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By TYLER RALEY | Staff Writer

ALABASTER – The Shelby County Schools Board of Education unanimously approved a full-time fulfillment of an administrative position during a regularly scheduled BOE meeting on Thursday, May 15 in Alabaster.

Brent McCaleb was approved as the new principal at New Direction, continuing his duties in a full-time role after being the named the interim to the position in January.

McCaleb has been employed in the public education field for over 25 years, and prior to serving at New Direction, was most recently an assistant principal at Helena High School. He holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree in instructional leadership from the University of West Alabama.

When greeting the board, McCaleb reflected back on when he greeted it in January when being approved for the interim position and used that as to propel his thanks to Shelby County Schools Superintendent Dr. Lewis Brooks.

“Dr. Brooks, thank you so much and your team for this opportunity,” McCaleb said. “I told you several months ago that this was my heart, and working these kids and watching successful students have a chance to get across the line and graduating, working with them has been just a blessing. Our New Direction kids, coming in and helping them try to change their behavior, not just punctually, but working with them has been a really fun thing to do.”

In other news, the BOE also took time to recognize the 2025 Shelby County Schools First Year Teachers of the Year. This year’s recipients were Lilly Mathis, a second grade teacher at Oak Mountain Elementary School, and Allison Middendorf, a sixth grade teacher at Helena Middle School.

Both teachers received commemorative plaques and a bouquet of flowers after Brooks took a moment to thank them for all of their hard work within their respective schools during his Superintendent’s Report.

The board also approved a low bid for an architectural job that will add classrooms to Helena High School. The bid was awarded to Williford Orman Construction, LLC out of Hoover in the amount of $5,753,485 and will be put towards the addition of 10 classrooms at the school, with five going on the bottom level and five on the top.

Another architectural job was also approved for a parking lot expansion and restriping for Inverness Elementary School, Chelsea Middle School and Vincent Elementary School. The bid went for a total $900,610 to Southeastern Sealcoating, Inc., and included the base bid plus three alternates. The first alternate was additional paving for the Chelsea Middle School car rider line. CHMS is also involved in the third alternate, which was the striping of the existing track. The fourth alternate was the final alternate accepted, which involved a sealcoat and restriping of the track at Vincent Elementary School.

The final architectural job was a bid approved for an emergency window replacement at Shelby County High School, which was awarded to Williford Orman Construction, LLC for $127,935.

The board also reviewed financial statements, approved a budget amendment and approved an out-of-state field trip for Chelsea High School during the meeting, as well.