A decade of learning: Forest Oaks Elementary School celebrates 10 years
It’s been a decade since Chelsea’s third elementary school opened its doors.
Forest Oaks Elementary is celebrating its 10th year in 2024, and Principal Stevi Sims said she feels honored to have been a part of the entire process from the ground up.
In 2013, the city of Chelsea was experiencing tremendous growth, and the need for a third elementary was evident. New attendance zones were drawn to determine which students would be zoned and divided among three elementary schools.
The initial letter went out to parents from former Shelby County Schools Superintendent Randy Fuller, stating plans for a new capital project and grade realignment plan in the Chelsea school zone that included the construction of a new K-5 elementary school, set to open in fall 2013.
Resia Brooks was principal at the time and recalls vividly when Fuller visited her at Chelsea Intermediate School and shared the announcement of a new school.
“In preparation for the transition to our new school, I meticulously compiled a large binder that I titled ‘Operation Forest Oaks,’ covering every aspect of the transition process,” Brooks said. “Even now, I frequently revisit its contents for all the warm feelings and memories.”
Her husband, current Superintendent Lewis Brooks, was serving as assistant superintendent at the time. He said he remembers when the decision was made and it was necessary to change the grade structure.
“During that time, Chelsea Park and Mt Laurel were the feeders for Chelsea Intermediate,” Lewis Brooks said. “It was determined that having three K-5 schools that fed Chelsea Middle School was a better approach to a fast-growing community.”
Under the new plan, the district was able to increase facility capacity with the 4th and 5th grade structure with Chelsea Intermediate School being eliminated and Chelsea Middle School transitioning to grades 6-8. Changing the elementary schools from K-3 to K-5 created more continuity of instruction for students.
As the new school year began in fall 2013, Chelsea Intermediate was dissolved and Forest Oaks Elementary School was born, although it was housed in the Chelsea Intermediate building since the construction on the new campus was not yet complete.
Tours of the future campus for teachers were provided in late November, and all students visited on a field trip in December to see the building and visit their classrooms. Teachers used their planning periods to transport items over to the new location to begin setting up their classrooms, with many working over Christmas break to get everything ready.
Opening Day
Sims said it was like starting a new school year twice when Forest Oaks Elementary was completed. The move to the campus was made during Christmas break, and the doors officially opened when students came back to school in January.
“Students started their first day in the new building on Jan. 6, 2014,” Sims said. “Just like in August, we had to establish procedures for car riders, bus riders, lunch schedules, PE schedules and start from square one in the middle of the year.”
When FOES opened, 742 students were enrolled. There were 34 homeroom teachers, plus an additional 15 teachers for art, music, PE, special education and gifted programs along with six CNP (lunchroom) workers and 13 bus drivers.
“We did have a ribbon-cutting ceremony after we were in and established and invited the mayor and superintendent, assistant superintendent, central office members, board members and more,” Sims said.
Jennifer Quakenbush, a previous PTO member and mother of three daughters who have all attended Forest Oaks, was sending her oldest daughter, Tabitha, to kindergarten during the first year the school opened. She said it has been the best experience for all three of her kids.
“Our teachers and principals have been nothing short of amazing,” Quakenbush said. “Dr. (Reisa) Brooks made it her mission to personally greet every single classroom every single morning. She seemed to know so many details about all of the students and would make you feel like she was a family friend with how personable and genuine she was with not only the kids, but the parents too. Mrs. Sims has been a fantastic asset to this school, always greeting everyone with the biggest smile and working so well with the PTO, which I was lucky enough to serve on for a couple of the years that my kids have been there.”
The Big Snow
After just three weeks in the new building, the “Snowmageddon” storm on Jan. 28, 2014 hit. What started as a dusting of snow quickly turned into much more and many students were not able to make it home. Sims said it was quite an adventure, with many children and staff stuck at the school and having to stay overnight.
“A lot of them were kindergartners who never spent the night away from mom and were scared and didn't understand,” Sims said.
Brooks decided to turn it into a night of fun for the over 100 students along with the majority of the teachers and staff who couldn’t make it home and instead spent the night at “Camp Forest Oaks.” They enjoyed a dinner of chicken fingers, corn, broccoli and chocolate pudding thanks to the CNP workers.
The overnight extravaganza featured a disco party, a birthday celebration for two teachers, and the children read books and put together puzzles in the library, played games in the gym. The staff kept things fun with a mannequin fashion show and a dance party and the students enjoyed popcorn and a movie before hearing bedtime stories.
Brooks said night was one of her most cherished memories during her time at FOES. She shared that after the students who stayed the night returned to school, they would ask when the next visit to Camp Forest Oaks would take place.
Changes over the years
Brooks and Sims were a principal team from 2011-2014 at Chelsea Intermediate and then at Forest Oaks from 2014-17. In 2017, Brooks took a human resources position at the Shelby County Schools central office and Sasha Baker took over as principal for two years. In the 2019-20 school year, the year of the pandemic, Sims took over as principal and Carlyn Duncan became assistant principal.
Those kindergartners who were in the first class at FOES are now 10th graders.
At a recent Shelby County Board of Education meeting, Sims and Brooks brought a cake made by Forest Oaks parent Alexandra Lewis as a thank you to celebrate the anniversary. Many things from the school’s first year were represented on the cake, including mailboxes with packing tape in them, the FOES creed that was developed by Brooks that students still recite every morning, the initial letter from Fuller, room assignments, photos from the ribbon cutting and Snowmageddon and more.
“The last ten years have really gone by fast,” Lewis Brooks said. “It is a wonderful school and I am proud of Dr. Resia Brooks and principal Stevi Sims. Both ladies' impact on the success of the school is remarkable.”
Sims said it’s been fun and interesting to watch the school grow and watch the dynamics shift and change for the better of their students.
“It's an experience not many get to have, and I feel very blessed to still be here and be a part of it,” she said.