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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Katie Laney, a member of Spain Park’s Class of 2025, at Veterans Park.
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Photo courtesy of Becky Laney.
Katie, center, on her first day of kindergarten in 2012, with her older siblings Alex, left, and Sarah.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Katie Laney serves as the secretary for the Spain Park Ambassadors and is a Spanish Club officer.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
New grandstand and a press box are some of the new elements fans can look forward to at Chelsea High School this football season.
Katie Laney, 17, a rising senior at Spain Park High School, has never known a school system outside of Hoover City Schools. This year will be her last first day in the system before she goes off to college.
Like many rising seniors, Laney approaches the next step with the confidence of youth, eager to be leaving, but grateful for her time at Spain Park.
She has been an exceptionally successful student, with a grade point average north of 4.5, membership in the National Honor Society and a likely shot to be one of the school’s valedictorians.
But what Laney wants students walking into Spain Park for the first time to learn from her has nothing to do with grades, academic success or extracurricular activities that lead to the promise of a good university; it's the community of people that surrounds the school.
Photo courtesy of Becky Laney.
Katie, center, on her first day of kindergarten in 2012, with her older siblings Alex, left, and Sarah.
“I recommend most of all not only having good relationships with friends and peers but also the employees and teachers,” Laney said. “At the end of the day, a teacher is going to be the one to help you grow and learn.”
When the local schools return from summer break, there will be many students like Laney, while others are just starting their high school experience. For all of them, there will be a sense of familiarity with a hint of something new: new additions to the buildings, new teachers and new employees.
At Oak Mountain High School, just down the road from Spain Park, Principal Andrew Gunn is welcoming the addition of a new sports facility after the completion of the $8 million performing arts center.
“A lot of it is an increase in our participation rates,” Gunn said. “We just needed more space for our student-athletes.”
The facility, fashioned out of the old arts wing, will include an all-purpose athletics room and a secondary weight room primarily for girls’ sports, Gunn said.
The renovations are expected to be completed by spring 2025.
David Calhoun, assistant superintendent of operations at Shelby County Schools, said Oak Mountain High School will get a new batting cage for the softball team, as well. There will also be a renovation at Oak Mountain Middle School for a new band classroom and core classroom to accommodate the music program at the school.
“Close to 65-70% of kids there are involved in one or both of those music programs,” Calhoun said.
Chelsea Park Elementary School is getting eight new classrooms and a full-size gym. Chelsea Middle School will be getting a new track, Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer said.
Chelsea High School will also be getting a new softball cage, in addition to several other projects, including the expansion of the student parking lot behind the new home-side bleachers of the football field.
Calhoun said there will be an ongoing renovation and expansion of the front office at Chelsea High School, as well. A $1.6 million project, it will create a “more dedicated and pronounced” office, Calhoun said, with work taking nearly a year to complete.
The temporary office will be moved to the side of the main parking lot at the school.
“I expect that temporary office to be there for all, if not most, of the school year,” Calhoun said.
Overall, enjoy it while it lasts. Even though it’s hard to enjoy — it’s hard — the hard work pays off. Remember it’s preparing you for college, and the real world is really important.
Katie Laney
With many of the new projects, Calhoun said, Shelby County Schools has worked with partners at both the city and state levels to get funding. He noted the involvement of Indian Springs with Oak Mountain High School and the City of Chelsea with Chelsea High School to drive the projects forward.
Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
New grandstand and a press box are some of the new elements fans can look forward to at Chelsea High School this football season.
“They are so critical to some of these projects,” he said. “I can’t emphasize enough times how blessed, fortunate and appreciative we are to have the cities on the projects taking place.”
Calhoun remembers a time when the parents and the booster clubs had to raise money for new projects, but the cities and towns have “enabled things to happen a lot faster.”
At the state level, Calhoun said, they had taken advantage of a grant program from Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth’s office for school improvement. Working with the local legislative delegation, Shelby County Schools applied for 13 grants and received “some level” of funding on 11 of the grant requests.
“We are so very thankful for the willingness of the Shelby County delegation to get on board with these projects,” Calhoun said.
For students like Laney, the new year allows her to help new students coming into a new and changing environment.
Laney is excited to participate in the Spain Park High School Ambassador program, where she gives tours of the school to new students. She also participates in Camp Jag, a half-day orientation for new students.
“As a freshman, I know it can be intimidating to go into such a big school,” Laney said. “Camp Jag is a great opportunity to get to know it.”
And for Laney, going back to school means getting to be back with her friends and the teachers she loves. Laney has two favorite teachers among many at Spain Park, she said: Richard Stamper, who has taught her AP History, and Jill Wallace, who taught her AP Human Geography.
She hopes new students will build the kinds of relationships she has built during her time at Spain Park. Her recommendations for those students?
“Overall, enjoy it while it lasts,” she said. “Even though it’s hard to enjoy — it’s hard — the hard work pays off. Remember it’s preparing you for college, and the real world is really important.”
