Board of Education celebrates accomplishments
During its monthly meeting on Dec. 12, the Board of Education had much to recognize before the holidays, the majority of which was the Mountain Brook student body.
Starting with Mountain Brook Elementary School, Principal Ashley McCombs announced that the school had earned Lighthouse status from its Leader in Me program. MBE is the 241st school in the country to earn this recognition, which means the school now serves as a "beacon of effective leadership practices."
The board also recognized the Mountain Brook Junior High Kick MS Team, which held kickball games in the fall as a way to raise funds for the MS Society. Led completely by students, the MBJH Kick MS Team has raised over $100,000 in the past six years and was recognized by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Also within the junior high, counselor Jana Lee earned recognition as an Alabama Counseling Association Chapter Four Outstanding Member, which is given to counselors in the Jefferson and Shelby county areas for doing outstanding work through their job.
Continuing to the high school, the band discussed its recent trip to Hawaii to play in a performance for the 75th Pearl Harbor Anniversary. During their five day trip, the students met and spoke with veterans, experienced the culture and marched with 1,100 other students in the parade. The board also recognized both men's and women's cross country teams for placing second in the state and the football team for their season, as well as Katherine Brian for being chosen as the 50th Homecoming Queen and Caroline Cross for being chosen as the 50th Miss Olympian.
Finally, the board and present students applauded each school's Teacher of the Year: Kathy Snyder, of Brookwood Forest Elementary; Lauren Lunceford, of Cherokee Bend Elementary; Amy Anderson, of Crestline Elementary; Paige Slaughter, of Mountain Brook Elementary; John Phillips, of Mountain Brook Junior High; and Jessie Creech of Mountain Brook High School.
Also during the meeting, the board:
- Reviewed financial statements and bank reconciliations.
- Approved the academic calendars for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years.
- Approved personnel recommendations.
- Approved the selling of surplus materials.
- Approved the addition of four new high school courses: Accelerated Algebra II with trigonometry and precalculus; AP Music Theory; AP Psychology; Precalculus Algebra (Math 112) and Precalculus Trigonometry (Math 113). The addition of these courses would not require new hires.
The next Board of Education meeting will take place on Jan. 9 at 3:30 p.m. at Cherokee Bend Elementary, and students will be released for winter holidays from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2.