Most mornings at South begin the same way: students rushing through the West Gym doors, the buzz of chatter filling the hallway, and a familiar voice calling out, “Good morning!” That voice belongs to Mrs. Abby-Jo Brighton, who welcomes students in her new role as Dean of Students. 

After 18 years of teaching Marine Science, Forensics, and Earth Science, Mrs. Brighton was ready for a change. She wanted to connect with students outside of the classroom, too. “A lot of my students get in trouble for doing silly things,” she said. “I wanted to be not just a disciplinarian but someone they could talk to, a safe space.”

Although Mrs. Brighton’s day still includes teaching two sections of Marine Science, the rest looks a little different. Mornings start with greetings by the West Gym before she heads into the halls to check in on students and, as she puts it, “get a pulse of the building.” Her background as a scientist continues to shape the way she works. “I like to see things happening firsthand,” she said. “I don’t really like to go by hearsay.”

If you’ve seen the phone collector bags or the cartoon-style phone posters hanging in the library and hallway, that’s her work too. Mrs. Brighton said she started making the posters as a fun way to remind students about the new phone policy. “I wanted to make people smile, even if they were getting a reminder,” she said. 

Outside of her dean duties, Mrs. Brighton co-advises AREA-C (Animal Rescue and Environmental Club) with Mr. Patrick Graham. Together, they have brought new life to the garden behind the library and added bat houses around campus. The projects give students a way to make South High greener and more connected. 

For Mrs. Brighton, a sense of community matters most. “When kids walk down the halls, and they smile, they say hi, that’s what makes a good atmosphere,” she said. “I love that our school is such a melting pot of kids from so many different places, and everyone just gets along.”