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Eisenhower was president and Miller Bros. suits were selling for $29.95 when Fonza Swafford Miller Barkley started canvassing the Brainerd area for youngsters to attend the Brainerd Baptist Church Kindergarten.
“I drove up and down the neighborhood, and at every house that had a tricycle or a swing set outside. I’d stop,” said Ms. Barkley who for more than 30 years taught and directed the Baptist kindergarten, one of the only few church-affiliated kindergartens in the Chattanooga area. The state had no public-school kindergartens in 1953.
Under the leadership of Pastor Rev. Connie A. Dabney, the kindergarten was organized in 1953 with Mrs. Willard (Fonza) Miller serving as its dedicated director. The program opened that September with 53 children, including four- and five-year-olds, several three-year-olds, and even one 2½-year-old. Originally housed in the Nursery Building, the kindergarten later moved to its current location on the ground floor. When Mrs. Miller retired after 31 years of service, the kindergarten committee retired alongside her, and Mrs. Mary Standard became director in 1985.
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In early 1972, Brainerd Baptist Church established Brainerd Baptist School as a mission of the church, guided by Pastor Dr. J. Ralph McIntyre. That August, the School Board announced the appointment of four teachers and the first principal, Mrs. Lanier Cain, who also taught fifth and sixth grade. The inaugural School Board was led by Chairman Glenn Stophel; Vice Chairman Bill Cambron; Ex Officio members John Steinman, Norman Willie, and Dr. McIntyre; and members Shirley Downs, Ruby Duncan, Fonza Miller, Harold Ashworth, Clifton Ward, and Secretary Don Bowman.
Classes for grades one through six began on September 5, 1972, with approximately sixty students. Although the elementary school was new, a kindergarten program had already been operating since 1953. Over the following years, the school gradually expanded to include grades K–12, a structure that continued until 1989. Low high-school enrollment then required a return to a K–6 model, which remained in place until 1999.
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A renewed demand from families prompted another expansion in 1999. That year, Brainerd Baptist School launched the program that would grow into David Brainerd Christian School. The middle school began in modular classrooms on the lower soccer field with 34 sixth- and seventh-grade students. A third building was added in 2000 to accommodate eighth grade, and enrollment surpassed 70 students. As the program grew, the school began searching for a permanent location for a full middle-and-high-school campus. In the summer of 2001, property on Igou Gap Road became available and was purchased. On October 4, 2001, David Brainerd Christian School officially opened and relocated from the Brainerd Baptist campus. The new school served grades six through nine in its first year and added one grade annually, celebrating its first graduating class in 2006. Unfortunately, low enrollment and a struggling economy forced the school’s closure in the summer of 2009.
Today, Brainerd Baptist School serves approximately 400 students in Pre-K2 through fifth grade. The school is a member of several professional organizations, including the Council on Educational Standards and Accountability (CESA), the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS), and the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools (TAIS).
Brainerd Baptist School first earned accreditation through SAIS in 2008 and has successfully completed the reaccreditation process in 2013, 2018, and most recently in 2024, reaffirming its commitment to excellence in Christian independent education.
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Mrs. Fonza Miller Barkley – 1953 – 1972
Mrs. Cholly Cain – 1972 – 1975
Dr. Bill Henry – 1975 – 1985
Dr. Barry Peterson – 1985 – 1995
Mrs. Carolyn Circeo (interim) – 1996 – 1997
Mrs. Betty Bratton (interim) – 1997 – 1998
Mr. John Cox – 1998 – 2001
Mr. Barry Wilks (interim) – 2001 – 2002
Ms. Linda Cagle – 2002 – 2006
Dr. Sean Corcoran – 2006 – present