Walking into Jimmie Harper’s classroom, one feels the relaxing, coffee shop atmosphere as they settle into an enjoyable class with him. The unique trinkets that dust the shelves are artifacts of his life and time he has spent at Brentwood. Feel free to ask him about any of them during his Talk About It Tuesdays. You will be surprised.

With the chalkboard, hanging cafe lights in the back corner, or the shelves of books, it’s hard to disagree with students who see his classroom as nostalgic and welcoming.

“His room is always inviting,” said senior Maeryn McCormick. “It feels like home.”

While it’s disappointing that freshmen and sophomores can’t enjoy the comforts of his room just yet (Harper teaches upperclassmen only), in the past he has taught students as young as fifth graders.

Harper started working at BCS a decade ago in 2014, and his long list of responsibilities include U.S. History, running the livestream of games, is the sponsor of the Disc Golf Club, and has a mentor group. In addition, he coached middle school flag football and basketball for six years, was a class sponsor for five different school years, and freshmen, sophomore, and junior Bible.

One of his previous mentor group members, another familiar teacher on campus, coach Connor White, was even impacted by Harper's subtle students-first approach.

"One of my favorite memories was one time we played Super Smash Bros in mentor groups,” White said. “It was good bro time.”

Senior Coleston Allen had Harper as one of his first coaches at BCS.

“Coach Harper was an amazing coach,” Allen said. “He taught me so much about being a man, and about football.

“One time he told us if we shoot one thousand free throws each, he [would] get us all ice cream. We all did [except for] one kid, so he didn't get it for us. [This lesson] taught us to keep each other accountable if we want to reach a goal.”

Harper started live streaming BCS home athletic events in 2020 in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. He remembers being reluctant to MC for the games because he was stretched thin working as a teacher, coach, mentor, and sponsor. However, he is glad he did, and is incredibly grateful to Performance Director and Lady Bellas director Lisa Warner for being so organized with the Pep Rallies.

Students truly appreciate the work he does.

“Mr. Harper makes the pep rallies special because he sets the tone,” McCormick said. “He has a commentating voice and makes it feel like we are in a game show and everything [becomes] more exciting than it actually is.”

Another noticeable feature in Harper’s classroom is the small whiteboard leaning against the large whiteboard that says, “Disc Golf Club” written in green Expo marker. This is yet another artifact that gives a clue to Harper’s passions.

Harper started his personal disc golf career in 2021, and the Disc Golf Club began in 2022. The disc golf course was also put in the same year. Adam Stow, Jeff Morris, and Jimmie Harper were the original co-founders of the club and some of the original members were Nathan Thom (President), Julian Jimenez (Vice-President), Jacob Klein-Bradham, Dakota Johnson, and Cole Ziegler.

Previous member and graduate of the class of 2024, alumni Julian Jimenez recalled his time with Harper fondly.

“Seeing his enthusiasm about this sport was inspiring and we were blessed to have him as our club sponsor,” Jimenez said.

“He is really supportive when you are not very good at [disc golf],” Junior Lily Wright added. “He gives very good advice as to what you need to do to improve.”

Harper is incredibly passionate about his teaching, and it blooms in his teaching. “

I would teach for free, they have to pay me to grade,” Harper quipped.

Part of what makes Harper’s class so interesting is that students can never expect when he may burst into song, or start a mini-monologue with himself, or a random song starts playing on the slides that he has so carefully crafted. Harper has many traditions about his class that make it stand out.

“A favorite part I remember from his class was trench day,” White remarks. “He took us behind the football field and read us stories about WWI.”

It is hard not to fall in love with history when it is taught by such a passionate and enthusiastic teacher.

Whether you hear Harper from the livestream, run into him at a disc golf course, or encounter him in the classroom, it is incredibly visible the amount of work he puts into the BCS community.

“Mr. Jimmie Harper [is] a firm but fair teacher who puts God above all in what he teaches," Jimenez said. "A Bible verse that fits Harper's character well is Psalms 37:30. It says, ‘The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just.’

"Jimmie is a righteous man who inspires with his words and actions...I am thankful to have had him as a teacher.”


***This article was published in the October 2024 edition of The Bear Facts, Brentwood Christian School's quarterly on-campus newspaper publication. ***