About.

Students enrolled in Fine Arts programs of Dade County Schools receive quality instruction in instrumental music, vocal music, theatre arts, and visual arts. The Fine Arts are an essential and integral part of a student’s academic instructional program and are accessible to all students.

College Scholarships have been awarded to many Dade County High School students in EVERY Fine Arts discipline.   Every Fine Arts teacher is dedicated to helping you prepare for an audition or portfolio presentation in order to help you succeed in college!

Our Fine Arts Team

Brandi Gann
AA: Fashion Design & Marketing
Associates: Cosmetology
Bachelor of Arts: General Studies
Specialization-Creative Writing

Brandi Gann is a wife and mom to a rainbow baby boy, as well as an avid Disney lover who likes to spread a little magic wherever she goes.

Brandi is also a Dade County Alumni who went on to Graduate from American Intercontinental University with an AA in Fashion Design, then proceeded to pursue a technical degree in Cosmetology. She uses those skills she learned within her part time small business of photography and videography. Brandi and her Husband have served as Youth Ministers for thirteen years at Trenton Ministry Center. She has always wanted to be an influencer in the lives of young children. Ms. Gann began teaching at Dade Middle School in 2018.  Her hope is to be the kind of teacher she admired when she was a student at Dade and make the kind of difference her teachers made in her life.

Mrs. Gann was selected as the Dade Middle School Teacher of the Year for 2021. 

Trent Walliser
Bachelor of Fine Arts

Trent Walliser is a Chattanooga native, graduating high school from McCallie School in 2016. He spent his time in college fine tuning his passion for graphic design, sculpture, videography, painting, and drawing. He graduated from UTC in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in fine arts.

Mr. Walliser has been a youth leader and worship leader in churches since his freshman year of college. He has always had a passion for youth and molding young minds.

Mr. Walliser spends his free time making and performing music with his Chattanooga band "Lilac Line." On the side, he helps with audio design and music production for other local artists.

Chris Chance
Bachelor of Music:
​Instrumental Music Education

Mr. Chance began as Director of Bands to Dade Middle and Dade County High School in 2008. Mr. Chance previously served as the Director of Bands at Morristown-Hamblen High School East from 2004 to 2008. 

Mr. Chance is a member of the 572nd United States Air Force Band where he holds the rank of Technical Sergeant.  He is also a member of the National Association for Music Education, the Georgia Music Educators Association, the East Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association, the Tennessee Bandmasters Association, the Tennessee Secondary Schools Band Directors Association, the International Trumpet Guild, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity of America.

Mr. Chance was selected as the 2013 Teacher of the Year for Dade Middle and the 2013 Teacher of the Year for the Dade County School System.

Heather Chance
Bachelor of Music:
​Instrumental Music Education

Mrs. Chance is a 1998 graduate of Dade County High School and a 2004 graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where she received a Bachelor of Science: Music Education.

Mrs. Chance served as General Music teacher at Rogersville Middle School in Rogersville, Tennessee from 2004 - 2005, and Director of Bands at Meadowview and East Ridge Middle Schools in Morristown, Tennessee from 2005 - 2007.  In 2011, Mrs. Chance was hired as Assistant Director of Bands for Dade Middle and Dade County High School.

Mr. and Mrs. Chance reside in the South Dade Community with their daughter and son, Makaela and Bradley.​

​Gabrielle Haston​​
Bachelor of Music:
Vocal Music Education
M.Ed: Secondary Edu-The Arts
Kodaly Certified Music Educator

Mrs. Haston has taught at Dade Middle and Dade County High since 2007. She is the Fine Arts, Foreign Language and Physical Education Dept Chair at DCHS and has served as the GMEA District VII Choral Chair. Mrs. Haston also works as an Assistant Director for the training and touring choirs of the Chattanooga Boys Choir. She is a member of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, the National Association for Music Educators, the Georgia Music Educators' Association, and the American Choral Directors' Association.

Mrs. Haston has present multiple times on topics of music education and technology at colleges, conferences and local professional development sessions. For example, she was selected to present "Kodaly...It's NOT just for Elementary!" at the 2019 GMEA In-service Conference and the Kodaly Institute at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Mrs. Haston also served as the middle school conductor for the Floyd County Honor Chorus in April 2019. 

Mrs. Haston was selected as the 2020 Teacher of the Year for Dade Middle School and as the 2020-2022 Teacher of the Year for the Dade County School System. 

Mrs. Haston and her husband are high school sweethearts and reside in Chattanooga with their two children.  She enjoys yoga and loves coffee, a good book, and great conversations, in addition to randomly breaking out into song and dance.

Jessica Wilson
​​Bachelor of Arts:
​Theatre and Speech
M.Ed: Secondary English Education

Jessica Wilson has been teaching Theatre in Dade County since 2012. Her love of performance art began at age 7 when her family attended a production of Peter Pan at the Tennessee Theater in Knoxville. The desire to teach and share performance art came in college when she organized a children’s Theater Camp.  Wilson’s DCHS directing credits include such celebrated stage plays as Annie, Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast, most recently, Hairspray and more. Each fall, her DCHS students participate in the GHSA One Act Play Competition. She is a member of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators. 

​Ms. Wilson resides in Chattanooga with her tenacious dog Winston and several house plants of varying sizes. She is a member of the Improv Chattanooga performance troupe as an actor and sketch writer, a director/performer for the Muse of Fire Project, and enjoys many outdoor activities such as trail running, mountain biking, and coffee drinking (which can also be an indoor activity). 

Our Goal.

It is the hope of this Fine Arts department that students who begin in a field of study will continue in that field till graduation in order to develop a level of skill and competence in their chosen area.  Superior fine arts instruction will be delivered by highly qualified and certified arts teachers in each curriculum area based on the Georgia Standards of Excellence for fine arts which are scaffolded from grade to grade, ensuring that students are immersed in the fine arts experience.

Teachers engage in continuous improvement of their content knowledge and utilize quality, plus instructional strategies in conjunction with creative and innovative instructional practices in the delivery of the subject matter. Dade County’s Fine Arts students participate in numerous local, statewide, regional, and national festivals and competitions, and are known for their excellent performance standards. The continued enthusiasm and support of administrators at all levels, community members, parents, and students enable the Dade County Fine Arts programs to be successful and to remain an essential element in a complete and well-rounded education for all students. It is the desire of our Fine Arts teachers that each of our students develops their artistic talent, musical ability, and dramatic skills to the fullest potential.​