The Shelby County School Board approved a number of out-of-state field trips last week.

The board met last Thursday.

The field trips will take more than 600 students away from school on trips from New York to Virginia to Florida.

Board members approved the out-of-state field trips in the absence of Steve Martin.

-Twelve eighth graders from Chelsea Middle School will travel to New York, N.Y., for a drama workshop on April 26, missing three days of school.

-Forty sixth, seventh and eighth graders Chelsea Middle will travel to Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta on May 5, missing one day of school.

-Forty fifth graders from Helena Intermediate School will travel to the Chattanooga Aquarium in Tennessee on March 15, missing one day of school.

-Eighty six students from Oak Mountain High School will travel to Williamsburg, Va., for a choral festival on March 30, missing two days of school.

-Thirty students from OMHS will travel to Orlando, Fla., for a track and field tournament on March 16, missing two days of school.

-Eight students from Pelham High School will travel to Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., for the Alabama Central District Junior Civitan Convention on April 21, missing one day of school.

-One-hundred-fifty-five students from Riverchase Middle School will travel to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta on April 18, missing one day of school.

-Eighty students from Thompson Middle School will travel to Ruby Falls in Chattanooga, Tenn., on March 16, missing one day of school.

-Twenty-two students from Vincent High School will travel to Tampa, Fla., to the Salvador Dali Museum of Art and the Tampa Museum of Art on March 20.

-Sixty students from VHS will travel to Nashville, Tenn., to the Parthenon and Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on March 3, missing one day of school.

-Thirty-three students from VHS will travel to Chattanooga, Tenn., to visit a Civil War battlefield on March 21, missing one day of school.

-Thirty-eight JROTC students from VHS and Thompson High School will travel to Benton, Tenn., for a white water rafting trip down the Ocoee River on May 20, missing one day of school.

In other business, the board approved Mary Howard as the human resources/personnel supervisor effective April 3.

Howard currently serves as principal at Inverness Elementary. She has 19 years experience in education, all of which has been in Shelby County.

The board approved Jeff Atkins as assistant principal at Thompson High. Atkins serves as a social studies teacher at THS, where he has taught for six years.

The board also renewed principal contracts for Mark Isley, alternative school; Karen Mitchell, Shelby Elementary; Mary Cooper, Helena Elementary; Lynn Cook, Chelsea Elementary; Linda Chesler, Calera Elementary; Ken Mobley, Calera High; Larry Haynes, Oak Mountain Middle; and Pat Grey, Chelsea High. These 36-month contracts are renewed until June 30, 2009.

In other business, the board approved job descriptions for a LEA school improvement specialist and a development director