Belski named new principal at Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge

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The Vestavia Hills Board of Education on Monday approved Lorie Belski as the new permanent principal for Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge.

Belski follows in the shoes of Ty Arendall, who took a job as director of operations and services in the school system’s central office at the end of last month.

Belski has been in education 20 years and was in her 10th year as an assistant principal for Vestavia Hills City Schools before being named acting principal at Dolly Ridge three weeks ago. In the Vestavia system, she worked four years as a teacher at Vestavia Hills Elementary Central and then four years as an assistant principal at Central before that school closed. She helped open Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge in 2019 and has been an assistant principal there until this point.

“She’s got a lot of good years of experience in the elementary world,” Superintendent Todd Freeman said. “She is a dynamic leader. She’s a hard worker. I would classify her as a servant leader — really pours herself into doing everything she can to make avenues for students to be successful and teachers to be successful. From a visibility perspective, you’ll find her all about the school. You’ll find her in classrooms. You’ll find her at events — very much invested in the DNA of Dolly Ridge. She was there from the start.”

Belski, who lives in Liberty Park, said she’s very excited to continue to serve the families at Dolly Ridge. “I’ve grown to love those families and the students and the faculty, and I’m excited about this opportunity,” she said.

Belski has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama, a master’s degree in early childhood and elementary education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a master’s degree in educational leadership from UAB.

Jennifer Bailey, who has been the school system’s director of student services since 2019, is transferring to become the new assistant principal at Dolly Ridge. Bailey, who is working on a doctorate degree, has done a great job in student support and is a strong, capable and experienced administrator and should make a good partner with Belski, Freeman said. She will begin in that role officially on Jan. 1, he said.

TY ARENDALL

Arendall had been Dolly Ridge’s principal since it opened in 2019. Prior to that, he served as principal at Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park for seven years and principal at Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights for two years. He started in the Vestavia Hills system as an assistant principal at Cahaba Heights for one year before being named principal there. He has a total of 26 years of teaching and administrative experience in the Vestavia Hills, Shelby County and Homewood school systems.

Earlier this year in April, two parents complained to the Vestavia Hills school board about Arendall’s involvement in an incident involving a Dolly Ridge student with a disability in February of last year.

Emma Grace Johnson, a first grader at the time, has a disability that sometimes causes her to run away, according to her father, Brandon Johnson. The girl was having a crisis moment one day and bolted out the door of her classroom only to be grabbed by a teacher in the hallway, he said. She pulled the teacher’s hair as other staff members tried to get her to let go.

Later, Arendall showed security camera footage of the incident to other staff members as they laughed, made fun of her and copied the video footage on their cell phones, later to be shared on social media in the community, Johnson said.

Johnson said he and his wife found out about the video being circulated in the community and confronted school officials about it. The superintendent had someone investigate the incident, but the investigator determined there was no wrongdoing and no discipline was given out, Johnson said. Instead, Arendall had his contract extended for three more years.

The Johnsons said they filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

“We’re just looking for some justice and peace for our daughter and that she’s in a safe environment and not being ridiculed because of a disability that she has and the fact she was having a crisis moment,” Brandon Johnson said then.

Freeman in April said he couldn’t comment about a particular incident or faculty member due to student privacy and employee confidentiality matters but said the Vestavia Hills school district seeks to provide every child the opportunity to learn without limits.

“This system has always had a history and legacy of trying to do our very best for students,” Freeman said. “We’re not perfect, and when we have opportunities to improve, we embrace those. That is for every single child in our district.”

Laura Johnson said in April that the actions of school system leaders didn’t support their words. The leaders chose to protect themselves instead of doing what’s best for children, she said.

“My one little Rebel with a disability will not be forgotten because we will not stop fighting for children of this district to be treated with decency, dignity and respect,” she said.

Katie Thrasher, another parent of two nonverbal students at Dolly Ridge, in April said the school system has an incredible history of success in working for students with disabilities, but she had become increasingly concerned the culture and environment at Dolly Ridge.

The lack of any action by the school district in this incident was disturbing, Thrasher said.

“Your silence is loud. It is a resounding and deafening acceptance of this type of behavior, not just towards children with disabilities, but toward all children who attend Dolly Ridge and its sister schools,” Thrasher told the board in April. “We are completely dependent on the moral fiber of the people holding our children every day. … They deserve a safe, accepting space that they’re promised — a space with empathy, discipline, grit and excellence. We are beyond heartbroken. Our worst fears for our boys have become reality, and we have worked too hard to allow them to be exposed to a culture and environment where they are not valued, respected or cared for. They deserve better.”

On Monday night, Freeman said Arendall would be filling a role at the central office that had been left vacant since the departure of former Assistant Superintendent Patrick Martin, who oversaw operations and facility needs. When Martin left to become Trussville’s superintendent, Vestavia Hills school officials opted not to fill that role as a cost-saving measure.

But this year, the district is undertaking some facility improvement projects and needs some oversight in that area, Freeman said. The job was advertised, and Arendall applied. Arendall’s salary dropped from $126,222 to $122,248 with this move, but there is potential for his salary to increase to $127,390 over time as he gains experience in the role, according to the school system’s salary schedule.

Freeman said Arendall should be a good fit for the job because of his experience with capital projects.

“He’s been at three schools, and during those times, there have been significant projects at all of those schools,” Freeman said. “As a principal, he’s had a lot of experience in that area, arguably probably the most of any principal we’ve got.”