MBJH's Shadeed named state Teacher of the Year finalist

Mountain Brook Junior High teacher Gerilynne "Geri" Shadeed has been named one of 16 finalists for Alabama Teacher of the Year.

The ninth-grade English teacher was named teacher of the year for Mountain Brook Junior High in January.

The state pool will soon be narrowed down to the Final Four, and the 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year will be announced at a ceremony hosted by the Alabama State Board of Education and the Alabama State Department of Education on May 13 in Montgomery.

 “Well-trained, dedicated, caring, enthusiastic and innovative teachers are among the ingredients essential to achieving excellence in preparing Alabama’s children to become capable adults,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tommy Bice. “These 16 outstanding educators have accomplished great things with the students they teach and interact with daily, and we are honored to have them working in our schools.”

Alabama’s Teacher of the Year spends the majority of the school year serving as a full-time ambassador for education and the teaching profession as well as presenting workshops to various groups. Additionally, Alabama’s representative is a candidate for the National Teacher of the Year.

 “It has been an honor to represent the voices of teachers and students across our state as Alabama’s Teacher of the Year,” said Ann Marie Corgill, a Mountain Brook teacher who is also a finalist for the National Teacher of the Year Award. “I am thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given to share classroom stories of teacher and student successes, challenges and possibilities for future growth, not just with our state’s stakeholders but with colleagues and those passionate about education across the country.”

 Shadeed obtained her bachelor's and master's degrees from East Tennessee State University and previously taught in Hoover and Shelby County schools. Her grandmother was an elementary teacher for forty years, and her father was a college professor turned administrator. She and her husband Eddie have two children, Matt and Ally, as well as a golden retriever, a shih-tzu and a Morkie.