Mountain Brook ranks No. 13 in national quality of life rankings

Birmingham Business Journal

Date: Friday, December 9, 2011, 1:45pm CST - Last Modified: Friday, December 9, 2011, 2:15pm CST

Mountain Brook ranks high for quality of life, according to a new report.

Earlier this week, we told you that Mountain Brook ranked No. 4 in the South for quality of life in a new study by our sister publication, On Numbers.

To cap off its week-long look at quality of life, On Numbers unveiled its national quality of life rankings on Friday.

Mountain Brook also fared well on that list, checking in at No. 13 out of the 3,764 places in the study, which highlighted cities with healthy economies, light traffic, moderate costs of living, impressive housing stocks and strong educational systems.

Vestavia Hills (No. 180) and Madison (No. 205) were the other highest ranked Alabama cities.

The city of Birmingham (No. 3,387) had the fourth lowest ranking in Alabama. The Magic City topped only Bessemer (No. 3,508), Selma (No. 3,616) and Prichard (No. 3,674).

Mountain Brook Elementary picked for national program

Publication Date: September 7, 2011  Page: 01-S  Section: COMMUNITY NEWS  Zone: SOUTH  Edition: Volume 124 Issue 178

William Thornton wthornton@bhamnews.com

Mountain Brook Elementary is one of nine schools in six states - and the only one in Alabama - to be selected this year for a school improvement program.
The Learning Forward Learning School Alliance picked Mountain Brook Elementary earlier this year to be part of a professional learning program which aims at improving teacher performance by collaborating with other schools around the country.
Two years ago, Cherokee Bend Elementary took part in the program.  The alliance is sponsored by Learning Forward, formerly known as the National Staff Development Council, and then-Superintendent Charles Mason was serving as its president at that time.
Among the goals of the Learning School Alliance is to see that educators share ideas that will eventually find their way into classrooms. It also tries to foster high goals for student achievement, while giving teachers a chance to see how they can be met. Schools were also chosen in Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, North Dakota and Texas.
Belinda Treadwell, principal at the Mountain Brook Elementary, said the program is ''one of the most powerful things I've ever been involved in.''
''We're very privileged to take part,'' she said. ''When teachers are more effective, you have higher levels of student achievement.''
The program allows a team of teachers at the school to collaborate with teachers at other schools around the country, through conferences and webinars, sharing ideas about improving student performance. Teams look at school data, identify areas for improvement and programs to make progress. The group also shares mentors with schools and programs that have had success at other schools.
The program also allows teachers from other schools to find out what programs are working at Mountain Brook Elementary for implementation elsewhere.

A magical fit for Clara:

By ANNE WOOD

MBJH student Elizabeth Lindsey will play Clara for a second year in the Birmingham Ballet production of The Nutcracker. Photo courtesy of the Birmingham Ballet.

Elizabeth Lindsey traded in her ballet shoes for soccer cleats when she was only 3 years old. At age 10 she put on the ballet shoes again, and the first role she auditioned for she got. After only two and a half years of dance experience she was cast as Clara in The Nutcracker.

“She had tried everything,” her mother, Frances Lindsey, said. “She played soccer and other things for a while and tried a couple of different dance studios.”

Nothing seemed to stick the way ballet dancing did, though. Today, in her fourth year in The Nutcracker and her second year as Clara, Elizabeth has grown to know and love the story.

“My favorite part is the pas du trios,” she said. “It’s where me, the Nutcracker, and Drosselmeyer all dance together and get to do partnering.”

Elizabeth, who attended a prestigious, three-week summer intensive dance program in Philadelphia, has continued to impress her family, friends and choreographers with her skill in spite of the lack of experience.

“I remember when Elizabeth first auditioned for The Nutcracker about three years ago,” Birmingham Ballet Director Cindy Free said. “Even then, as a Gingersnap, she stood out as a promising and dedicated student. I’ve enjoyed teaching her at Birmingham Ballet Academy and seeing her progress into such a proficient young dancer as well as a smart young woman. The future is very bright for Elizabeth.”

Her performance is due in part to the countless hours she dedicates to dancing. Elizabeth, an eighth grader at Mountain Brook Junior High, is able to manage her studies, 18 hours a week of dance practice and still have time to see her friends.

“I am amazed that she does all this and still keeps an A/B average,” her mother said. “If the grades were being affected, then it would be too much.”

Not only does Elizabeth show no signs of slowing down, she truly enjoys the long practices. “I wish I could do more,” she said.

“She really does absolutely love it,” her mother said. “When [your kids] find their thing, as a parent, you are so excited.”

And she doesn’t plan to stop any time soon. “If I could fit into the costume again next year, it would be fun to be Clara for a third time,” Elizabeth said.

Go see Elizabeth, and other Mountain Brook dancers, bring to life the holiday classic Dec. 9, 10 and 11 at various times at the BJCC.

