Shelby County Schools

The Shelby County Board of Education held yearly elections for officers at the November 16 meeting. Congratulations to David Bobo, who was re-elected to serve as Board President, and Jimmy Bice, who was elected to serve as Vice-President.

Congratulations to Shelby County students who were honored as Character In Action Award winners for the 2023-2024 school year. The award ceremony was held on November 17 at the American Village. These students have been selected by teachers, counselors, and administrators for displaying respect, courage, responsibility, friendship, and kindness toward others. The award also honors the parents and caregivers who have raised these students and who continue to work hard to support their success. The Character in Action Award program is a joint partnership among local school systems, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, District Court Judge Erin Wellborn, and the Children’s Policy Council. Pelham’s American Legion Post 555 also awards the American Legion Achievement Award to the students. Students honored were: Adalynn Winterbottom, Calera Elementary; Martin Moreno, Calera Intermediate; Laila Wilson, Calera Middle; Kayla Banks, Calera High; Peyton Davis, Career Technical Educational Center; Han Doan, Chelsea Park Elementary; Laney Marshall, Chelsea Middle; John-Edward “Riku” Gallagher, Chelsea High; Josie Payne, Columbiana Middle; Gunner Smith, Elvin Hill Elementary; Bailey-Drew Joseph, Forest Oaks Elementary; Charlotte Festavan, Helena Elementary; Coleman Burkhalter, Helena Intermediate; Brewer Jones, Helena Middle; Mackenzie Meyers, Helena High, Isla Clay Melton, Inverness Elementary; Rashad Hunt, Linda Nolen Learning Center; Kolin Brantley-Anfield, Montevallo Elementary; Atticus Plott, Montevallo Middle; Jordan Gaines, Montevallo High School; Aaron Ramirez-Olvera, Mt Laurel Elementary; McKenzie Ray, Oak Mountain Elementary; Christian Lewis, Oak Mountain Intermediate; Jillian Linda, Oak Mountain Middle; Bebe Moore, Oak Mountain High; Emily Vansant, Shelby Elementary; Sarah Elizabeth Shelton, Shelby County High; Amber Isbell, Success; Gabriel Bristow, Vincent Elementary; Sophie Fields, Vincent Middle; Chloe Abrams, Vincent High; and Julie Portillo Vizueth, Wilsonville Elementary.

Congratulations to April Tolbert who was honored with the Alabama School Counseling Association Administrator/Supervisor of the Year award. The award was presented at the awards luncheon at the Alabama School Counseling Association Annual Conference in Birmingham.

Congratulations to April Tolbert who was honored with the Alabama School Counseling Association Administrator/Supervisor of the Year award. The award was presented at the awards luncheon at the Alabama School Counseling Association Annual Conference in Birmingham.

Congratulations to Oak Mountain High School which was named to the 2023 AP Honor Roll! The AP School Honor Roll recognizes schools whose AP programs are delivering results and broadening access for students. Schools can earn the Honor Roll recognition annually based on their ability to increase their school’s college-going culture, provide opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximize college readiness. The AP School Honor Roll offers four levels of distinction: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Oak Mountain High is a Gold member of the Honor Roll. Oak Mountain had 67 percent of seniors who took at least one AP exam during high school, 40 percent of seniors scoring a three or higher on at least one AP exam, and 16 percent of seniors who took five or more AP exams!

Congratulations to Helena High School which was named to the 2023 AP School Honor Roll, which recognizes schools whose Advanced Placement programs are delivering results and broadening access for students. Schools can earn the Honor Roll recognition annually based on their ability to increase their school’s college-going culture, provide opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximize college readiness. The AP School Honor Roll offers four levels of distinction: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Helena High is a Silver member of the Honor Roll. Helena had 62 percent of seniors who took at least one AP exam during high school, 34 percent of seniors scoring a three or higher on at least one AP exam, and 10 percent of seniors who took five or more AP exams. Helena High was also recognized with the AP Access Award for ensuring AP coursework is equally available to students no matter their backgrounds.

Congratulations to Chelsea High School which was named to the 2023 AP School Honor Roll! The AP School Honor Roll recognizes schools whose Advanced Placement programs are delivering results and broadening access for students. Schools can earn the Honor Roll recognition annually based on their ability to increase their school’s college-going culture, provide opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximize college readiness. The AP School Honor Roll offers four levels of distinction: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Chelsea High School is a Bronze member of the Honor Roll. Chelsea had 48 percent of seniors who took at least one AP exam during high school, 29 percent of seniors scoring a three or higher on at least one AP exam, and 16 percent of seniors who took five or more AP exams. Chelsea was also recognized with the AP Access Award for ensuring AP coursework is equally available to students no matter their backgrounds.

Several Shelby County Schools' district leaders participated in the Out of the Darkness Walk on Sunday, Nov. 5 at Veterans Park to raise awareness and funding for suicide prevention. The district also had a booth to highlight student artwork submitted as part of the district's Art of Kindness contest. Art of Kindness was a collaboration between Shelby County Schools and NAMI Shelby County with the goal of educating students and community members about the power of kindness and connection as powerful protective factors against depression and suicide. Research has shown that kindness is an antidote to isolation and helps create a sense of belonging. Kindness also increases self-esteem, empathy, and compassion.

