The Shelby County Board of Education has approved Jennifer McCaleb to serve as the next principal of Calera High. McCaleb has over 20 years of education experience and recently served as the interim principal at CAHS. Before that, she served as the assistant principal.
Shelby County Schools leaders, administrators, teachers, and parents spent the past two days in CSI (Continuous School Improvement) meetings where they dug into data, learned how to build a positive school culture, developed strategies for helping students who have experienced trauma, and honed their skills to build better relationships with students with behavior issues. Dr. Lewis Brooks and other district leaders also updated parents on the components of the new Empowering and Inspiring Excellence Strategic Plan. They also answered questions regarding various topics such as school safety, capital improvement plans in high-growth areas, and effective home/school communication strategies.
A blazing sunset provided the backdrop for the annual Showcase of Bands event, held September 10 at Heardmont Park. All seven of the district's high school bands performed their halftime shows before taking the field together for a mass band performance of "America the Beautiful. "
Billy Holliday was sworn in today as the newest Shelby County Board of Education member after being appointed to serve the remainder of the late Brian Boatman’s term.
Boatman took office for a six-year term in December of 2022. He died in early August after a courageous battle against ALS leaving four years remaining on his term in office. By law, the Board of Education can appoint someone to fill a vacancy for the remainder of an unexpired term. The position will go back up for election in 2028.
Holliday is a native of Hueytown but now resides in Shelby, Alabama. He has been employed as the facilities and purchasing manager for American Metal Group in Sylacauga for the past seven years having also served in the same role with Vulcan Steel for 11 years. He was also the former operations manager for Controlled Maintenance Systems in Birmingham and is the former owner and operator of Home Plate Diner in Hueytown.
“I think Billy is going to be a wonderful addition to the board,” said Dr. Lewis Brooks, superintendent of education. “He will bring a lot of experience from workforce development and understands the importance of parent and community partners. He is practical, trustworthy, and a proven leader. He understands the vast economic differences that exist throughout our county and the school district’s efforts to support every community so that our students can be successful.”
Holliday and his wife, Leslie, were actively involved as volunteers when their children, Sarah and Adam, attended schools in the Chelsea school zone. Holliday specifically served as president of the Chelsea High School Athletic Booster Club for 10 years. During his tenure as booster club president, he led the efforts to build a visitor's football locker room and public restrooms on the Chelsea High School campus.
The Shelby Chamber of Commerce held its annual State of Our Schools Showcase luncheon today featuring all four school districts in the county. The new format of the meeting featured video highlights of each school district and three different panel discussions that showcased students and teachers. Shelby County Schools was represented by Blakelyn Burns, a fifth-grade student from Helena Intermediate, Aiden Poe, a senior at Vincent High, and Anna McEntire, a teacher at Calera High.
The American Heart Association recognized three Shelby County Schools at the August 22 board meeting for their successful fundraising efforts through the Kids Heart Challenge, which is held nationwide. The program focuses on whole-body well-being, helping students improve their health and character while raising life-saving donations for the American Heart Association to help kids with special hearts.
Congratulations to Chelsea Park Elementary, which raised $6,712.72, Mt Laurel Elementary who raised $8,712.61, and Montevallo Elementary, who raised $11,235
Aiden Poe, a standout student athlete from VMHS, was the featured student speaker at today's Leadership Shelby County kickoff breakfast. Poe, who has committed to play baseball at the Air Force Academy next year, was a member of last year's Youth Leadership class.
#ThrowbackThursday to last Thursday and the first day of school!
The first day of the 2024-2025 school year is finally here, and our halls were buzzing with excitement all day! Our students and teachers are ready to make this year one to remember. Here's to new beginnings, fresh starts, and a year of learning and growth. Let's make it amazing together! 🌟 #ShelbyFirstDay #EmpoweringandInspiringExcellence #PreparedForTheJourney
New teachers in Shelby County Schools received a visit from various district leaders today with a welcome note to encourage them on their first day of the 24-25 school year! We hope you have an epic year! #empoweringandinspiringexcellence
Today, we honor the life of Shelby County Schools Board Member Brian Boatman who passed away Saturday after a courageous battle against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Please join us in praying for Mr. Boatman's family and friends in the coming days.
It's going to be a great year! Today Shelby County Schools brought the entire family together for IGNITE 2024, hosted at the University of Montevallo. We want to extend a great thanks to our keynote speaker, Damon West, and to all the student leaders involved in today's kickoff event. We are so excited for another academic year, and welcome the challenge and opportunity to empower and inspire our students daily!
hashtag#DoGreatThings hashtag#EmpoweringAndInspiringExcellence
Today, Shelby County Schools welcomed the smiling faces of new support staff for New Employee Orientation. These individuals are vital to the success of our district. Welcome to the family, everyone! We hope you have a wonderful school year! #EmpoweringandInspiringExcellence
Lisa Becton will serve as the new District Assistant Principal. She will be based at Montevallo High School for the upcoming school year. Mrs. Becton is a passionate educator with 22 years of experience in education as a teacher, Literacy Reading Specialist, and administrator.
Shelby County Schools hosted their annual back-to-school meeting for School Resource Officers and school administrators today. Topics at this year's meeting included threat assessment analysis, sextortion, human trafficking, and updates from Juvenile Court. Shelby County Schools values the partnerships with all of our different municipalities and agencies.
Rashard Jemison will serve as the next assistant principal of Calera Middle School. Mr. Jemison is in his 12th year of education. He was the assistant principal at Sumter County School System for the last two years at Livingston Junior High School. Prior to that, Mr. Jemison was a Sumter County School System physical education teacher and middle school basketball and football coach.
Elise Weaver will serve as the Child Nutrition Program Supervisor for Shelby County Schools. Weaver began her career working in finance but has dedicated herself to the Child Nutrition Program within the Oak Mountain community. She also has prior experience as a self contained paraprofessional at Pelham City Schools, where she honed her commitment to student welfare and educational support services.
Kelsey Collum will serve as the next assistant principal for Calera High School. Mrs. Collum is in her 9th year of education. She began her career with Shelby County Schools at Columbiana Middle School teaching special education. Since 2018, Mrs. Collum has worked at Linda Nolen Learning Center as a special education teacher and most recently served as their adaptive physical education teacher.
Cecil Bunn will serve as the next Technical Services Supervisor for Shelby County Schools. Mr. Bunn has served Shelby County Schools for 19 years, working within the Technology Department. He started as a Network Administrator (2005-2006), and then filled the need as Senior Network Engineer (2006-2024).
Philip Cosper will serve as the next assistant principal of Chelsea High School. Mr. Cosper has been an educator and administrator for 19 years in the Talladega County Schools system. He began his career as a middle school science teacher at Childersburg Middle School from 2005-2013. He then served as assistant principal for B.B. Comer High School from 2013-2018, and was most recently the Transportation Supervisor from 2018 to present.
