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By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor 

ALABASTER – After carefully guiding the next generation of Alabaster students for years, Meadow View Elementary School Principal Michelle Brakefield has announced that she will be departing Alabaster City Schools to pursue a new role with the Alabama State Department of Education as a regional literacy leadership specialist.

On Tuesday, May 13, Brakefield took to social media to announce that her last day with Meadow View Elementary School will be June 30. On July 1, Brakefield will join the ALSDE as a regional literacy leadership specialist through the Alabama Reading initiative.

“This new role allows me to focus on my lifelong passion—literacy and instruction—on a larger scale, helping support students and teachers across our state,” read an official Facebook post by Brakefield. “Though this transition is bittersweet, I believe in lifelong learning and growth. I’m eager to embrace this new opportunity while carrying the lessons, memories and love from Meadow View with me. ARI’s mission has always been dear to my heart, and I am honored to contribute to their vital work.”

Brakefield first began her career after graduating from the University of Montevallo with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education and early childhood education. In 1996, she started as a fourth-grade teacher at Helena Elementary School before transferring to Thompson Elementary two weeks later as a first-grade teacher.

“It was there that my love for teaching truly blossomed,” Brakefield said. “From that very first year, teaching children to read became my passion and has remained so since 1996.”

After earning her Master of Arts in elementary education, she was hired by Dr. Kimberly White to serve as the assistant principal of Gwin Elementary School in Hoover.

“Those two years were filled with invaluable learning and the formation of deep bonds with students and staff alike, broadening my perspective as an educator,” Brakefield said.

Brakefield then returned to Alabaster to join the team that opened Meadow View Elementary School in 2000 where she worked until she was promoted to principal in 2019 by ACS Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers.

Having spent such a significant amount of time living and working in the city of Alabaster, Brakefield said that her ties to MVES are personal and profound.

“All three of our boys attended Meadow View,” Brakefield said. “They grew up within these walls, playing in hallways after school, enjoying countless vending machine snacks, napping on classroom floors and witnessing firsthand the joy and dedication that fill this building.”

Brakefield said some of her fondest memories from her time with MVES are the simple moments like hugs in the hallway, encouraging a child who needed a moment of kindness and spending time with students that lift her spirits and reminded her of her purpose as an educator.

“The children have always been—and will always be—what drives me,” Brakefield said. “They are the heart of this work. That is why saying goodbye to Meadow View is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

Brakefield’s husband, Scott, has served on the Alabaster City Council and is currently mayor—providing the married duo with the unique ability to heavily invest in the local community together.

“Scott and I have invested in our school community in every way we could—through supplies, gifts, meals and countless hours of work, always with the goal of loving and supporting our children and families,” Brakefield said.

Brakefield closed out her message by expressing her gratitude to her husband and three boys as well as the Alabaster community.

“To the incredible community of Alabaster: thank you,” Brakefield said. “Thank you for your unwavering support, your trust and for allowing me the privilege of serving Meadow View Elementary. These memories will stay with me forever.”