For more information and tickets, contact Cindy Free at the studio, 979-9294 or cindy@birminghamballet.com.

Mountain Brook ranks 4th in South for quality of life

Birmingham Business Journal

Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2011, 10:37am CST - Last Modified: Tuesday, December 6, 2011, 12:24pm CST

Mountain Brook has the highest quality of life in the state, according to a new study.

Mountain Brook has the highest quality of life in Alabama and the fourth highest in the South, according to a new study by On Numbers.

The quality of life rankings, which considered economic health, traffic, cost of living, housing and education, featured several Birmingham suburbs among the top 100 out of the more than 1,300 Southern places considered in the study.

Vestavia (No. 49), Helena (No. 60) and Hoover (No. 88) all ranked in the top 100.

The city of Birmingham, however, ranked No. 1008 in the South.

West University Place, a Houston suburb, was the highest ranked place in the South.

You can click here for the full report from On Numbers.

Cross country teams win state:

By WILL HIGHTOWER

Cross country team members Taylor Jetmundsen, Andrew Leeds, Paul Styslinger, and Patrick Wilder pose with their state championship trophy. This was the fourth state title in a row for the boys and the ninth for the girls. Photo courtesy of Image Arts.

Another year, another title. For the senior runners on the Mountain Brook cross country team, winning the state championship is nothing new. The seniors, with some help from underclassmen, capped off their high school careers without having lost a state title. The boys won their fourth in a row, while the girls won their astounding ninth state championship in a row.

The boys came into the season looking for leadership after a strong senior class led by Jack Morgan graduated. As it turned out, there were plenty of runners waiting in the wings for their time in the spotlight. Junior Payton Ballard assumed the position of lead runner, with Nick Halbach, Jack Monaghan and Andrew Fix just behind. After a successful season that included wins across the state and the country, the varsity boys went into state thinking about closing in on their fourth straight ring.

“Our strategy for the race was just to push it, get out in front and catch up to the next fastest guy in front of you,” senior Brooks Kimberly said. Kimberly was called up to race at state at the last minute on Thursday night before the Saturday morning race. “We just wanted to break the other teams’ will, and I think we did that pretty well.”



The race, which was held at Oakville Indian Mounds Park, went like the Spartans had planned. Ballard finished first for Mountain Brook and third overall with a time of 16:08, equating to a 5:20 mile pace for the 3.1-mile course. Monaghan and Halbach came in next at sixth and seventh overall. Fix, who only hours later came down with a high fever, and Parker Morrow, whose time of 16:46 was a personal record, rounded out the top five for the Spartans. The top five are the ones who are counted towards the team’s overall point total.

“It’s pretty incredible to see all the work pay off,” Fix said. “Six years ago it would’ve been hard to imagine us where we are now. I never would’ve dreamt of being part of such a dominating team so far in the future. After the race, we all kind of found each other in the chute and just let it soak in. We were all in a little pain, but we were so amped up it didn’t really bother us.”

“It was extra special to hit that strong note going out on our senior year,” Kimberly said. “We have a fantastic team with great chemistry.”

The girls had an even deeper streak going into the race: a string of titles dating back to 2002. The entire time that these girls have been in high school, junior high – and hey, even most of elementary school – the Mountain Brook girls have been the very best in the state. This year, the girls weren’t going to let that winning tradition stop.

“We felt a little pressure going in,” junior Ann Sisson said. “But Coach Echols told us to just trust in our training and believe in each other, so it took the pressure off.”

Surprisingly, the senior class of girls is not as strong as the younger ones. Nina Brown was the only senior girl to run in the state championship this year. Juniors Mary Catherine Ellard and Sisson, sophomore Emily Bedell and freshmen Bailey Martin and Sanders Reed carried the team all year.

Sisson finished fourth overall and first for the Spartans with a time of 18:56.

Right behind her were Martin and Bedell, who had times of 19:07 and 19:15, respectively. Reed and Ellard finished eighth and ninth overall, rounding out a dominant top five for the Spartans. In fact, the girls had an overall score of 25 points. In a sport where lower is better, that number is a sign of domination. The next closest team? McGill-Toolen, with 78 points.

“It felt awesome when we crossed the finish line,” Sisson said. “There’s nothing like that feeling you get when all of your hard work has paid off and you achieve your goals.”

The sheer depth of the girls team is unbelievable, especially considering that most are young. Most of the girls will return for the Spartans next year, making expectations sky-high. After that, most of these girls could run at the collegiate level if they choose.

These days, the 6A cross country state championship has become a bit of a formality. Runners in the past came in with the mentality that the championship was anyone’s to win. But after nine in a row and four in a row by the girls and boys from Mountain Brook, the rest of the state has been relegated to fighting for second place. Look for more of the same in years to come.