Hartselle Educator Hall of Fame inductees include original board members

Members of the original Hartselle City Schools board of education are a part of this year’s inductees to the Hartselle Educator Hall of Fame. Those first board members include Larry Anders, Elmo Kerr, Dick Stoner, Bobby Halford and Elaine Duncan. Anders, who is the only living original board member will accept the award on the board’s behalf at a banquet held Feb. 22.

The Hall of Fame was established to honor individuals who have made a significant contribution to the education of students who have attended Hartselle schools. Joining the original board members are Martha Grimes Cooper, Dr. Dee Dee Jones and Bob Young. Anders, who is the only living original board member will accept the award on the board’s behalf at a banquet.

The ninth annual banquet will be held at Burningtree Country Club in Decatur and will begin at 6 p.m. A time to meet and congratulate the inductees will begin at 5:15 p.m.

About the inductees

Cooper

Martha Grimes Cooper began teaching health, coaching gymnastics and cheerleading in 1989. She was recognized as Hartselle High Teacher of the Year in 2013-14, was a trained master teacher in health education for the State of Alabama, served as department chair of Hartselle High School for health and physical education for several years, and frequently presented professional development workshops for the Alabama State Department of health education. In addition to her outstanding teaching career, Cooper’s leadership brought acclaim to the Hartselle High School gymnastics program. Her commitment to excellence resulted in the gymnastics team winning four state championships. Her dedication to the team went beyond coaching; she mentored the students, fostering teamwork, discipline and confidence. Since retirement, Cooper has taught virtual learning classes with Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide (ACCESS), serves as co-director of the Miss University of Alabama Pageant and is on the Miss University of Alabama Scholarship Program Committee. She is a volunteer at William Bradford Huie Library in Hartselle and con tinues her participation as a sponsor for Stu dents Against Destruc tive Decisions (SADD), work she started while still teaching.

Dee Dee Jones

Dr. Dee Dee Jones is a distinguished educational leader whose career spans more than three decades in Alabama’s public education system. Graduating from Jacksonville State University where she completed a Bachelor of Science in elementary education, she continued at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she earned a masters in elementary and early childhood education and ultimately a Ph.D. in educational leadership. Jones began teaching at Fort Payne Middle School before moving to Brookhaven Middle School in Decatur to be a sixth-grade language arts teacher. In the early 2000s, Jones began her move into educational leadership roles serving with the Alabama State Department of Education as a secondary reading specialist, and then she transitioned back to Decatur City Schools as the curriculum coordinator at Brookhaven Middle School. Her expertise in literacy and educational strategy led to multiple leadership positions with Decatur including assistant principal at Brookhaven Middle School, principal of Somerville Road Elementary School and professional development/ curriculum/career tech supervisor for Decatur City Schools. Hartselle City Schools hired Jones in 2015 as the director of teaching and learning, and then in 2017, Jones was appointed as the first female superintendent of Hartselle City Schools. Under her guidance, Hartselle became a District Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, with all six schools receiving this prestigious national recognition and Jones being recognized as a Blue-Ribbon superintendent.

Bob Young graduated from Lamar County High School where he was a five-sport athlete in baseball, football, basketball, golf and tennis. He went to the University of North Alabama, graduating in 1982 with a teaching degree in education and recreation as well as geography. He met his wife, Becky, while at UNA, and they moved to Hartselle in 1989. Bob was hired at Hartselle High to teach geography, Alabama history, drivers education and health. He also began coaching baseball and football. In 2002, Bob was promoted to be the assistant principal and athletic director of Hartselle High School. With his leadership and support, Hartselle teams and individuals won state, regional, and area championships in football, baseball, basketball, softball, volleyball, golf, soccer, track and cross country, wrestling, tennis, swimming, bowling and cheerleading. Since his retirement in 2017, Bob has been called to fill-in open principal positions at both Hartselle Junior High and Hartselle Intermediate schools.

The original school board, as individuals, took an interest in growing organizations within the Hartselle community; but it was as a group that they left their most enduring mark on Hartselle’s future. Together, these volunteers, with their time and their talents, developed the initial policies and protocols needed to launch Hartselle City Schools as an independent school district in 1975. Prior to their efforts, Hartselle was part of the Morgan County School district. Larry Anders, one of the original members who will accept the honor for the original school board, remembers the team believed they could deliver something more to Hartselle’s students if they could focus on students in Hartselle. This dedicated team channeled their talents and energy toward building a solid foundation, and all were mindful of the importance of rising to the academic challenges that a school district should meet. Any number of citizens could have risen to the challenge of serving on the first school board, but it was Richard “Dick” Stoner, Barry Halford, Elaine Duncan, Elmo Kerr and Anders who answered the call to serve. Because of the efforts of this group, Hartselle City Schools is celebrating it’s 50th anniversary this year.

Tickets to the banquet are available for $35 each and can be purchased at the Hartselle City Schools Central Office or online at www. hartselletigers.org. All profits from the banquet will be equally divided between the Morgan County Task Force and awarded as scholarships by the Hartselle Educator Hall of Fame to college level students aspiring to complete their degrees in education. The public is welcome to attend and honor this group of educators who spent many years shaping the lives of Hartselle students.