Cahaba Heights comes together to celebrate 100 years of community school

January 26, 2025

11:27 PM

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Photo courtesy of Vestavia Hills

The Cahaba Heights community gathered on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of Cahaba Heights' elementary school, now called Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights.

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Current and former students, teachers, staff members and parents from Cahaba Heights gathered at Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights Friday for a 100^th anniversary celebration of the school.

The school, which was originally part of the Jefferson County school district, was believed for many years to have opened in the 1930s. However, recent research of newspaper archives by members of the Cahaba Heights community revealed that the school’s original facility opened on the site of the current campus in 1924.

Friday’s centennial celebration drew at least 100 visitors who came to remember and reflect on the school’s history, Principal Kim Polson said.

“It was just a very joyful event,” Polson said. “A lot of reunions, a lot of hugs, a lot of tears and a lot of stories.”

The school building itself has gone through a lot of changes over the years, but one thing that has remained is the tradition of support by parents and the community at large, Polson said. It was especially good to see the school’s history through the eyes of Jupie Lindley, a kindergarten teacher who has been at the school for 39 years, she said.

Visitor also heard from Terry Wright, a longtime community member who drives a school bus for the district.

A good portion of Friday’s celebration took place in the school's Upper Library, where alumni, former staff members and community members were invited to attend a reception featuring a Living History Museum.

The morning’s events also included guided tours of the campus and a time capsule ceremony in the school's butterfly garden. Polson, some faculty members and students wrote letters to put in a time capsule buried with the intention that it be opened 100 years from now to give future students some perspective on the school’s history and legacy. Another item placed in the time capsule was a rose used by first graders in a “turkey tango dance” they did for their Thanksgiving program this year, Polson said.

The principal thanked the school’s Parent Teacher Organization, which she said did most of the organizing and legwork for the celebration.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 3:26 p.m. on Jan. 27 with comments from Principal Kim Polson.