19 minute read
SCHOOLS
from 6.3.21
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 Innovation Academy.
In a February interview with the Over the Mountain Journal, McClendon described her teaching philosophy:
“I believe my role as an educator is to provide every student the opportunity to see their value as a contributing member in my classroom and beyond. Every student is unique, therefore I try to engage students in relevant and meaningful lessons that allow them to develop their own potential and learning style.”
McClendon said she also uses the “lead learner” model, teaching her students that the act of learning and acquiring knowledge never ends. Learning throughout life is a means to continue to grow and thrive. Her philosophy to continually strive for knowledge and growth is something emulated throughout her professional life.
McClendon graduated from college with a degree in business and worked in that realm for a decade after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.
She returned to school to get a 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.
Pam McClendon
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 Announces New Principal of Homewood Middle School
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.
“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 amazing 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.”
Photo courtesy Homewood City Schools
Dr. Danny Steele now is principal of Pell City High School and will be joining the Homewood School community July 1.
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.
“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 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.”
SCHOOLS The Cardinal’s Nest
Edgewood Celebrates New Outdoor Classroom
On May 25, students and faculty at Edgewood Elementary School gathered for a ribbon-cutting and dedication of the school’s newest outdoor classroom, The Cardinal’s Nest.
The new outdoor space was dedicated in memory of David Garrison, Edgewood Elementary’s on-site maintenance person. Garrison passed away Dec. 11. He was known by his Edgewood family as “Mr. Dave” and his grandchildren as “Papa David.”
The path to the classroom is lined with stones that were hand painted by students this year.
The dedication was hosted in conjunction with PapaPalooza, a spirit day hosted by the Edgewood Parent Teacher Organization that included a cornhole competition and other activities.
Garrison’s grandchildren, Edgewood Elementary students Garrison and Ella Kate, and their classmates got to be the first students to tour the classroom and see the space that will serve the school and students for years to come.
The project was supported by the Homewood City Schools Foundation, Dr. Benjamin Jones Family, Curb Appeal, Gray’s Tree Service, Twin Construction and Ashley McCullars.
The dedication of the new classroom was hosted in conjunction with PapaPalooza, a spirit day hosted by the Edgewood Parent Teacher Organization that included a cornhole competition and other activities.
Rotary Grants Scholarships to Three Vestavia Hills College-Bound Students
The Rotary Club of Vestavia Hills has awarded scholarships to three Vestavia High School seniors, which it does each year in honor of Rotarians who have set high standards.
The Raymond Hurlbert Strive for Excellence scholarship was given to Rebecca Chow-Wah; Abigail Stockard won the Lindy Martin Builder of Goodwill award; and the Michael Gross Service Above Self scholarship went to Abby Kate Mason.
Chow-Wah will be attending Auburn University, majoring in business analytics and enrolling in pre-law. At Vestavia Hills High School, she was an officer in Ambassadors and co-chair of its fundraiser, on team development for Rebels Impact through Service and Engagement and captain of the swim and dive team.
Stockard will attend Auburn University in the nursing program. During her Vestavia High years, she was a member in the National Honor Society and four other honor organizations, SGA vice president and captain of the Rebelette dance team. She was selected by teachers and students as Miss Vestavia and was a mentor in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
Mason will attend the University of Alabama in the fall in pre-pharmacy. She is a member of the National Honor Society, a member of Vestavia Dance, an active Rockette and a Vestavia Belle. She attends Vestavia United Methodist Church and has been a leader in the Appalachian Service Project.
Congratulations Class of 2021!
One of the nation’s premier private schools for students grades 5-12 www.altamontschool.org
Chakiya Plummer
Plummer Was a Difference-Maker for Hoover’s Girls Track Team
By RuBin E. GRant
Chakiya Plummer won only one gold medal when Hoover captured the AHSAA Class 7A girls outdoor track and field championship last month. And it came as a part of the Lady Bucs’ first-place 4x400 relay team win.
But probably no one had as a big of an impact on the team as Plummer.
As an eighth grader on the varsity, Plummer won the 300-meter hurdles, helping the Lady Bucs win the 2017 Class 7A title.
