24 • Thursday, June 3, 2021
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
SCHOOLS
McClendon Named ‘Sweet 16’ Finalist in State Teacher of the Year
By Emily Williams-Robertshaw
In early May, the Alabama State Department of Education announced the 16 finalists for its oldest and most prestigious awards program. The Alabama Teacher of the Year award competition recognizes teachers throughout the state who inspire their students, foster achievement and passionately prepare them to succeed beyond their school years and into their professional lives. Of the 138 teachers chosen from across the state, Hoover City School’s Pam McClendon has found herself among the finalists for the state title. At Hoover’s Riverchase Career Connection Center, McClendon is
lead teacher for the Cyber “lead learner” model, Innovation Academy. teaching her students that In a February interview the act of learning and with the Over the Mountain acquiring knowledge never Journal, McClendon ends. Learning throughout described her teaching philife is a means to continue losophy: to grow and thrive. “I believe my role as an Her philosophy to coneducator is to provide tinually strive for knowlevery student the opportuedge and growth is somePam McClendon nity to see their value as a thing emulated throughout contributing member in my her professional life. classroom and beyond. Every student McClendon graduated from colis unique, therefore I try to engage lege with a degree in business and students in relevant and meaningful worked in that realm for a decade lessons that allow them to develop after serving in the U.S. Marine their own potential and learning Corps. style.” She returned to school to get a McClendon said she also uses the master’s degree in education in 2002
and became a computer science teacher in 2015. When Hoover City Schools began recruiting staff for its new RC3 campus in 2019, McClendon joined the Cyber Innovation Academy faculty. She assumed the role of lead instructor in early 2020. According to McClendon, teaching during the pandemic was a learning experience. It taught her how important it is to foster her students to become resilient learners. After school classes shifted to virtual learning, McClendon spent the summer of 2020 wondering whether she had done enough as a teacher. She now strives to teach in a more intentional way.
“The pandemic has taught me to be reflective before, during and after every lesson so that, should there be some unusual event that impacts our school community again, I’ve left nothing to chance,” she said. Prior to being named Hoover City School’s Secondary Teacher of the Year in late 2020, McClendon was named 2020 North Alabama Aspirations Educator of the Year. The honor was presented by the National Center for Women and Information Technology. The Alabama Department of Education will narrow the group down to four finalists this summer. The 2021-22 Alabama Teacher of the Year will be announced in August.
Danielle Tinker has been assistant principal at Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park since 2019.
David Howard has been an assistant principal at Vestavia Hills High School since 2016,
New Principals Named for Two Vestavia Hills Schools
Two Vestavia Hills schools will have new principals when students return for the 2021-22 academic year. The Vestavia Hills Board of Education has named Danielle Tinker as principal of Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights and David Howard as principal of the Vestavia Hills High School Freshman Campus. Tinker has been assistant principal at Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park since 2019. While there, Tinker worked with school leaders to identify core values for students to learn throughout the year and partnered with the system’s personnel team to increase student teacher placement and minority recruitment from local universities. Tinker was assistant principal of Erwin Intermediate School in Jefferson County from 2012 to 2019. She holds a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham as well as master’s and educational specialist degrees in instructional leadership from Samford University. Tinker said she was “over the moon excited” to be named Cahaba Heights principal. “Cahaba Heights is an amazing school doing spectacular things, especially in character education and development, and you can just feel the atmosphere of kindness from students and staff the moment you walk in the door,” Tinker said. Howard’s appointment to the principal’s position at the freshman campus comes after a year of serving as one of the school’s two assistant principals. He and Assistant Principal Jennifer Brown co-led the campus during its inaugural year and established a focus on leadership development to prepare ninth graders for high school life. Howard, who has been assistant principal at Vestavia Hills High School since 2016, previously worked as the school system’s director of administrative services and as a science teacher at Louis Pizitz Middle School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in science from the University of Alabama as well as a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Montevallo. Howard said the school system “has been home for me for the past 24 years.” “I’ve loved being here in Vestavia Hills and working with thousands of students, faculty and staff members since 1997, and I feel extremely honored to get to continue at the freshman campus next year with the amazing team that started it all,” Howard said.
Homewood City Schools recently named Dr. Danny Steele as principal of Homewood Middle School. With 27 years of experience in education, Steele has served as a teacher, coach, administrator at the middle and high school level, and an assistant professor of instructional leadership. Steele now is principal of Pell City High School and will be joining the Homewood School community July 1. He began his career as a teacher at Jackson Olin High School and then Mountain Brook Junior High School before entering into school administration. With 19 years of administrative experience, Steele has earned multiple awards as a school leader, including Alabama Middle School Principal of the Year as well as Alabama’s Secondary Assistant Principal of the Year.
Rocky Ridge Principal Receives Proclamation From State Representatives Alabama State Rep. David Wheeler recently presented Rocky Ridge Principal Dilhani Uswatte with a proclamation to note her receiving the 2020 Alabama National Association of Elementary School Principals’ National Distinguished Principal Award. The proclamation, presented during a recent Hoover Board of Education meeting, was by Wheeler, R-Vestavia Hills; Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Springs; David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook; Jim Carns, R-Vestavia Hills; and Allen Farley, R-McCalla. Wheeler called Uswatte the “gold standard” for people who aspire to be principals. “She is admired by her colleagues, teachers, students and parents,” Wheeler said. “We are fortunate to have her in the Hoover City Schools system.” For Uswatte, receiving the award and representing Alabama at a national conference is a tremendous honor.
Photo courtesy Homewood City Schools
Photos courtesy Vestavia Hills City Schools
Homewood City Schools Announces New Principal of Homewood Middle School
Dr. Danny Steele now is principal of Pell City High School and will be joining the Homewood School community July 1.
“Dr. Steele has a strong reputation and history of being an outstanding leader and school administrator,” Homewood City Schools Superintendent Justin Hefner said. “I am excited to see him lead the amaz“To receive this proclamation directly from Representative Wheeler meant so much that … our government would take the time to write this proclamation and take the time to present it despite all of the legislation going on during this busy time,” Uswatte said.
Trace Crossings Elementary Counseling Receives National Recognition Trace Crossings Elementary was one of 139 schools across the country to be awarded a Recognized American School Counselor Association Model Program Designation. The Ramp designation, announced in early May, is given to schools that align with the criteria in the ASCA National Model. It recognizes schools that show a commitment to providing a data-informed school counseling program and an exceptional educational environment. The school’s counseling mission statement is to decrease barriers to academic achievement through student
ing staff at Homewood Middle School.” Steele has presented at numerous state and national conferences and has written several books on teaching and leading in schools. He earned his undergraduate degree from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, and his master’s degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. From Samford University, Steele received his educational specialist degree in educational administration and doctorate in educational leadership. “It is an honor and privilege to join the Homewood Middle School team,” Steele said. “I look forward to working with the faculty and staff and families of Homewood to support our students and empower them to achieve great things.” advocacy and to promote student success through a focus on academic achievement as well as social/ emotional, career and multicultural development. It strives to provide a safe environment for students to become collaborators, critical thinkers and problem-solvers who are read for real-world experiences; and to include teachers, parents, students and community stakeholders in establishing equity and critical foundational skills for students’ success, according to a statement. “At Trace, our goal is to meet the needs of all of our students,” counselor Terri Coleman said in the statement. “It was my goal to establish a counseling program that mirrored the American School Counseling Association national model. I disaggregated school data while surveying the desired needs from our staff, parents and students. “I am proud of the many programs we have established that have positively impacted our students and families.”
