Shades Cahaba Elementary School: Difference between revisions

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[[Image:Shades Cahaba School.jpg|right|thumb|275px|Shades Cahaba School in April 2009]]
[[Image:Shades Cahaba School.jpg|right|thumb|375px|Shades Cahaba School in April 2009]]
'''Shades Cahaba Elementary School''', located at 3001 [[Independence Drive]], is one of three elementary schools in [[Homewood City Schools]] serving grades kindergarten through fifth.  It was built as '''Shades Cahaba High School''' in [[1920]] and became an elementary school in [[1950]].  It primarily serves households in the eastern portion of [[Homewood]], including the neighborhoods of [[Hollywood]] and [[Rosedale]].  The school mascot is an owl and the school colors are dark green and white.  Enrollment in 2005 was approximately 500 students.  The principal is [[Sue Grogan]].
'''Shades Cahaba Elementary School''', located at 3001 [[Independence Drive]] on the southeast corner of the intersection with [[Hollywood Boulevard]], is one of three elementary schools in [[Homewood City Schools]] serving grades kindergarten through fifth.  It primarily serves households in the eastern portion of [[Homewood]], including the neighborhoods of [[Hollywood]] and [[Rosedale]].  The school mascot is an owl and the school colors are dark green and white.  Enrollment in 2016 was 578 students.  The principal is [[John Lowry]].


== History ==
== History ==
Around [[1916]], [[Will Franke]] and [[William Acton]] led a successful campaign convincing the [[Jefferson County Board of Education]] that a high school was needed south of [[Birmingham]].  With the board's permission, the [[Shades Valley School District]] was formed and the residents passed a three-mill tax in 1916 to build a new high school.  County school officials selected ten acres costing $3,000 at the intersection of [[Montgomery Highway]] and the juncture of [[Oxmoor Road|Oxmoor]] and [[Montevallo Road|Old Montevallo]] Roads as the site for the school.  Construction of the three-wing, brick building began in [[1919]] and cost $52,000.
The Shades Cahaba building originally opened as [[Shades Cahaba High School]] in [[1920]].  When the school opened, elementary school students from nearby [[Union Hill Methodist Episcopal School]] moved into a wooden, two-room building on the high school's property, just east of it.  Numerous improvements and some additions were made to the main building over the following years, which eventually allowed the 3rd through 6th grade students to be moved to the main building.  In [[1928]], the two schools were placed under the same administration and both were known by the Shades Cahaba name, although it was grades 7th through 12th that were considered the high school.


School officials sponsored a naming contest for the school.  Although the submitter's name has been lost, the winning entry was Shades Cahaba High School.  The school, [[Jefferson County]]'s first consolidated high school, opened to 156 students on [[September 19]], [[1920]] with four grades and five teachers.  As the new high school opened, elementary school students from nearby [[Union Hill Methodist Episcopal School]] moved into a wooden, two-room building on the high school's property, just east of it.  By the late 1920s, both schools were called Shades Cahaba.
While improvements were made to the existing facility over the years, the student population topped 1,000 by the mid-forties and the citizens of Homewood began demanding a new school to handle the overcrowding.  The county school board eventually agreed.  However, they declared the new school would be named [[Shades Valley High School]] and it opened in [[1949]].  At that point, Shades Cahaba became strictly an elementary school.


The school's first principal, [[James M. Ward]], oversaw the school's growth for its first 23 years.  He was assisted by the [[Shades Cahaba School Improvement Association]], which formed in October 1920 and later became the school's Parent-Teacher Association (PTA).  Electricity was not run to the school until its second year.  In [[1922]], an unfinished, unpainted, wood-frame building was built behind the school to serve as both lunchroom and wood shop.  The first class graduated in [[1923]].  The first addition, to help relieve overcrowding, was made in the summer of [[1926]] and a second, including a new lunchroom, was made in the summer of [[1927]].  The additions also allowed the 3rd through 6th grade students to be moved to the main building.  In [[1928]], the two schools were placed under the same administration.  By [[1932]], the school had expanded to 22 teachers, plus an associate principal.
The school's mascot was a 900-pound, cast-concrete owl was perched atop the middle gable of the building, above the northern entrance facing Hollywood Boulevard.  With the school's conversion, the concrete owl was removed in 1949 for unknown reasons.  After spending several years in county storage, it was sold to a private party and wound up in a vacant lot.  After its rediscovery, it was eventually restored to its original perch in the late 1970s.


There is a pedestrian tunnel underneath Independence Drive ([[U.S. Highway 31]]), built in the early 1950s, which allows pedestrians access to the school from the west without having to cross multiple lanes of traffic.
Shortly after the school's conversion, the county and city both provided a total of $67,000 for a new auditorium and gymnasium. In the early 1950s, when Montgomery Highway was widened, a pedestrian tunnel was built out of concern for students' safety. [[Hill Food Stores]] received $20,000 for the portion of its parking lot required for the western entry. The tunnel was used to film one of the scenes of the [[1988]] film, ''[[The Verne Miller Story]]''.


The school has undergone several renovations and additions since it was first built.  A renovation in the late 1980's or early 1990's moved the main entrance from the side facing [[Hollywood Boulevard]] to what had been a back corner, facing southwest to Independence Drive at about a 45 degree angle.
In the 1960s, Shades Cahaba was the only public school in the area offering special education classes.  In [[1970]], when Homewood finally broke away from the county school system, Shades Cahaba became one of [[Homewood City Schools]]' three elementary schools.
 