But after her freshman year, Plummer moved to Powder Springs, Georgia, and attended McEachern High School. As a sophomore at McEachern, she placed second in the 300-meter hurdles and third in the 100-meter hurdles in the 2019 7A Georgia High School Association State Championships.
Meanwhile, the Hoover girls finished a disappointing seventh in the 2019 7A AHSAA outdoor track and field championships.
After the COVID-19 pandemic forced cancellation of the 2020 AHSAA state track meet, Plummer returned for her senior year this spring and was once again a major force for the Lady Bucs, despite her best individual result being a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.08.
“She was a game changer for us,” retiring Hoover track coach Devon Hind said. “We didn’t have her in the 10th grade and we took a nosedive, winding up with only 39 points in the state meet. This year we had 107.50 points, so she was a big difference.
“It’s not always the number of
points she scores, but the quality of the way she competes. She’s all business on the track and the other kids train harder when they see how hard she’s training.”
The title was especially sweet for Plummer. “It was great,” she said. “After not winning the indoor, we had to win the outdoor.”
Plummer wasn’t done, however. She came back May 10-11 to compete in the AHSAA 37th Heptathlon Championships at Hoover. She finished third overall with 4,000 points. Northridge’s Rashni Walker won with 4,479 points and Austin’s McKenzie Harris was second with 4,122.
Plummer had two second-place finishes, in the 200-meter dash (25.42) and the 100-meter hurdles (14.75), and was third in the 800-meter run (2:29.40). Her best finish in the four field events was 17th in the javelin.
“I finished surprisingly well,” Plummer said. “I didn’t know I would finish that high because I was sixth with one more event. I wanted to get first, but third is good because there were a lot of good athletes out there.”
When she wasn’t training or competing, Plummer was at home, doing virtual school for her entire senior year.
“I kind of regret I did that,” she said. “I still got my work done, but I probably should have gone back (for in-class learning). I missed being around people, but I was scared of COVID. I didn’t want to get that.”
Plummer did attend graduation ceremonies last week at Buccaneer Stadium. She will continue to compete in track at the next level after signing a track scholarship with the University of South Florida in late April.
“I was recommended to South Florida by my high school track coach in Georgia, Cedric Sapp,” Plummer said. “He was my track coach when I started running when I was 9. I’ve known him a long time.”
Plummer will report to South Florida on June 26, taking classes and getting an early start adjusting to college life. She plans to study exercise science with an eye toward pursuing a career as an occupational therapist.
Hind believes Plummer will make an impact on the South Florida track team.
“I think she’s going to be a force in the 400-meter hurdles in college,” Hind said.
HOOVER
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ers at the varsity level,” Moseley said. “With the hard schedule we play, I knew we would take our lumps early on before we could get it right. I didn’t think we’d start off 3-9, but I didn’t see 13-0 either.”
The Bucs eventually got it right, especially in the postseason. Unranked Hoover swept No. 6 Bob Jones (26-21) in the first round and No. 1 Hewitt-Trussville (28-6) in the quarterfinals before knocking off No. 3 Florence (29-11) in three games in the semifinals to reach the championship series against No. 4 Auburn.
“I think once area play started we had a different focus and a different level of play,” Moseley said.
Hoover dropped Game 1 of the championship series 9-2 on May 19 at Paterson Field in Montgomery. The Bucs came back the next day in Game 2 at Riverwalk Stadium to win 8-2 as pitcher Matthew Hawsey (114) threw 5 1/3 strong innings, allowing five hits, walking none and striking out one to get the win. Catcher Lucas Steele slugged a three-run homer in the first inning and R.J. Hamilton had two hits and scored three runs.
That set the stage for the dramatic Game 3. Auburn (36-7) took an early 3-1 lead and led 6-2 going into the sixth. Alex Wilson’s two-run single in the top of the sixth brought the Bucs within 6-4, but Auburn answered with what turned out to be the winning run in the bottom of the inning on Patrick McGlon’s RBI double. McGlon was named the series MVP.
Hoover (27-22) mounted one last rally in the seventh. Steele led off with a triple and scored on Carter Short’s one-out single. Ty Truett’s two-out RBI single brought the Bucs within 7-6. A walk loaded the bases before Olson struck out Carr to end it after nearly six hours of action in the final two games.
