24 • Thursday, February 25, 2021
SCHOOLS
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Vestavia Hills Teachers of the Year Share Their View of Education During a Pandemic step toward helping them be successful and then I strive to provide what they need emotionally, socially and academically.
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What have been some of the most notable hurdles this school year?
Photos courtesy Vestavia Hills City Schools
he 2020-21 school year has been colored completely by the pandemic, with educators working on the frontline and adapting their methods to continue to educate children. In the Over the Mountain area alone, teachers, school staff and administrators sprang into action, adapting to virtual learning and navigating safe ways to reintroduce children into classrooms. Many have extended that service beyond school walls through community service efforts, organizing ways for children to receive school meals during lockdowns, hosting drives to collect items for local food banks and taking other actions. Each year, school systems throughout the community and across the nation recognize Teachers of the Year. Candidates are nominated by their fellow teachers. We will be sharing words and thoughts from Over the Mountain Teachers of the Year this month to shine a light on not just those recognized but all educators, in our last issue we heard from Homewood and Hoover teachers. This week we talk with Vestavia Hills city schools Teachers of the Year.
Elementary Teacher of the Year: Heather Hurt, Vestavia Hills Elementary East
Describe your teaching philosophy.
I feel strongly that my role as a teacher is to guide my students to be the best they can be by creating an environment that is welcoming, inclusive and loving. I get to know my students and make sure each student is seen, heard and knows they matter. I know that understanding their strengths and weaknesses is the first
Hoover Schools Plant Arbor Day Trees, City to Host Celebration March 6 ing four previous Arbor Day nuttall oaks along an island at the school. “It’s an opportunity for our children to understand the importance of trees,” Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said in a release. “And over the past few years as I’ve attended these, you hear all the great things that trees do and how they contribute to our actual living.” The Beautification Board provides
Photos courtesy Hoover City Schools
As the city of Hoover looks forward to Arbor Day celebrations on March 6, Hoover City Schools kicked off its annual ceremonies by planting trees with the city and Hoover Beautification Board. The first tree planting was Feb. 18 at Trace Crossings Elementary, where students helped plant a crepe myrtle. Greystone Elementary School planted a nuttall oak on its campus Feb. 19, join-
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato helped students plant trees provided by the Hoover Beautification Board.
One of the most notable hurdles for this school year is how to keep an engaging classroom while students keep their distance from each other and don’t share supplies. Another hurdle is how to have students collaborate with each other in these circumstances. Hearing every child’s answer while they ‘turn and talk’ is extremely important to me and is one way I check for understanding in my lessons. Determining a way to still have these conversations between students was a hurdle worth jumping this year. A final hurdle faced this year is how to continue teaching my quarantined students while they are at home. I decided early in the school year to use Google Meets to include absent students in our lessons. This keeps these students learning and on track with the rest of the class. Have you experienced any big victories in 2020-21 despite the
trees for the schools. Fourth grade students participate in the Arbor Day Essay contest with contest winners recognized at the March 6 ceremony, to be held at Aldridge Gardens. They will receive prizes for their work, such as a one-year membership to the gardens, cash and tree ID books. Trace Crossings essay winners were Hampton Sign, Ava Collins and Charlotte Toomy. Greystone winners were Caroline Gilliland, Emily Walker, Dylan Propper and Ellis Byrne. This year, eight schools have planned to hold celebrations on their campuses, according to city officials, which will include a brief history of the national holiday, information on the tree that’s to be planted at the school and the benefits of trees in general. After students help plant their school’s tree, Hoover Urban Forester Colin Conner will lead the kids in taking the Arbor Day Pledge. “I pledge my attention to this tree – its roots, its leaves and its branches. I promise I’ll take care of it on days when Mother Nature passes. I’ll water it and feed it as time goes by and watch it grow and be. A wonder of nature I can one day call my very own Arbor Day tree.” This year’s communitywide Arbor Day Celebration will be March 6 from 9 a.m. to noon. at Aldridge Gardens. The program will include free tree giveaways, crafts for kids, educational tables, recognition of the World’s Largest Oak leaf and the planting of a new community orchard.
pandemic?
I think the biggest victory for this school year is to have provided as normal a school year for my students as possible while in the midst of a pandemic. With the leadership of my district and collaboration with my team, I have been able to safely teach and even provide engaging lessons as close to normal as we can make it. Are there any lessons you have learned this year that you will carry with you into a post-pandemic school year?
One lesson that has been made even clearer this year is it is imperative for me to be focused on the needs of the students and meeting them. There are a lot of uncertainties in the world for my students, but I can create an environment in my classroom that is constant and steady.
Secondary Teacher of the Year: Jerell Horton, Vestavia Hills High School
Describe your teaching philosophy.
I believe that the study of music offers the opportunity for students to
learn very important life skills.
What have been some of the most notable hurdles this school year?
I asked the students during the fall of the year, ‘Can you continue to do your job to the best of your abilities, even when the conditions aren’t favorable?’ The answer to this question is a good indication of the maturity necessary to become productive citizens. Life is not always easy or fair. The hurdle for every teacher and student has been to look past what we all have lost and extract the lessons we should gain! Have you experienced any big victories in 2020-21 despite the pandemic?
The big victory for me this year is that I feel even more connected with my students than I ever have. Are there any lessons you have learned this year that you will carry with you into a post-pandemic school year?
As long as there are students, there will always be a need for teachers. Connection is oftentimes more important than content. Music can heal. Every situation can be an opportunity for learning.
Photos by Whit McGhee/Vestavia Hills City Schools
By Emily Williams-Robertshaw
Mountain Brook Elementary Extended day program director Kaye Merritt gets COVID-19 shot at Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights. Below, VHHS senior Grace Elliss, a health science student, assisted at the event.
Vestavia Partners with Medical Organizations to Host COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Vestavia Hills City Schools provided the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to hundreds of its faculty and staff Friday. A temporary clinic was set up at Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights through a partnership with Coosa Valley Medical Center and Alabama Immunization Partners. A number of students of the VHHS health science program were able to assist at the clinic by providing refreshments to patients getting the
vaccine. In addition to Vestavia faculty, vaccines were offered to a number of employees of Mountain Brook City Schools. Second doses will be administered in March.
