Board of Education recognizes students’ success at meeting

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The Mountain Brook Board of Education recognized several students for their excellence at its October meeting.

Twelve students from Mountain Brook High School were named National Merit Commended Students, meaning they scored in the top 5 percent nationally on the PSAT. Six students were present at the meeting, and Mountain Brook Superintendent Richard Barlow commended the students for their hard work.

“We just want to say congratulations. Doing as well as you’re doing on the PSAT’s and the fact that you’re in Mountain Brook and all the other things you’re involved in, that’s really an accomplishment,” Barlow said.

The board also recognized Sean Fredella, a ninth grader at Mountain Brook Junior High, who founded Pedia Trick-or-Treat. He workshopped and built upon the idea during Genius Hour at school. Pedia Trick-or-Treat is a way to raise money for pediatric cancer on Halloween.

“I had this idea before we had Genius Hour, and I didn’t think it would ever be more than just an idea in the back of my head,” Fredella said.

Fredella’s brother helped come up with the name, and he said the opportunity to discuss the idea with his classmates allowed him to make Pedia Trick-or-Treat become a reality.

Community members have the chance to purchase a shirt from Mountain Brook Sporting Goods for $15 to support the cause or to collect money on Halloween. Mountain Brook Sporting Goods gave a $1,000 donation and all profit from the T-shirts is going to pediatric cancer research.

Crestline Elementary School was also recognized at the meeting. CES was one of 285 schools in the state to receive the Blue Ribbon School Award. Principal Lydia King said students at Crestline Elementary have been excited about the award and enjoy celebrating the recognition.

“We tried to explain why we won, and 6 and 7 year olds were just so excited to get a blue ribbon,” King said. “We tried to explain that it wasn’t just about a blue ribbon, it was about our great school. So we really looked at it as a celebration of the great things that are happening.”

In other news, the Board of Education:

  • Approved personnel recommendations.
  • Approved an amendment to the Medicaid Administrative Claiming (MAC) Participant District Agreement. The amendment reflects a renegotiation that will allow Mountain Brook City Schools to receive more money. Last year, the school system received $166,000, and the amendment could allow that to increase by 50 percent.
  • Approved the superintendent’s evaluation which states that Barlow did “well or excellent” in several categories, including educational leadership in the schools, personnel management and community relations.
  • Approved an addition to the Crestline concession building restroom.
  • Heard a student assessment. The assessment covered how Mountain Brook City Schools students are performing on standardized tests. It reviewed scores for the ACT Aspire, EXPLORE, Advanced Placement tests, ASPIRE, the PSAT and the SAT. Students exceeded national averages on all of those tests.

The next Board of Education meeting is Nov. 9 at 3:30 p.m. It will be held at Mountain Brook Elementary.