MBS honors Teachers of the Year, teacher selected for Fulbright program

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of chaos for Mountain Brook Schools, Superintendent Dicky Barlow said recently.

“This is a crazy time and a crazy world, and we are having to pivot, it seems, every time we get new data,” Barlow told the Board of Education during the Dec. 14 meeting.

In fact, that very day, MBS officials had been forced by rising COVID-19 case numbers in the district to make final exams for the junior and senior high schools — set for that week — optional.

But during the meeting, officials and board members also had a chance to congratulate some of the teachers in the district who have continued to work hard for their students through a difficult, ever-shifting year.

Nominees for Teacher of the Year were announced, with school principals and the nominees attending via Zoom.

“Our Teachers of the Year represent the best of Mountain Brook Schools,” Barlow said. “They are talented professionals who excel at their craft, inspire their peers and care for their students.”

The teachers were nominated by students, staff, other faculty and, at some schools, parents.

The struggles of MBS teachers, staff and students caused by COVID-19 make the Teacher of the Year program “especially meaningful” this year, said Lisa Beckham of MBS Administrative Services.

COVID-19 also allowed faculty members to demonstrate their toughness and commitment.

“Our teachers of the year this year — now more than ever — represent the best of our school system because of how they have gone above and beyond,” Beckham said.

At press time, MBS officials had chosen Andrews and Spiller from the elementary and secondary levels to represent MBS in the Alabama Teacher of the Year competition, Beckham said.

During the Zoom call, Beckham introduced the school principals, who announced the nominations.

MOUNTAIN BROOK HIGH SCHOOL

MBHS Principal Philip Holley announced that the school’s Favorite Teacher of the Year is Rhonda Aust, who has been at MBHS for 5 years and teaches 10th-grade advanced chemistry. She has “a lasting impact on her students,” Holley said. Aust wants the best for her students, “not only teaching them chemistry, but also just helping them grow as individuals and just caring for them,” he said. Holley read aloud the following student comment: “(Aust) is available before school, after school and whenever students need extra help. She promotes a sense of community in her classroom and at MBHS. She wants us to work with different people and groups and learn from each other. She wants the best for everyone.”

MOUNTAIN BROOK JUNIOR HIGH

Donald Clayton, principal at MBJH, said that their nominee is Wendy Spiller, a seventh-grade advanced math teacher. Spiller has been an educator for 28 years, the last 20 at MBJH, he said. “Math class is business,” Clayton said, but added he’s never seen a teacher “do math business” with her students the way that Spiller does. “Those kids clammer to see her, and you get a feel for it by just standing at the door,” he said. Clayton read a comment submitted by a seventh-grader, who said, “I used to dislike math, but now I love it, thanks to Ms. Spiller.” The veteran teacher is also a “leader in this building,” Clayton said. “Her words carry a lot of weight, not just because of her experience, her expertise, but just because people trust her, and I think that has a lot to do with the way she treats people,” he said.

BROOKWOOD FOREST ELEMENTARY

Brookwood Forest Elementary Principal Nathan Pitner presented Jolie Welner, the fifth-grade mathematics teacher, as the school’s Favorite Teacher nominee. He said that Welner — during her 5 years at BFE — made a major career shift for the good of the team. She had taught science for 3 years, “and she wasn’t good, she was great,” Pitner said. “We really wanted to bring her personality and her character to the math program, and we really wanted to build around her as a cornerstone for our fifth- and sixth-grade math, but really for math in the building,” he said. Welner agreed to the change. “Jolie really set about proving us right that she could be special in that position and be an incredible asset to the school,” Pitner said. Welner also shows a “courage and strength for continued growth that she shares both with the people around her and with her students,” he said.

CHEROKEE BEND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Principal Carla Dudley of Cherokee Bend Elementary School presented the school’s literacy coach, Lizzie Vansant, as its nominee. A teacher at Cherokee Bend for nine years, Vansant is “an incredibly hard worker who is always available to collaborate and answer questions,” Dudley said. Vansant “is motivated, and her passion for teaching, learning and coaching both students and adults alike is evident in everything she does,” Dudley said. “In my humble opinion, Lucy was not born just to teach. She was born to inspire others, change people and to never give up, even when faced with challenges that seem impossible.”

CRESTLINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Christy Christian, principal of Crestline Elementary School, said second-grade teacher Rebecca Pigg would be the school’s nominee. A teacher for 7 years and a member of the faculty at CES for 3 years, Pigg “is an exceptional teacher” and is “committed to excellence in everything she does as an educator,” Christian said. “She’s constantly collaborating with an eagerness to share her great ideas and grow as a learner.” Pigg “is dedicated to each and every student, sacrificing her personal time to plan, to prepare, to assess their individual needs,” Christian said. She said that one person, in the submitted comments, called Pigg “a quiet leader, who has a strength and passion in her convictions as an educator.”

MOUNTAIN BROOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Ashley McCombs, principal of Mountain Brook Elementary School, introduced fifth-grade science teacher Suzanne Andrews as the school’s nominee. A teacher for 20 years, Andrews has been at MBE for 28 years, McCombs said. One of the students who submitted comments said that Andrews’ “main priority is to help others and she lets them work at their own pace, and she teaches science really well.”

She “cares about everyone,” the student said. Andrews “is consistent,” said a parent whose three sons all took her class. “No matter the personality of the student, she is trying to help. She is consistent in her efforts to make sure they are engaged and understand what she is teaching.”

Her colleagues talk about how “incredible” Andrews is, whether she’s leading the recycling team or working safety patrol, McCombs said.

MISS OLYMPIAN PAGEANT

MBS officials and the board also recognized Kendall Crabtree, a sophomore at MBHS who won the school’s 54th annual student-led Miss Olympian Pageant in November.

Entrants from grades 10-12 competed in interview, talent and evening gown categories.

Crabtree choreographed and performed a contemporary lyrical dance called “Speechless.” “She did an incredible job,” Holley said.

Crabtree is also a junior varsity cheerleader and SGA Public Relations Officer, he said.

The Miss Olympian staff did “a phenomenal job” in staging the event this year despite COVID-19, Holley said.

Contestants wore masks when they were not on stage and performed in front of a limited, socially distanced audience, according to an MBS news release.

ANOTHER HONORED TEACHER

In addition to the nominees for Favorite Teacher, another MBS educator was honored recently.

In November, MBJH Latin teacher Micheal Posey was selected for the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program, according to an MBS news release.

The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Posey is one of 71 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad through the program and was selected based on his academic and professional achievements, record of service and demonstrated leadership potential.

“This will give me the necessary skills to incorporate more global competency goals in my classes,” he said in the release. “My aim is to open up the world to my students.”

The Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program is a year-long professional development opportunity for elementary, middle and high school teachers to develop skills for preparing students to compete in a global economy.

Posey will be overseas for two to three weeks, likely in summer 2021, and listed Asia as his preferred destination.

A Gadsden native, Posey joined the junior high faculty in the 2020-2021 school year after teaching in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for 5 years.

Posey studied languages in college and holds two bachelor’s degrees from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree from Middlebury College.