“Our kids didn’t quit,” Moseley said. “Auburn had a great team. They made one more play than we did, and that won’t take away from what we accomplished.
“A long time from now, what we’ll talk about is the run they made. I loved being around them.”
Gavin King has been Childersburg High School’s varsity girls basketball coach for four years.
King Now A Patriot
Gavin King Named Homewood High School Girls Head Basketball Coach
Homewood High School recently announced Gavin King will be the new girls head basketball coach.
King has been Childersburg High School’s varsity girls basketball coach for four years and has led the team to regional appearances, area championships and the final four.
He has 12 years of coaching experience and was named Talladega County’s Coach of the Year for 2018, 2019 and 2020. As a head coach, he has compiled a record of 102-29.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Athens State University and has taught world history, U.S. history, psychology, sociology and physical education.
“Coach King brings lots of energy to the court and has great vision and expertise in basketball that will help shape our program moving forward,” Homewood High School Athletics Director Doug Gann said. “His passion for building a program from the youth level through high school shows his dedication for developing student athletes. We are excited to have him leading our Lady Patriots.”
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afterward. “I’m speechless. I may have scored the goals, but I couldn’t have done it without every single one of them.”
Nabors’ performance made Tozzi look like a genius for putting him at striker.
“I knew with his athleticism and knowledge of the game he would excel wherever we put him,” Tozzi said. “But he excelled even more at striker than I thought he would, and he did it against bigger schools and everybody else, even though he was facing double- or triple-teams at times.
“After we won the state championship, his dad looked at me and said, ‘Yeah, you were right,’ in a goodnatured way.”
Colleges have taken note of Nabors, who also plays for the Vestavia Hills Soccer Club.
“He’s got a lot of prestigious (NCAA) Division I schools looking at him,” Tozzi said. “I don’t know of any college program that he couldn’t play for.”
OTM Players Named to Super All-State Team
Last week, Nabors was named to the Alabama High School Soccer Coaches 2021 Super All-State Boys First Team.
He was one of four players from Indian Springs to be voted first team. The others were junior midfielder Nathan Tozzi, junior goalkeeper Tosh Sims and senior defender Riley Alexander.
Class 6A champion Homewood had two players on the first team, senior midfielder Hardy Smith and junior keeper Luke Keown.
Other Over the Mountain players on the first team are Mountain Brook senior forward Patrick Neil, John Carroll Catholic junior midfielder Christopher LaRussa, Spain Park junior defender Alan Melendez and Vestavia Hills defender Mitchell Register.
On the second team are Hoover’s Jay Udeh, senior forward, and Dylan Steely, senior midfielder; Mountain Brook’s Joe Armstrong, junior midfielder, and Jack Heaps, sophomore midfielder; Oak Mountain’s Seth Acton, junior midfielder, and Grant Renfrow, senior keeper; and Spain Park’s Jacob Jowers, senior midfielder.
Spain Park’s Matt Hall was named the large schools (6A-7A) coach of the year and Tozzi was named the private/parochial school coach of the year.
Hall led the Jaguars to a 19-2-3 record and the Class 7A title, the first boys soccer state championship in school history. Tozzi led Indian Springs to its first Class 4A-5A title and fourth state title overall.
MVP
Homewood, Oak Mountain and Spain Park soccer players turn in noteworthy performances leading their teams to a state title
Journal photos by Jordan Wald
Homewood (18-3-3) captured the Class 6A state title in the 30th AHSAA State Soccer Championships on May 7-8 at John Hunt Park in Huntsville with a 2-1 victory over McGill-Toolen (20-6-4) in the championship game. Homewood’s Yousef Nasser was named the Class 6A boys MVP. Oak Mountain sophomore midfielder Kierson McDonald’s MVP award was well deserved, considering McDonald had just recorded a hat trick, scoring three goals in the Eagles’ 5-0 victory over the Enterprise Wildcats in the championship game on May 8 in the 30th AHSAA State Soccer Championships at John Hunt Park in Huntsville.
Spain Park edged Davidson 2-1 to win the Class 7A title May 8 in the 30th AHSAA State Soccer Championships at John Hunt Park in Huntsville. Anderson Ivey was named tournament MVP. He was ecstatic about the Jags’ boys finally winning a title.
