The Shelby County School system has made huge strides over the past year in increasing the quality of education that it provides.

Those improvements were revealed on Monday when the State Board of Education released its annual AYP scores.

All but one Shelby County schools had a final rating of 100 percent, with ten schools that had failed to pass last year passing with flying colors this year.

The announcement comes near the end of a superintendent career for Evan Major that has been full of similar successes.

Last week Major passed his final budget as Shelby County&8217;s superintendent of schools &045; the largest ever in the county&8217;s history.

The most impressive accomplishment in the budget was the dedication of over half of the board&8217;s fund to instruction in the classroom.

Major will officially hand the reigns of the school system over to Oak Mountain principal Randy Fuller in January, and leaves behind a legacy of great achievements.

If the past two weeks are any testament to the impact that Major has had on this school system during his tenure, he can surely be considered among the most influential superintendents in the board&8217;s history.

Granted, there are more portable classrooms on county school campuses. In addition, a number of schools are in need of maintenance and technological improvements.

But what school in a growing county such as ours doesn&8217;t face these growing pains?

Shelby County welcomes 300 new energized teachers to the system today. Their talents and skills are may and will help provide for a great education for our children.

Instead of scrutinizing the looks of the classroom, we should be thankful for the teacher who is willing to dedicate his or her time to educating our children.

Evan Major deserves the county&8217;s thanks for all of the work he has given to our children over the years and the many improvements he has brought to our system.

As schools across the county start up today, you can rest assured that your children are getting one of the best educations available in the state of Alabama