Connecting the Past to the Present: Brendan Carroll

Since 2008, Brendan Carroll has dedicated his teaching career to developing the minds of our young Eagles at Fair Grove through teaching and coaching.

Carroll began his teaching career at Fair Grove High School in the 2008-2009 school year. Throughout the years he has taught Advanced American History, World History, American History, Psychology, Sociology, Geography, and Government. He has also recently taken up the job as a school bus driver.

Not only has he taught but he has also established himself as a well-known coach at Fair Grove over the past decade and a half. Carroll has coached Middle School Boys Basketball, Middle School Boys Track, Freshman and JV Boys Basketball, and Middle and High School Cross Country. At his previous job he also coached a varsity girls basketball team and served as an assistant baseball coach.

Carroll stated, “My favorite memory is hard. As a coach, I’ve enjoyed being a part of teams that have had a lot of success, state qualifiers in cross country and district championships in basketball. I’ve had two sons graduate from here, so I’ve had a lot of proud dad moments tied to the school as well…and of course, there are all kinds of memorable incidents that happen in the classroom. So, no favorite memory, but a lot of good ones.”

Chris Stallings, the previous Fair Grove High School Principal and now Executive Director of Teaching and Learning at Fair Grove, explained, “I worked with Mr. Carroll for four years as the HS assistant principal and seven years as the HS lead principal. When I think about Mr. Carroll as a classroom teacher, I immediately think about his extensive content knowledge. It is not very common to have someone that has a master’s degree in their subject area and especially not someone that is pursuing a doctorate in their subject area.” 

“His knowledge, expertise, and ability to share historical events at a deep level with students will always stand out to me. Our students can receive a college-level experience right here at Fair Grove,” noted Stallings.

Carroll added, “When I started teaching, my mentor teacher told me that we start teaching because we enjoy the subject, and we keep teaching because of the students. My favorite thing has been the relationships formed with students.”

Outside of the classroom, Mr. Carroll enjoys reading, working out, kayaking, hiking with his wife, and watching his son Devin play basketball at College of the Ozarks. Carroll commented, “Don’t put anything important with me in a canoe on a float trip because I’m going to tip over and lose it.”

Stallings said, “Mr. Carroll is what I like to call a ‘Steady Eddie’. He is a person that you can always count on to do the right thing. You can always count on him to be good for kids. He is the type of person that schools our size can’t operate without. He is a tremendous asset in the classroom. He has impacted countless students and athletes throughout his journey at Fair Grove High School.”

Over the past 15 years, Carroll has made his mark on the eagle’s nest and continues to improve the growth of knowledge in the young students each and every year.