Let's show some love for these rock-star principals of our Centralized Schools for #PrincipalAppreciationMonth! Thank You, Daniel Richards, David Butts, and Todd Crenshaw for the dedication and service you give your students and staff every day!

This dream team of administrators is making a difference in the lives of students and staff in the Columbiana school zone! Thank You to Courtney Madison, Staci Aderholt, Melody Bryne, Dustin Smith, and Kyle Dudley for being amazing leaders! #PrincipalAppreciationMonth

We are starting the week off with another big Thank You to our principals from the Oak Mountain school zone to honor them for #PrincipalAppreciationMonth. Brooke Dunham, Jan Curtis, Tina Neighbors, Laura Junkin, Sandy Evers, and Andrew Gunn are an exceptional group of leaders!

A tremendous Thank You to our principals from the Helena school zone! Genet Holcomb, Sasha Baker, Matthew Epps, and Ashley Bahr lead with love every day! Happy #PrincipalAppreciationMonth to this amazing group of leaders.

We continue to recognize October as #PrincipalAppreciationMonth by honoring this amazing team of leaders from the Montevallo school zone. Wendy Cespedes, Jenise Hampton, and Steve Bromley are making a difference in the lives of their students and in the Montevallo community.

The American Association of School Librarians hosted its national conference in Tampa on October 18-22. The event featured a collection of workshops led by popular authors and illustrators, innovative school leaders, and professional librarians. Superintendent Lewis Brooks was one of five school administrators selected to serve on the AASL School Leader Collaborative and presented two sessions at the conference on leadership and professional responsibility. Oak Mountain Middle School Library Media Specialist, Whitney Howton and Kelci McCaleb also led a workshop on modernizing the library space through the gentrification of non-fiction books.

October is #DyslexiaAwarenessMonth, an important time to spread understanding and support for those with dyslexia. Greater awareness leads to earlier identification and intervention, which can make a major difference in helping dyslexic individuals thrive academically and beyond. We'd like to thank our employees who have gone through extensive training and learning in order to best serve students with dyslexia by becoming Certified Academic Language Therapists. Hailey Morris (HLIS), Shelley Blocker (INES), Hannah Burton (CPES), and Lauren Davis (SCISC), were recognized by Governor Ivey in Montgomery on October 23rd for their dedication to the field of dyslexia.

October is #PrincipalAppreciationMonth and today we are celebrating Tonya Borden-Hudson and Lauren Yancey from the Vincent school zone. Let's take a moment to celebrate and honor these incredible leaders who guide our schools and inspire our students!

October is #PrincipalAppreciationMonth and today we are celebrating our amazing team of principals from the Chelsea school zone. Thank you to Mary Anderson, Stevi Sims, Cynthia Cruce, and Brandon Turner for your outstanding leadership in the Chelsea community.

October is #PrincipalAppreciationMonth and today we are celebrating the remarkable principals from the Calera school zone. Thank you to Shannon Montgomery, Haley Franks, Desaree Jackson, and Christopher Myles for your unwavering dedication to the Calera school community!

One of the 5 commitments in the Shelby County Schools' Strategic Plan is Leadership Development. The Teacher Leader Academy consists of teachers who want to grow in non-administrative roles and leverage their passion to make a positive difference in our district. Today was the initial meeting of the Teacher Leader Academy and they were hard at work!

Shelby County Schools has implemented the Anonymous Alerts reporting system (AARS) that empowers individuals to report safety concerns and warning signs of potentially threatening behavior before they can escalate into a crisis. The Anonymous Alerts reporting software helps students, timid or not, to come forward and use their voices. It is designed to be an anonymous two-way communications channel, allowing students across the district’s 31 schools to securely share issues and concerns privately with school officials. "We always encourage students across all of our school communities to come forward with critical concerns. Student safety is always a top priority along with mental health support rounding out our holistic approach to creating safer academic environments for individual learning,” said Dr. Lewis Brooks, Superintendent of Shelby County Schools. It's easy and completely confidential for Shelby County Schools students to report safety concerns to help prevent violence and tragedies. A report can be made through the Anonymous Alerts app, which can be downloaded for free on Apple and Android. Additionally, Shelby County Schools has placed an "Anonymous Alerts" button in various key areas of its website and its schools’ websites for students to access a reporting form. The Anonymous Alerts system has helped schools stop suspected school shooting plots, suicides, gun threats, and concerning behavior. The system works to reduce other acts of violence like bullying, self-harm, drug use, threats, cyberbullying, and online harassment. As the name illustrates, reports made in the app are anonymous, although tipsters can provide contact information if they would like to do so. As more and more schools throughout the United States place an emphasis on providing safety initiatives and tools, Anonymous Alerts will become the cornerstone of threat assessment documentation. Reporting is available in English, Spanish, and a dozen other languages, and photos, videos or screenshots may be attached to any report. The mobile reporting app offers a "helpful links and resources" section with informational websites and videos related to cyberbullying, social and emotional learning, self-harm prevention, and mental health self-help content.