Another building renovation in the early 1990's moved the main entrance from the side facing Hollywood Boulevard to what had been a back corner, facing southwest to Independence Drive at about a 45 degree angle.


== Principals ==
== Principals ==
===Shades Cahaba High School===
* [[R. B. Nichols]], [[1949]]–1951 (previously principal of Shades Cahaba High School)
* [[James M. Ward]], [[1920]]–[[1943]]
* [[Lelton Cobb]], 1951–c. 1965
 
* [[Margaret Vines]], c. 1965–[[1970]]
===Shades Cahaba Elementary School===
* [[Louis LeVaughn]], [[1970]]–[[1981]]
* [[Louis LeVaughn]], [[1970]]–[[1981]]
* [[Mike Miller]], [[1981]]–[[1989]]
* [[Mike Miller]], [[1981]]–?
* [[Karen DeLano]], <!-- Dr. Karen Teague DeLano, daughter of [[Wayne Teague]] --> [[1989]]–[[2000]]
* [[Sue Grogan]], ?&ndash;present
* [[Sue Grogan]], [[2000]]–[[2013]]
* [[John Lowry]], [[2013]]–present


==Accomplishments==
==Accomplishments==
*United States Department of Education "Blue Ribbon School"; [[1993]]-94.
* United States Department of Education "Blue Ribbon School", [[1993]]–[[1994|94]]
* United States Department of Education "Blue Ribbon School", [[2015]]–[[2016|16]]


== References ==
== References ==
* "[http://www.birminghamrewound.com/features/MontgHwy2(3-52).JPG Proposal to widen Montgomery Highway is being kicked around]" (March 1952) ''Birmingham News'' - via [[Birmingham Rewound]]
*{{Summe-2001}}
*{{Summe-2001}}
* Rodriguez, Ana (April 23, 2013).  "[http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2013/04/hall-kent_shades_cahaba_elemen.html Hall-Kent, Shades Cahaba elementary school principals announce retirement]." {{BN}}.
* Wright, Shawn (October 14, 2019). "[https://shadescahabahistory.com/shawn-wright-was-wrong-principals/ Shawn Wright Was Wrong! – Principals]." Shades Cahaba Oral History Project.


==External Links==
==External links==
*[http://www.homewood.k12.al.us/sces/ Shades Cahaba Elementary School]
* [http://sces.homewood.k12.al.us/?ac=1 Shades Cahaba Elementary School] website
* [https://shadescahabahistory.com/ Shades Cahaba Oral History Project]


[[Category:1920 establishments]]
[[Category:1920 buildings]]
[[Category:1920 buildings]]
[[Category:Independence Drive]]
[[Category:Independence Drive]]
[[Category:Homewood schools]]
[[Category:Homewood schools]]
[[Category:Elementary schools]]
[[Category:Elementary schools]]
[[Category:Blue Ribbon schools]]

Latest revision as of 17:02, 21 September 2021

Shades Cahaba School in April 2009

Shades Cahaba Elementary School, located at 3001 Independence Drive on the southeast corner of the intersection with Hollywood Boulevard, is one of three elementary schools in Homewood City Schools serving grades kindergarten through fifth. It primarily serves households in the eastern portion of Homewood, including the neighborhoods of Hollywood and Rosedale. The school mascot is an owl and the school colors are dark green and white. Enrollment in 2016 was 578 students. The principal is John Lowry.

History

The Shades Cahaba building originally opened as Shades Cahaba High School in 1920. When the school opened, elementary school students from nearby Union Hill Methodist Episcopal School moved into a wooden, two-room building on the high school's property, just east of it. Numerous improvements and some additions were made to the main building over the following years, which eventually allowed the 3rd through 6th grade students to be moved to the main building. In 1928, the two schools were placed under the same administration and both were known by the Shades Cahaba name, although it was grades 7th through 12th that were considered the high school.

While improvements were made to the existing facility over the years, the student population topped 1,000 by the mid-forties and the citizens of Homewood began demanding a new school to handle the overcrowding. The county school board eventually agreed. However, they declared the new school would be named Shades Valley High School and it opened in 1949. At that point, Shades Cahaba became strictly an elementary school.

The school's mascot was a 900-pound, cast-concrete owl was perched atop the middle gable of the building, above the northern entrance facing Hollywood Boulevard. With the school's conversion, the concrete owl was removed in 1949 for unknown reasons. After spending several years in county storage, it was sold to a private party and wound up in a vacant lot. After its rediscovery, it was eventually restored to its original perch in the late 1970s.

Shortly after the school's conversion, the county and city both provided a total of $67,000 for a new auditorium and gymnasium. In the early 1950s, when Montgomery Highway was widened, a pedestrian tunnel was built out of concern for students' safety. Hill Food Stores received $20,000 for the portion of its parking lot required for the western entry. The tunnel was used to film one of the scenes of the 1988 film, The Verne Miller Story.

In the 1960s, Shades Cahaba was the only public school in the area offering special education classes. In 1970, when Homewood finally broke away from the county school system, Shades Cahaba became one of Homewood City Schools' three elementary schools.

Another building renovation in the early 1990's moved the main entrance from the side facing Hollywood Boulevard to what had been a back corner, facing southwest to Independence Drive at about a 45 degree angle.

Principals

Accomplishments

  • United States Department of Education "Blue Ribbon School", 1993–94
  • United States Department of Education "Blue Ribbon School", 2015–16

References

External links

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