Longtime educators reflect on time at Vestavia

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As the school year came to a close in May, so did the careers of several longtime Vestavia Hills educators, including an assistant principal and leaders in their academic field. While retirement wasn’t an easy decision for any of them, they all reflected fondly on their time spent serving Vestavia Hills City Schools.

Ashley Corona

After graduating from Vestavia Hills High School in 1988, Ashley Corona didn’t stay away for very long. She returned in 1994 to teach English, inspired by Vestavia’s teachers who instilled a love for the subject in her, including Dale Quin and Lane Chappell.

“I felt so honored to get to come back to Vestavia Hills,” Corona said.

Many of the teachers Corona learned from were still teaching when she joined the staff, she said. Over her 25 years at the high school, Corona said she witnessed a “huge” change in faculty, with a lot of turnover. 

While the teachers have changed over the years, Corona said the quality of a Vestavia Hills education remains the same. What hasn’t stayed the same, she said, is the use and prevalence of technology in the classroom, including cell phones.

“Kids have access to a lot of information now, whereas back in the old days they really had to dig for research,” Corona said. “Unfortunately, kids have a lot of distractions, too.”

In addition to teaching English, Corona has also dedicated time to leading the yearbook staff and Rebel Girls. The relationships she’s formed throughout the years with her fellow teachers and with the students will remain with her for the rest of her life, she said.

“It’s all about the people,” Corona said.

From conversations in the hall to teachers dressing up as literary characters to engage students, Corona said she’s thankful for “so many good” memories.

The longtime English teacher isn’t leaving Vestavia and will watch her daughter graduate from VHHS next year. She can’t imagine being anywhere else.

“This school has been my life since I walked in the doors at age 14,” Corona said. “... It’s not [been] like a job. I enjoy every day coming here.”

There’s a reason teachers tend to retire from Vestavia, Corona said. It is the “top of the ladder” professionally because of its academic programs and the “unique” bond between the staff, students and community, she said.

“Vestavia is my family,” Corona said. “... Some of my best memories for my life were under this roof, from the friendships I’ve made from custodians to department heads.”

“I guess that’s why people stay around here so long,” Corona said. “It’s a special place.”

Charles Bruce

In 2001, Ann Jones left Shelby County schools and came to serve VHHS as its new principal. With her came Charles Bruce, a 1974 graduate of Vestavia and successful wrestler and wrestling coach.

For the past 19 years, Bruce has served the school as an assistant principal, helping students who find themselves in trouble or in need of some guidance.

“The children here are absolutely wonderful,” Bruce said.

Bruce said he enjoyed coming to work every day at Vestavia.

“I could not have been blessed more than to be right here,” Bruce said.

From working with legendary coaches such as wrestling coach Steve Gaydosh, football coach Buddy Anderson and former baseball coach Sammy Dunn, to seeing students raise thousands of dollars for charity, Bruce said Vestavia is a special place.

“Every day is a good day at Vestavia Hills High School,” Bruce said. “That’s not just blowing smoke. That’s the truth. It’s an overwhelmingly positive environment.”

Although he handled discipline in his time at the school, Bruce said he learned that he can really make a difference.

“Kids are kids,” Bruce said. “I thought when I came here from a deeply impoverished school that somehow the kids here would be, as far as their needs, would be different, but they’re not. Our children here have more resources, but they still suffer from the same things that poor children do.”

As Bruce and other teachers set out to help each student, he said even those students who found themselves in his office said they knew their teachers cared about them and that graduation was possible for them. In disciplining students, he always tried to help a child have hope.

“To be able to help them regain hope is one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever done,” Bruce said. “... I don’t see them as bad. They’re not [bad]. They’re like clay … and how I deal with that clay determines the result.”

Bruce said he’s not retiring, only redirecting. After leaving the school, he plans to help out downtown with the Church of the Reconciler, where his son-in-law serves, as well as serving the elderly and shut-ins at his church.

No matter where he goes, Bruce said he plans to continue helping others like he helped students at VHHS.

“There are just so many opportunities out there to serve other people,” Bruce said.

Martina Norton

After teaching in Mountain Brook for a few years, Martina Norton joined the Vestavia Hills High School staff as a science teacher, specializing in physics, in 1985.

For 35 years, Norton taught various science classes at the school, and packed and moved her physics lab three times.

“Physics is so cool,” Norton said. “It’s a different way of thinking. You teach physics by doing physics.”

When she began teaching biology, Norton collaborated with other teachers, a practice that has continued over the years. Teachers now have an open-door policy that allows them to view and take notes on how other instructors lead their classes, something that helps them in the ever-changing world of education, Norton said.

“Today’s teenagers are quite a challenge,” Norton said.

When she graduated from LSU in 1979, Norton said she would’ve never imagined that learning would be computer-based. Now, they don’t even need wires as they have iPads in the classroom.

“Things have changed,” Norton said.

Still, the joys of teaching remain the same, Norton said. Over the years, she’s taught students who have gone on to become doctors and scientists, as well as more recent success stories like Walker Burroughs, who finished in the top eight of the most recent season of “American Idol.”

“I have met some of the most interesting people in my time here,” Norton said.

Vestavia, Norton said, always places an emphasis on the “high road,” on doing things the right way. It has also, she said, emphasized academic success and challenging students, with advanced placement classes now being offered to sophomores.

While she still loves the students and her work, Norton said it’s time to step away and spend time with her new grandchildren. She’s confident that new physics teacher Roger Bittinger will do a great job, she said.

More than anything else in retirement, Norton said she’ll miss spending her free period and her lunch connecting and collaborating with other teachers. Those lunches spent with other faculty members were like eating lunch with Einstein, she said.

“I’ll miss that,” Norton said.

Other Retirees

Other teachers stepping away from Vestavia Hills City Schools at the end of the 2018-2019 school year include: Carol Williams, Ginger Reddock and Nancy Portera, all three of whom taught at Vestavia Hills Elementary Liberty Park, Jana Herrin, kindergarten teacher at Vestavia Hills Elementary — East, Steve Faber, who taught at Pizitz and Jane-Marie Marlin, assistant superintendent. Paraeducators David Blackmon [Pizitz] and Cheryl Duncan [VHELP], as well as Catherine Beaudrie, gifted education teacher at VHELP, also retired. Bus driver Robert Walden and Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights custodian Belfort Green also retired.

Vestavia Hills Elementary Central Principal Marian Humphries also retired after more than 20 years at the school, which also closed at the end of the school year.