Thursday, May 16, 2013


Hendrix and McCain Scholarship
Winners Announced
The Hendrix Scholarship Committee met yesterday and determined the winners of the Hendrix and McClain Scholarships for 2013-2014! These scholarships help defray the costs of tuition, out of state conferences and personal professional development opportunities.
The following people have won a Hendrix Scholarship up to $225.00!    CONGRATULATIONS!
Brookwood Forest: Carla Dudley, Caroline Peek, Debbie Rakes, Taajah Witherspoon
Cherokee Bend: Marsha Alexander, Ann Marie Corgill, Lee Ann Davidson
Crestline: Laura Butler, Jayne Euwer, Lauren Fowler, Amanda McClung, Janet Nelson
Mountain Brook Elementary: Shari Dorsett, Jennifer Harris, Jennifer Jinnette, Mandi Lybrand, Paige Slaughter
Mountain Brook Junior High: Suzan Brandt, Gary Mark Foster, Philip Holley, Micheal Holmes, Adam Johnson, Sara Anne Nelson, John Pledger, Geri Shadeed, Chad Sorrells, Susan Zana
Mountain Brook High: Martha Burns, Leah Kilfoyle, Megan O’Neill, Weslie Smith, Lauren Sullivan, Casey Truesdale
 
The following people were also selected for additional money through the Jan McCain Scholarships! Congratulations!
  1. Ann Marie Corgill – Cherokee Bend Elementary, $314.00
  2. Jennifer Harris – Mountain Brook Elementary, $235.00


 

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Mountain Brook secures third straight Class 6A girls state golf title

, May 14, 2013 6:11 p.m.
 
Mountain Brook's Meg McCalley helped the Spartans win the team title. (Todd Thompson/AL.com)
 
 
MUSCLE SHOALS, Alabama -- Coach Jackie Clayton said Mountain Brook’s third consecutive Class 6A girls golf title was the sweetest.  Unlike most coaches, who don’t like to compare teams and titles, Clayton had no problem explaining why the third championship is the most memorable.

“Because we had seniors this time,” Clayton said after watching Mountain Brook roll to a 14-shot victory over Auburn.

Mountain Brook shot 237 in the final round to finish with a 36-hole score of 461 on the Schoolmaster course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at the Shoals. Auburn shot 243 in the final round to finish at 475, while Fairhope used Virginia Green’s 68 to finish third at 479.

“It’s not hard to get them when they are hungry,” Clayton said. “They want to practice. As they get older, they get pulled in so many directions. It’s legitimate stuff. It’s hard to get them to practice sometimes. It’s things like, ‘Coach, we have two AP tests this week.’ It’s tough, but it’s a tribute them that they find a way to balance it.”

Tatum Jackson led a balanced Mountain Brook team, shooting 76 in the second round to finish tied for second with Prattville's Lee Ann Cahoon at 149. Carolyn McCalley (79) finished at 154, while Lane Proctor (82) was at 158. Meg McCalley shot 83 in the final round and finished at 168.
Proctor and Carolyn McCalley are the team’s seniors.

“It’s a great feeling,” Jackson said. “It’s especially cool because we have two seniors, and we have had the same team for the past three years. I’d say there was more pressure this year to win because we had some seniors.”

Friday, May 10, 2013

Mountain Brook Superintendent says 'what's right with our schools' is more than statistic-deep

  By Ana Rodriguez | arodriguez@al.com
on May 09, 2013 at 4:04 PM

CLIPS_BROOKWOOD_BARLOW_6126779.JPGDicky Barlow, superintendent of Mountain Brook Schools, talks to students in Heather Hutto's kindergarten class at Brookwood Forest Elementary School in 2009. (Birmingham News file)
 
MOUNTAIN BROOK, Alabama -- Today, it was about more than just numbers and statistics.
“We try to look after the whole child,” said Dicky Barlow, Superintendent of Mountain Brook Schools during his speech at the quarterly luncheon of the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce this afternoon.
Barlow was on hand today at Park Lane to address the crowd about “What’s Right with Our Schools.”
Sharing that information, he said, would be like “sipping water from a fire hydrant,” because of the wealth of positive things he could share about Mountain Brook schools. The success, he added, the national-recognition the schools receive, all start with a shared mentality.
“We don’t say ‘I,”’ explained Barlow about everyone involved in the school system—from the Board of Education to principals, teachers, the PTO, and of course parents and students. “We say ‘we.”’
It’s a practice that has been at the heart of the school system for as long as he can remember, said Barlow, who’s been involved with city’s schools since 1996.
The group’s goals, said Barlow, have evolved over time—though success is always its driving force.
In 2007, while Barlow served as the principal of Mountain Brook High, administrators began to talk about their “ultimate goal” as a school system. Back then, their motto was to become a “world class school system.” Upon further discussion, however, the group agreed that it was about more than reaching a lofty ideal—it was about making every day a success. Every day, agreed those involved, should be: effective, challenging and engaging.
“We realized that if we did that every day,” said Barlow, “we would eventually become a world-class school system.”
State and national statistics—though Barlow views them as ineffective measures of success on their own, and should just be part of the picture—prove that through the everyday, they have succeeded.
Today, he shared the following numbers:
  • 96 percent of students (grades K-3) meet or exceed state early literacy standards
  • 97 to 100 percent of students (grades 3-8) meet or exceed state standards in reading and math
  • 99 percent of students (grades 5-7) meet or exceed state standards in science
The city’s high school students continue the trend
  • Currently, said Barlow, the high school offers more than 20 Advance Placement courses to students.
  • This past year, 986 students took AP tests
  • 89 percent of students earned a high enough scores to receive college credit for the course, compared to the national average of 58 percent
  • 29 National Merit Scholars this year helped the school tie a previous school record Students scored an average of 26.7 on the ACT, compared to the national average of 21.1
  • Students scored an average of 1864 on the SAT, compared to the national average of 1498
  • 98 percent of mountain brook high graduates go on to attend 4-year schools
What the numbers don't show, said Barlow, is the work that goes into earning those recognitions. They don't show the countless hours of community involvement, volunteer work and outreach the students are involved in; they don't show the hundreds of thousands of dollars the community raises each year to support their students; and they don't show the every day objectives of each institution valuing not only math and science, but the arts as well in creating a complete student.
But it's all part of the mix.
At the end of the day, said Barlow, every day is about making each and every student a success.
“What every parent wants first,” he said, “is that we care for their child.”

Friday, May 3, 2013

Class 6A Softball Playoffs:

Mountain Brook 10, Shades Valley 0

, May 02, 2013 10:28 p.m.
 
Grace Morrissette tossed a two-hit shutout and Hayden Griffin drove in three runs as Mountain Brook (29-15) beat Shades Valley in a run rule-shortended first round Area 11 playoff game at Vestavia Hills High School.

Morrissette (13-4) worked five innings in the circle with no walks and eight strikeouts.

Griffin went 3 for 4 and Haley Lewis went 2 for 3 with two RBIs to lead the Spartans offense.
Shades Valley's Kelsey Hinnegan was the losing pitcher, working four innings.