Photo by Lexi Coon.
With over a century of collective teaching experience within her family, Vestavia East music teacher Deanna Bell earns Vestavia Elementary Teacher of the Year.
As a child, you think you know what you want to be when you grow up. You plan out your career based on your heroes and idols, which coincidentally, may also be family members. And that’s what the Vestavia Hills City Schools Elementary Teacher of the Year did.
“My family influenced and inspired me to become a teacher,” Deanna Bell said.
Of her family members, her grandmother, mother, father and two aunts all taught in public school in Alabama. Collectively, her family members have a total of more than 130 years of teaching experience, so it’s easy to see where she got the teaching gene.
“I knew I wanted to be a teacher when I was a child,” Bell said. “My mom was a first-grade teacher, and I used to pretend to teach in her classroom.”
Originally from Blounstville, Bell earned her degrees from the University of Alabama and Samford University before transitioning to the front of the classroom. Bell then spent the next 19 years as a public school music teacher in Virginia, Tennessee and Alabama for different abilities and grade levels.
“I have taught band, choir, musical theater and elementary music,” she said, noting that she also has taught in urban, rural and suburban areas.
Since she began teaching, society has evolved, and thanks to her dedication to education, so have her methods.
“I began my teaching career without a computer, textbooks or a curriculum,” Bell said. “Now, my students are creating music using the latest AudioCube MIDI technology.”
Bell has been teaching at Vestavia Hills Elementary East since fall of 2013, when she took over as the music and choir teacher for kindergarten through third grade. She admits that the younger classes are her favorite because of the noticeable growth that is seen in those four short years, and that her favorite topic to teach is the guitar unit.
“It begins with learning the parts of the guitar and ends with students composing a song,” Bell said. “My greatest reward comes from seeing the excitement on the faces of the children in music class.”
After noticing her dedication, Bell was rewarded by the Vestavia Hills City Schools system with a nomination for Elementary Teacher of the Year in May 2016 and later earned the official title in October.
“It was a surprise to me because I am surrounded by the greatest teachers I have ever known,” she said. “The teachers at East always go above and beyond to make sure our students have the best education possible.”
Even with 19 years of educating, Bell plans to continue her passion by sharing her knowledge, growing professionally and providing positive musical experiences.
“I am so honored by this recognition and lucky to be working in a district that supports music education for our students,” she said.
