Grant Shipley

Learn to Live; Live to Learn

Mr. Grant Shipley

Email Mr. Shipley

Principal of Brighton High School

Our Brighton High School principal, Mr. Grant Shipley, was named the 1999 "Tennessee High School Principal of the Year." The announcement was made on March 17,1999, by the Tennessee Secondary School Principals Association.

A graduate of the University of Mississippi (Bachelor’s Degree) and the University of Memphis (Master’s Degree), Mr. Shipley has been in education for 30 years. He opened the new Brighton High School in 1996. He started his teaching career in his hometown of Independence, Mississippi, where he taught and coached for two years and served as assistant principal for two years (1972-1976). He was an assistant principal and head football coach at Ripley High School in Ripley, Tennessee, for ten years (1976-1986). Upon returning to Mississippi in 1986, he was a coach and assistant principal at Southhaven High School for seven years (1986-1993). He was assistant principal at Horn Lake High School for two years (1993-1995). During this time, he was named the "NASSP Assistant Principal of the Year" in 1994.

Other honors and awards Mr. Shipley has received in his career include Young Educator of the Year (1982), STAR Teacher (l989), and Instructional Leadership Award (1993); he was also named to the Board of Directors for the Tennessee Association for Secondary School Principals (1998) and served as president in 2000.

In February, 1999, Mr. Shipley was a recipient of the "Excellence in Education Award" for his outstanding work and dedication to the students in our Preschool and Special Education programs. Only six educators in the state receive this award each year. Mr. Shipley is the first high school principal to receive the award.

His wife, Vickie, is an Assistant Principal at Munford Middle School. They have two children, Grant, who works for Southern Electric in Memphis Tennessee, and Amy, Vice-president of Nursing at Methodist Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Amy also teaches classes at a community college.

From the Principal's Desk

Many changes have taken place in Tipton County during the last few years with Brighton High School being one of these changes. I am very proud to be the principal of BHS and excited about congratulating our faculty and students on their outstanding academic performance. BHS is committed to the development of the whole child. This becomes more realistic when our students reach their potential and are a part of a strong extracurricular program that includes academic teams, arts, athletics, character, clubs and music.

Many programs and activities at the school depend solely on the support of the community. We can say without reservation that the Brighton High School community has done whatever it takes to support their school.

One of the finest accomplishments is making a long story short, but when it comes to talking about Brighton High, I find this very difficult. I will attempt to share with your our philosophy of education as briefly as possible.

Discipline is one of the major characteristics of any school. However, students must know we care before any strategy will work.

Teamwork and a sense of ownership is very important for a school to be effective. Teachers, parents, students, administrators and all community leaders must work together to educate our children. Business and industry tell us productivity increases when teamwork is utilized. As your principal at Brighton High School, I pledge to continue to work with you to build a team that will win the battle for the future of our students. Parents are an essential part of this educational team.

We must graduate a student who is a good citizen. Our curriculum must prepare our students to take their place in the real work and contribute to their community. Brighton High School will work hand-in-hand with the parents and community to give our students a chance for success after graduation. We are committed to a real-world education for all of our students.

Charles Kettering said, "My interest is in the future because I plan on spending the rest of my life there." It will take all of us working together to prepare our students for the challenges our cardinals will face in society.

Brighton High and the community are off to a great start and on behalf of the faculty, staff and administration, I want to thank you.

~ Grant Shipley