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By NATHAN HOWELL | Staff Writer

ALABASTER – Alabaster City Schools recently announced the promotions of Brent Byars to supervisor of elementary education and federal programs and Jamelia Hayes as the new Thompson Intermediate School principal.

Byars was the TIS principal until this recent promotion, and Hayes was an assistant principal at Thompson High School, primarily working with 10th graders.

Alabaster Schools Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers said he was looking forward to seeing Hayes lead in this new position.

“Mrs. Hayes has been named the principal at Thompson Intermediate School. She brings a wealth of experience having served as an assistant principal for the past five years. She brings a tremendous amount of experience and she will be a perfect fit for Thompson Intermediate School,” Vickers said. “She also has a tremendous background in education overall. She has done a fabulous job at our high school, and we look forward to what she can do at TIS.”

Hayes said she was excited to step into this role, especially because of the wealth of excellence she sees among staff and students.

“Alabaster doesn’t have people who aren’t great, and I am excited to work with those great people,” Hayes said. “What I want the community to know about me is that the heart of who I am is family. These staff members and students are like an extension of my family. Although we are not blood, TIS is now an extension of my family, and I will care for it in that way.”

Prior to accepting this position, Hayes said she developed a wealth of experience and knowledge during her five years at THS.

“Alabaster has been by far the best district I have been it when it comes to support for leadership,” Hayes said. “I was inspired to be in a leadership role because of the leadership I saw displayed by people like Dr. Wesley Hester, the office staff and all of the teachers who helped me.”

As the first day of classes approaches on Aug. 19, Hayes said she is looking forward to getting back to work with all the lessons she has learned over the past year.

“I have had a chance to meet some of the students, but I am very excited to meet everyone when we return,” Hayes explained. “I don’t think there is anything we will come against that we aren’t in some way prepared for. Just having been through the pandemic, one of the words that comes to mind for our students is resilience. With that in mind, we can accomplish anything.”

Hayes replaced Brent Byars, who recently took over the role of supervisor of elementary education and federal programs for ACS.

Vickers explained this position had been vacant for more than a year, and when it opened Byars was the right choice.

“The reason he was such a great fit for this role is because of his time as a principal at a K-3 and 4-5 school,” Vickers said. “He had been a principal at Creek View Elementary and TIS, and he has about 10 years of administrative experience and 14 years total experience including his administrative roles. He has been a lifelong resident of Alabaster and a Thompson graduate. He will do great for us.”