Juli Feltham, a rock at Shades Mountain, to retire after 20 years

For 20 years, Shades Mountain Elementary School has known only one principal, but Juli Feltham has finally reached the point where she’s ready to hand over the school keys to someone else.

At the end of July, Feltham is retiring from the Hoover school system, ending a 38-year career in public schools.

Feltham said the Shades Mountain community has become like a family to her, but her mother is 80, her father-in-law is 93, and she recently gained a grandson. “My personal family needs me,” she said. “I’m feeling pulled to be with them right now.”

Feltham began her career teaching special education at McAdory Elementary School. She spent 3 ½ years there before moving to Hewitt-Trussville Elementary to work with handicapped children.

When Hoover opened its school system in 1988, she moved to Green Valley Elementary in the same type of job. She transferred to Trace Crossings Elementary when it opened in 1993, to work in instructional support, and then was named an assistant principal at South Shades Crest Elementary after it opened two years later. After several years there, she was promoted to principal at Shades Mountain, which is Hoover’s smallest school and has had about 325 students in recent years.

“This little school. It’s just a beautiful place,” Feltham said. “This is a community that really takes care of its children and takes care of its school as well.”

Feltham said her tenure at most schools was only three or four years, so staying at Shades Mountain for 20 years was unusual. Of the 16 principals in Hoover schools right now, she is the longest serving.

Shades Mountain is much smaller than some of the other schools where she served, she said. When she was at Trace Crossings, there were about 1,300 children there, she said. Similarly, Hewitt-Trussville Elementary had more than 1,000 students when she was there.

The small size at Shades Mountain is probably one of the things that kept her there so long, she said.

“You do know all of the children. You get to know the families,” she said. “This is a place where people come back to raise theirfamilies.

“This year, there was a mom who came to me and said, ‘Mrs. Feltham, I can’t believe you’re still here,’” she said. “That may have planted a seed that it may be time [to retire].”

The Shades Mountain community also is very diverse, Feltham said.  While there are several traditional Christian churches in the vicinity, there also is a Beth Hallel Messianic Jewish congregation across the street and the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center not far away. Families who attend those worship centers are a part of Shades Mountain Elementary, she said. “It’s a very unique dynamic here.”

Some of the children come from lower-income families where parents work multiple jobs so they can afford to live in the Hoover school district, she said. Regardless of their status, when they walk in the door at Shades Mountain, “we want them to all see and know we see their talents and strengths,” Feltham said. “They’re our children. We are a family, and that’s how we operate.”

Moving from larger schools to a small school also meant some adjustments. Feltham said her first year as principal, she drew up an elaborate plan for student dismissal to make sure all the children got on the right buses. The faculty patiently listened to the entire presentation, and then one teacher spoke up and reminded her they only have one bus at Shades Mountain.

If she could go back and do something differently, it would be to listen better and make things easier for her teachers, she said.

One of her biggest challenges came in the 2008-09 school year, when Shades Mountain vacated its school premises and met at the former Berry High School campus for a year while Shades Mountain was completely renovated.

Most people don’t realize the school was built around 1960, she said. It needed some major renovations to be brought up to current codes and have its electrical system upgraded so it could handle all the new technology devices, she said.

Surviving superintendent changes and the economic downturn about 10 years ago also were challenges, but Feltham said she always tried to take those challenges and turn them into opportunities. “We’ll take what comes our way and do the best we can,” she said.

Hoover Superintendent Kathy Murphy said Feltham has an absolute passion for what she does and has served the Hoover school district well. She loves children and has earned the respect of her colleagues, parents and the kids, Murphy said. “She’s certainly put in lots of years.”

Valerie Salinas, who has spent almost two years as president of the Shades Mountain PTO, said the families at the school are going to miss Feltham.

“She is so much a part of that school to us,” Salinas said. “She’s been wonderful. She knows everybody in that school — not just the kids. My husband came to work at the school in the summer after our first year there. She knew his name. She knew whose student was his. She makes it her business to know and care about what’s going on with her students and their families.”

Feltham cares deeply about making sure every child gets a good education and understands that each child has individual needs, Salinas said.

“She’s just been a very dedicated leader at the school,” Salinas said. “We’re all very sad she’s leaving, but I’m glad she gets to enjoy her retirement.”

Feltham said she may not fully retire. She might look at other opportunities to provide online learning experiences for children.

This past school year was wonderful and ended on a memorable note, Feltham said. During the fifth grade commencement ceremony, a baby reached over and pulled the fire alarm.

Feltham said she is spending this summer getting the school ready for the next school year and will be helping with the transition to a new principal.

“It’s a wonderful school. It’s a wonderful opportunity,” she said. “I pray my successor loves it and enjoys it just as much as I have.”