Today, we take a moment to shower our incredible school nurses with appreciation on National School Nurse Appreciation Day! 🎉
More than just administering bandages and ice packs, our school nurses are the heart of health and well-being in our schools. They are the compassionate caregivers who provide vital medical care and support to our students and staff. They work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for everyone. From managing complex medical conditions to offering a comforting presence, our nurses go above and beyond every single day. Their dedication, expertise, and caring spirit make a profound difference in the lives of our students, allowing them to thrive both academically and personally.
To all our phenomenal Shelby County School Nurses: Thank you for your unwavering commitment, your endless compassion, and the countless ways you support our students and schools. We are deeply grateful for all that you do! ❤️
May is Mental Health Awareness Month! As a school system dedicated to the holistic development of every student, we proudly recognize and support Mental Health Awareness Month. We believe that mental health is just as vital as physical health and plays a critical role in the academic success, emotional well-being, and overall development of our students, educators, and staff. Together, we can cultivate a culture of care, break down barriers to mental health services, and ensure that every member of our school community feels seen, heard, and supported.
🍎 We extend our deepest gratitude to the incredible educators of Shelby County Schools for Teacher Appreciation Week! Your dedication, passion, and unwavering commitment to our students make a world of difference every single day!
We couldn't let the school year come to a close without thanking our outstanding administrators for all they do! Principals, your vision shapes our schools, empowers our educators, and inspires our students to reach their full potential. Thank you for your tireless efforts and the positive impact you make every single day.
Congratulations to Montevallo Elementary School who was recently named a CLAS Banner School for State School Board District 3. CLAS recognized thirty-two Schools of Distinction across the eight State School Board Districts and announced the eight overall winners of the 2024 CLAS Banner Schools award on Monday, May 5, 2025, during a luncheon in Prattville.
The CLAS Banner School program was created in 2001 to recognize schools in Alabama that showcase outstanding programs and service to students. Each school was nominated for this award by their superintendent. A total of 234 schools were nominated statewide.
Shelby County Schools honored the outstanding contributions of its dedicated support staff at the 16th Annual Support Personnel of the Year awards reception. Kathryn Wright, a paraprofessional from Calera Intermediate School, was named the Overall Support Person of the Year. Also honored were the other top category winners, which included:
Whitney Warren - Oak Mountain Elementary - Accounting Category
Cecil Martin - Inverness Elementary - Custodial Category
Tear Lee - Calera Elementary - Food Services Category
Nick Wells - Shelby County High School - Maintenance Category
Laura Blackburn - Mt Laurel Elementary - Nursing Category
Penny Walker - Calera Middle - Secretarial
Sasha Johns - Shelby Elementary - Transportation
School and district building winners who were honored were: Deanna Brooks - Calera High, Floyd Lilly - Career Technical Educational Center, Robyn Armstrong - Central Office, Kayla Yarbrough - Chelsea Park Elementary, Kimberly Traylor - Chelsea Middle, Tiffney Sanders - Chelsea High, Rachel Robertson - Columbiana Middle, Reanna Harris - Elvin Hill Elementary, Jennifer House - Forest Oaks Elementary, Shaun Knight - Helena Elementary, Natalie Wallace - Helena Intermediate, Rhonda Fikes - Helena Middle, Lisa Parker - Helena High, Shamar Smiley - Linda Nolen Learning Center, Maria Fletcher - Montevallo Elementary, Timothy Warren - Montevallo Middle, Kristie Domovic - New Direction/Success Monica Contreras Zapata - Oak Mountain Intermediate, Amanda Garcia - Oak Mountain Middle; Amanda DeVaugh - Oak Mountain High, Mike Whitfield - Shelby County Instructional Services Center, Britney Reid - Shelby Elementary, Cynthia Baird - Vincent Elementary, Shanell Cook, Vincent Middle High School, and Connie Davis - Wilsonville Elementary.
Shelby County Community Education will offer a summer health course June 2-23. This is NOT the dual enrollment course offered in conjunction with the University of Montevallo. See the flyer for more details.
