived in the Hardy area for several years. Wade has three grown children and three
grandchildren. She says she loves animals, plants, and working with students.
Travis Welty is teaching Algebra I and Geometry. He is originally from Hampton, Va., and a
graduate of Kecoughtan High School there. He has Bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and
history from the University of Virginia’s College at Wise and an AA in Women’s Studies.
“I worked as a tutor at my college’s tutoring center for three years and for Mathnasium for two
years,” Welty says. “This will be my second year as a full-time teacher.
“I had wanted to be a teacher since I was a little kid. When someone would ask me what I
wanted to be when I grew up, I always answered that I wanted to be a teacher. My teachers were
a big support for me growing up, and helped make me feel like I could accomplish great things
even if I had a hard time believing it myself, and I wanted to be that support for other kids.
“I picked math because I enjoy the logical and creative thinking required to do math well. I
always viewed math problems like puzzles to be solved, rather than a challenge to overcome, and
I wanted to bring that joy to other students. I chose math over history because students struggle
significantly more in math, and I wanted an opportunity to help students grow and develop their
mathematical minds in ways they may never have thought possible.
As for how he came to be at William Byrd High School, the school “had an opening for a full-
time math teacher. Last year, my first year in teaching, I worked a flex position where I worked
at two different schools. It will be a refreshing change of pace to have a classroom entirely my
own and to not have to worry about commute and juggling the requirements of two different
administrative teams, although both schools I am coming from were lovely and their staffs were
very welcoming and helpful for getting me set up for my first year.
“This is my first time working actively in the Vinton area, and I’;m excited to get to know this
community. So far, if the staff is any indication of the people in this area, I will absolutely love it
here!”
His hobbies include playing and listening to music, playing puzzles like Sudoku and Kakuro, and
journaling.