July 2025

The National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) has named Cindy Warner, APR, Public Relations and Community Education Supervisor for Shelby County Schools, the 2025 National School Communicator of the Year. Warner was recently honored during the NSPRA 2025 National Seminar held July 20-23 in Washington, D.C.

Presented in partnership with Finalsite, the award recognizes an outstanding school communication professional whose leadership, service, and strategic impact have strengthened school communities and elevated the profession. Specifically, nominees were judged in four areas: leadership, communication, professionalism, and community involvement.

“Cindy’s work shows what happens when communication is treated as mission-critical to public education,” said NSPRA Executive Director Barbara M. Hunter, APR. “She’s helped transform her district’s communications and inspired professionals across the country with her mentorship, leadership, and care.”

Warner, who has served as Public Relations and Community Education Supervisor for Shelby County Schools since 2002, was eligible for the national award after being named the state Communicator of the Year by the Alabama School Public Relations Association (ALSPRA). In April, Warner was named a top-four finalist along with state winners from Minnesota, California, and Texas.

During her acceptance speech, Warner credited her public school education with inspiring her love of the public relations field and desire to advocate for public schools.

"I am from a tiny little community called Dorsey, Mississippi, that is about 18 miles from Tupelo," Warner shared with the NSPRA Seminar attendees. "Dorsey Elementary School is where I learned to be a PR practitioner. It is where I discovered my love of reading, of writing, where I learned the importance of building relationships, and how to build consensus on the playground with my fellow school classmates."

Warner also shared that, despite not being a strong student in math, she was included in gifted education classes in elementary school. It was those classes that sparked her creativity.

Warner also honored her long-time mentor, the late Nez Calhoun, in a video that played during the awards ceremony. Calhoun, who worked for Jefferson County Schools for 42 years, was instrumental in Warner's success as a school communicator - a role she now emulates in her position as a mentor to others in the field.

"It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by my school PR colleagues as the national School Communicator of the Year," Warner said. "I owe my success to the many public school educators who invested in me and encouraged me to follow my dreams. I will strive to do my best to elevate public education during my year serving as School Communicator of the Year because I am a proud product of it."

Haley Franks will serve as the next Principal at Montevallo Elementary School. Mrs. Franks has 22 years of education experience working in various Shelby County Schools, including as a teacher at Shelby Elementary and Montevallo Elementary. She has served as Principal at Calera Intermediate since 2017. Previously, she served as Assistant Principal at Montevallo Elementary and Helena Intermediate.

Cynthia Monroe will serve as the next Principal of Wilsonville Elementary School. Mrs. Monroe is entering her 21st year in education and has served as Assistant Principal for Oak Mountain Elementary for the last four-and-a-half years. Before becoming an assistant principal, she was an instructional coach at Elvin Hill Elementary School and Calera Intermediate School. She also taught 5th-grade ELA at Calera Intermediate for three years and 4th grade at Chalkville Elementary School for eleven years. 

Jane Smith will serve as Principal of Calera Intermediate School. Mrs. Smith has been with Shelby County Schools for over fourteen years, holding various roles that include fifth-grade teacher at Wilsonville Elementary School, Math Coach at Calera Intermediate School, Shelby County Schools Instructional Coach, and most recently, Assistant Principal at Elvin Hill Elementary School.

Kristen Glover will serve as Assistant Principal of Oak Mountain Middle School. Mrs. Glover has over 14 years of experience in public education and most recently served as the assistant principal at Helena Middle School. She also has served as an elementary assistant principal, secondary instructional coach, and middle school teacher.

Rachael Shepherd will serve as Assistant Principal at Oak Mountain Middle School. Mrs. Shepherd is beginning her 10th year in education. Most recently, she was a Physical Education Teacher at Helena High School. Before moving to the Birmingham area, she served as both an Assistant Athletic Director and Physical Education Department Chair at York High School in Elmhurst, Illinois.

James Marshall will serve as Assistant Principal at Chelsea Middle School. Mr. Marshall has been an educator for over eighteen years and has been teaching 7th and 8th-grade social studies at Chelsea Middle since 2008.  He has coached several sports, including football, basketball, baseball, and cross country.

Reginald Middleton will serve as Assistant Principal of Calera Middle. Mr. Middleton has 18 years of experience in education. He began his career teaching History and Social Science in Gulfport, Mississippi, before moving into school administration. He previously served as Assistant Principal at Johnson Abernathy Graetz High School in Montgomery, where he was named Administrator of the Year in 2024 and 2025. 

Katherine Guzman will serve as Assistant Principal at Calera Middle School. Mrs. Guzman has 10 years of experience in education. Katherine began her career teaching Spanish 1, 2, 3, and AP Spanish Language and Culture at Calera High School in 2015. She has been involved in extracurriculars as a Head Varsity Coach for Bowling and Soccer as well as sponsored Spanish Club, Spanish Honor Society, and Scholar’s Bowl.

Brittany Brasher will serve as Assistant Principal of Elvin Hill Elementary School. She has 13 years of experience as an educator, serving first as a Special Education teacher. She has served for the past five years as a resource teacher and Assistant Principal at Calera Intermediate School.

Jan Hughey will serve as Assistant Principal at Oak Mountain Elementary School. A graduate of Shelby County Schools herself, Ms. Hughey brings 19 years of experience as a dedicated kindergarten teacher at Helena Elementary.

Candace Brown will serve as Assistant Principal at Helena Middle School. Mrs. Brown has taught science at several middle and high schools in the metro Birmingham area during her 17-year teaching career. She has taught Biology for the past six years at Hoover High School.

Oak Mountain Middle School history teacher Malinda Nichols was recently named the 2025 Alabama History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Nichols is a teacher known for turning her middle school classroom into a learning lab of inquiry, creativity, and civic thinking. Her students engage in debates, reenact history, learn to tell stories, and participate in meaningful projects that connect history to the present day. She weaves STEM, literacy, and civil discourse into her lessons to help students see themselves as active historians and citizens shaping our nation’s story. She enjoys sharing her favorite ideas on Instagram @HipsterHistoryWithMrsN to support and encourage fellow educators.

According to their website, the Gilder Lehrman Institute seeks out the finest history teachers in the United States each year to acknowledge the important work they do. Since 2004, they have recognized over 1,000 outstanding elementary, middle, and high school teachers nationally.

Each state convenes a committee of history teachers, professors, and other education professionals to review the nominated teachers in their state. Each state winner is awarded $1,000 and becomes a nominee in the national contest. The national panel of eminent historians, former winners, and master teachers selects one national winner for the $10,000 award.

Congratulations to the following school counseling programs recently named as Alabama School Counseling Programs of Distinction: Vincent Elementary, Shelby Elementary, Wilsonville Elementary, Chelsea Park Elementary, Forest Oaks Elementary, Helena Elementary, Inverness Elementary, Oak Mountain High, and Calera High. These school counseling teams participated in a year-long process where they documented effective communication and their commitment to implementing and delivering a comprehensive, outcome-based, data-driven school counseling program that aligns with state and national models.