Community Education is offering four Driver's Education classes this summer. Fee: $365.00 Registration link: www.ezchildtrack.com/scscomed/parent For more information, contact: Communityed@shelbyed.org or 205 682-5941.
Shelby County Schools held its annual National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) Conference today at SCISC. The event, sponsored by the Shelby County Schools Education Foundation, brought together NBCT educators from across the district for a day of celebration, professional learning, and collaboration.
Dr. Brooks welcomed attendees with opening remarks, followed by an inspiring keynote address from Alabama Alternate Teacher of the Year, Kira Aaron. The conference continued with a series of engaging afternoon breakout sessions focused on instructional practices and teacher leadership.
It has been a great day of recognizing and celebrating our National Board Certified educators! #DoGreatThings #EmpoweringAndInspiringExcellence
The Shelby Chamber of Commerce held its annual Student and Educator of the Year awards on April 30 at the Pelham Civic Center. Congratulations to all of our Shelby County teachers and students who were honored. Ira Fannin, a Chelsea Middle School teacher, was named the Middle School Educator of the Year. James Ledbetter from Shelby County High was honored as a winner in the Career Tech Standout Student category. Davis Junkin from the Shelby County Career Technical Center (Chelsea High) was named a winner in the Distinguished Standout Student category. Yan Zou from Montevallo High won the overall Future Leader Award. As winners, Mr. Fannin will receive a monetary prize to be used in the classroom, and the students will each receive monetary prizes to further their educational endeavors.
Shelby County Schools recently held the Superintendent's Art Exhibit, which featured artwork from over 100 students in grades K-12. The artwork included pieces recognized at the district level and several selected to represent Shelby County School at the State of Alabama Visual Art Exhibit in Montgomery. Of the 20 pieces selected for the state art exhibit, Shelby County had five students whose artwork received special recognition. Kendyl Hannah from Oak Mountain Intermediate placed 3rd, and Evelyn Rayl from Oak Mountain Elementary received an honorable mention in Division 3-4. Jacob Mondragon from Chelsea Middle placed 3rd, and Shelby Kemp received an honorable mention in Division 7-8. Sara Allen from Helena High School placed 2nd in Division 9-10.
Three pieces from the Superintendent's Art Exhibit were selected for the Superintendent's Choice Award and will be displayed in Dr. Lewis Brook's office at the Central Office. Those students were Abigail Hunter from Calera Intermediate, Arya Calhoun from Oak Mountain Middle, and Sabrielle Spainhoward from Chelsea High School.
District Art Show Winners
K-2, CATEGORY 1
1ST PLACE - Abby Carstarphen - Inverness Elementary
2ND PLACE - Casen King - Linda Nolen Learning Center
3RD PLACE - Bernie Rhoades - Oak Mountain Elementary
3-4, CATEGORY 1
1ST PLACE - Evelyn Rayl - Oak Mountain Intermediate
2ND PLACE - Kate Cunningham - Elvin Hill Elementary
3RD PLACE Elizabeth Russell - Oak Mountain Elementary
5-6, CATEGORY 1
1ST PLACE - Sara Jovanovic - Helena Intermediate
2ND PLACE - Allie Oldham - Forest Oaks Elementary -
3RD PLACE - Madison Fowler - Calera Middle
7-8, CATEGORY 1
1ST PLACE - Lukas Scholl - Calera Middle -
2ND PLACE - Shelby Kemp - Helena Middle
3RD PLACE - Jacob Mondragon - Chelsea Middle
9-10, CATEGORY 1
1ST PLACE - Glory Strickland - Helena High
2ND PLACE - Sara Allen - Helena High
3RD PLACE - Eloise Evans - Helena High
9-10, CATEGORY 2
1ST PLACE - Griffin Holmes - Oak Mountain High
2ND PLACE - Bailey Cole - Oak Mountain High
3RD PLACE - Ashdyn Gamble - Chelsea High
11-12, CATEGORY 1
1ST PLACE - Natalie Bevilacqua - Shelby County High
2ND PLACE Ryan Mervis - Calera High -
3RD PLACE - Maria Chambers - Helena High
11-12, CATEGORY 2
1ST PLACE - Tyler Barton - Calera High
2ND PLACE - Jada Kelly - Calera High
3RD PLACE - Rebecca Stevens - Chelsea High
Congratulations to the Shelby County Project SEARCH Program and instructor Elizabeth Ferguson on two recent honors awarded at the 1st Biennial State of Alabama Transition Conference. The Project SEARCH Instructor Award was presented to Ferguson for servant dedication to planning and implementing instructional activities. Also, the Innovative Marketing and Recruitment Strategies Award was presented to Project SEARCH of Shelby County at Shelby Ridge.
