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By SCOTT MIMS | Special to the Reporter

ALABASTER – Students, parents and faculty met the first day of school with excitement on Wednesday, Aug. 17 at Meadow View Elementary and Creek View Elementary schools.

Meadow View Principal Michelle Brakefield praised the resilience of the children, who seemed eager to get to their classrooms upon meeting with school greeters. “It’s just been through the roof exciting,” Brakefield said. “They come in with a smile on their face. Not missing because of COVID really benefited our students, and we know that children in grades K-3 especially learn best through face-to-face instruction.”

Warrior Day on Aug. 12 served as an opportunity for parents to meet teachers and allow their children to get familiar with the classroom prior to the first day. In addition, Parent Night is held for each grade level throughout the month of August, which allows parents to learn about their students’ schedule and academics, as well as ask questions.

“We want to give parents every opportunity to have a discussion with their teacher,” Brakefield said.

Enrollment is the highest it has been during Brakefield’s four years as principal, and approximately 70 students attended the literacy camp held this summer for grades K-3.

The majority of the faculty members do professional development over the summer, and this year, Alabaster City Schools rolled out a new reading program called Open Court.

“The teachers have done a lot of professional development for both math and reading, and I’m excited about getting into the classrooms and seeing how they are implementing that,” Brakefield said. “That’s a testament to our teachers and their hard work. We are excited about the continuation of learning that is going to happen, and as we prepare for the Alabama Literacy Act the majority of my faculty is working on their LETRS training, and so this has rejuvenated them in the way that they reach all students and their learning gaps.”

Brakefield said her challenge to the faculty this year is to be better.

“We don’t ever want to be better than someone or something; we just want to be better,” she said.

At its core, she said the challenge is for teachers to learn and grow from each other professionally.

Meanwhile, now more than two and a half years into the COVID-19 pandemic, all personnel in Alabaster City Schools have gone through extensive safety training. The district is utilizing a new system called CENTEGIX, and everyone trained in the new safety protocols has a badge. For more information about the system, visit Centegix.com.

“This year marks our 10^th year as a school district,” Alabaster City Schools Superintendent Wayne Vickers wrote in his annual welcome letter. “ACS has made great strides over the last decade, and I know we will continue to exceed expectations.”

Vickers touched on specific accomplishments that help set the tone for the excitement of the new year.

“For the second year in a row, ACS third grade is in the top 10 of all districts statewide with ELA/reading scores,” he said. “In 2020-2021, we were number 10 in ELA scores, and for 2021-2022, we are number 10 in reading proficiency. ACS third grade was also number eight statewide in math in 2020-2021.”

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