Hoover council picks Shelley Shaw to serve on Hoover school board

The Hoover City Council on Monday night appointed Shelley Shaw, the former executive director for the Hoover City Schools Foundation, as the next member of the Hoover school board.

Shaw, who also is the wife of Mike Shaw (a former Hoover councilman and current state legislator), will replace Craig Kelley, who is ending his second five-year term on the school board. Shaw will begin her five-year term in June.

Shaw thanked the council for having confidence in her.

“I’m looking so forward to being able to work alongside this dynamic school board, to be working for our students and this great school district,” she said.

Hoover Councilman Steve McClinton, chairman of the council’s Education Committee, said all four of the candidates who applied to be on the school board this year, were fine candidates and made it a tough choice, “but obviously Mrs. Shaw had a pedigree that stood out.”

Shaw has had heavy involvement in the Hoover school district for many years. She served as president of the Rocky Ridge Elementary School PTO in the 2013-14 school year and later vice president of programs for the Berry Middle School PTO and president of the Hoover Parent Teacher Council, which is the umbrella organization for all PTO, PTA and PTSO groups in Hoover.

Additionally, Shaw served two  years on the Hoover City Schools Foundation board of directors before being asked to serve as executive director for the group, which she did for four years until this past December.

“She knows all the players, all the principals, and I believe she’ll be able to collapse the timeframe and have a faster learning curve than most people,” McClinton said.

Shaw agreed with that assessment but noted this will be a new role for her and she’s ready to work and learn.

“I understand it’s a very different role than I’ve been in,” she said. “It’s much different than a PTO role or even the executive director of the foundation. However, those experiences have prepped me.”

In her application for the school board, Shaw said the reason she applied is because she wants to help the Hoover school district achieve its mission of providing each student with opportunities to develop exemplary character and achieve personal excellence through a rigorous and relevant curriculum in a safe, caring atmosphere of teaching and learning. She believes great student achievement can happen with proper governance and collaborative teamwork, she said.

She believes some of the most critical issues facing the school district are planning for growth, retaining staff and teachers, staying strong in school safety and continued progress toward achieving unitary status in federal court, demonstrating fair treatment of all races of students.

Shaw, 51, has lived in Hoover 23 years and has been involved in numerous other community groups. She is the current president of Destination Hoover International, secretary for the Hoover Belles board and on the Community Service Committee for the Hoover Service Club. Shaw also was in the inaugural class of Leadership Hoover and served on the school superintendent’s advisory council from 2016 to 2019.

Other candidates who applied for the school board this year were Demoyne Bernard, Lara Patterson and Lauren Packer. Read more about them here.

McClinton thanked all four for applying, noting that it takes courage to put yourself out in the public eye for the interview process and offer yourself for public service.

“You don’t get paid a dime to it,” McClinton said. “It’s five years of all love and just great Facebook likes.”

Stay tuned to the Hoover Sun to learn more about Shaw in a future print edition.

See the full video from Monday night's Hoover City Council meeting on The Hoover Channel's YouTube page.