Congratulations to Chelsea Middle School student, Shrey Nehwal, who won 1st place in the Governor’s App Challenge for middle schools! This statewide computer programming competition recognizes students for their mastery and application of computer programming and design.
NOW OPEN! Registration and enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year is now open. Visit https://www.shelbyed.k12.al.us/enrollment for more information.
Shelby County Schools is monitoring for the possibility of severe weather for Monday morning, March 31. We will communicate with you further should conditions warrant.
Dr. Lewis Brooks recognized the SCS Maintenance Department with a Journey Shaper Award for their tireless work to repair Calera Intermediate from tornado damages. The school was only closed one day thanks to the work done over the weekend by our dedicated maintenance staff.
The 2025 Byte of Code competition was a great success, as students joined together to tackle several coding/robotics challenges centered around the theme of automotive manufacturing 🚗 In addition to competing, these students had the opportunity to hear from individuals who work with Mercedes-Benz - who also brought several vehicles for our students to see just outside of SCISC. #DoGreatThings #EmpoweringAndInspiringExcellence
Congratulations to our Shelby County teachers who recently earned or renewed National Board Certification. Those who earned NBCT for the first time are Lauren Ash (INES), Jana Baker (FOES), McKayla Hester (VNES), Kathleen Keelin (HLES), Cassie Screws (HLHS), Paula Tolbert (CPES), and Jessica Van Scyoc (MNES). Those who maintained their certification were Lauren Davis (SCISC), Ashlee Elliott (SCISC), Shannon Galamore (CHHS), Amanda Gallups (OMHS), Sarah Hopper (HLIS), Elizabeth Howard (CHMS), Kylee Mitchell (SCISC), and Geoffrey Wymer (ND).
It was another great morning today at SCISC, as we hosted the 2025 Shelby County Middle School Math Tournament! Congratulations and well done to each student who participated in this year's competition ✏️
8th Grade Accelerated Individual High Scorers: Jelea Tate (CAMS), Caroline Zieba (CHMS), Oliver Nobles (HMS), Macon Huckabaa (MMS), Parker Verant (OMMS), and Cora Carter (VHMS)
8th Grade Accelerated Top 3 Scorers:
🥇1st - Parker Verant (OMMS)
🥈2nd - Noah Chatham (OMMS)
🥉3rd - Oliver Nobles (HMS)
8th Grade Accelerated Overall Team Winners:
🥇1st - Oak Mountain Middle School
🥈2nd - Helena Middle School
🥉3rd - Chelsea Middle School
It was another great morning today at SCISC, as we hosted the 2025 Shelby County Middle School Math Tournament! Congratulations and well done to each student who participated in this year's competition ✏️
8th Grade Individual High Scorers: Mariah Jenkins (CAMS), Ronin Harbour (CHMS), Mikael Huerta (HMS), Brandon Walker (MMS), and Sophie Phipps (VHMS)
8th Grade Top 3 Scorers:
🥇1st - Ronin Harbour (CHMS)
🥈2nd - Mikael Huerta (HMS)
🥉3rd - Sophie Phipps (VHMS)
8th Grade Overall Team Winners:
🥇1st - Chelsea Middle School
🥈2nd - Helena Middle School
🥉3rd - Vincent Middle School
