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Riverchase Elementary School first grade teacher Courtney Beam smiles after being named the faculty winner of the 2025 Hoover City Schools Finley Award for outstanding character among all faculty in the system on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
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Riverchase Elementary School first grade teacher Courtney Beam poses for a photo with her class after being named the faculty winner of the 2025 Hoover City Schools Finley Award for outstanding character among all faculty in the system on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
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Riverchase Elementary School first grade teacher Courtney Beam smiles at her students after being named the faculty winner of the 2025 Hoover City Schools Finley Award for outstanding character among all faculty in the system on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
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Riverchase Elementary School first grade teacher Courtney Beam poses for a photo with her teaching team after being named the faculty winner of the 2025 Hoover City Schools Finley Award for outstanding character among all faculty in the system on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
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Riverchase Elementary School first grade teacher Courtney Beam poses for a photo with her family after being named the faculty winner of the 2025 Hoover City Schools Finley Award for outstanding character among all faculty in the system on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
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Riverchase Elementary School first grade teacher Courtney Beam poses for a photo with husband, Jason, after being named the faculty winner of the 2025 Hoover City Schools Finley Award for outstanding character among all faculty in the system on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
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Hoover schools Superintendent Kevin Maddox congratulates Riverchase Elementary first grade teacher Courtney Beam for being named the faculty winner of the 2025 Hoover City Schools Finley Award for outstanding character among all faculty in the system on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
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Riverchase Elementary School first grade teacher Courtney Beam poses for a photo with her husband, Jason, and son, Micah, after being named the faculty winner of the 2025 Hoover City Schools Finley Award for outstanding character among all faculty in the system on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
Hoover school officials and the Finley Committee on Wednesday surprised a Riverchase Elementary School first grade teacher with the news she has been chosen as the winner of the 2025 Hoover City Schools Finley Award for outstanding character from among all school system faculty.
The committee chose Courtney Beam to receive the award because she exemplifies so many of the characters traits that the late Berry High School coach Bob Finley demonstrated, including being humble and considerate of others, quiet leadership, honesty, high standards, a strong work ethic, commitment and an encouraging spirit and genuine concern for others.
Laura Brooks, a Riverchase parent who served as a room mom in Beam’s classroom two years ago, said in a nomination letter that she knew her family had landed a gem of a human being as her son’s teacher from the first time they met her.
“The way she loves her students, encourages them and supports them is truly a gift,” Brooks wrote. “She has a servant heart and is willing to step up in any situation to help those in need, all while having a smile on her face.”
The values Beam taught Brooks’ son have carried with him the past couple of years, Brooks wrote.
“Mrs. Beam expects her class to conduct themselves with respect, integrity and self-control,” Brooks wrote. “She teaches them to believe in themselves and take accountability for their actions, which is huge for these little minds she is shaping.”
Beam encourages her students with a gentle smile, kind heart and warm, inviting personality, Brooks wrote.
“She expects a high level of output from her students, and it helps them believe they are capable of far more than they imagined,” Brooks wrote.
Kendall Nichelson, another parent who nominated Beam for the Finley Award, wrote that Beam is one of the most genuine people.
Riverchase Elementary School first grade teacher Courtney Beam poses for a photo with her class after being named the faculty winner of the 2025 Hoover City Schools Finley Award for outstanding character among all faculty in the system on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
“She is understanding, compassionate, humble and so loving to her students,” Nichelson wrote. There is not a day that goes by that her students do not feel loved, welcomed, accepted and encouraged by her.”
Beam uses an incentive program in her classroom to promote positive decision making, behaviors and habits that allow students to learn and be rewarded for good work.
Melissa Carden, another former room mom who observed Beam during weekly visits to her classroom, wrote in a letter that Beam has a way of making people feel at ease.
“My son’s bond with her seemed instantaneous,” Carden wrote. “What is remarkable about this is that I would assert that every child in her classroom felt the same strong connection with her … When a child enters her classroom, Courtney wholeheartedly takes that child under her wing. She made it very clear from the time that we met her that, while educating our children was of extreme importance, making them feel loved and safe in her classroom was the ultimate goal.”
Carden also noted that Beam comes to work with a smile on her face despite having endured many hardships in her life. Beam and her husband, Jason, lost their oldest son, Tucker, to leukemia in 2009 and then lost their 17-year-old daughter, Lily, to leukemia this past December.
Additionally, Beam herself has battled thyroid cancer, breast cancer, brain cancer, eye cancer and now is battling cancer again for a fifth time.
Riverchase Elementary School first grade teacher Courtney Beam poses for a photo with her husband, Jason, and son, Micah, after being named the faculty winner of the 2025 Hoover City Schools Finley Award for outstanding character among all faculty in the system on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
Riverchase Elementary Principal Taylar Posey said Beam is a one-of-a-kind person and a one-of-a-kind teacher.
“For the short time I’ve been principal here at Riverchase, she has gone above and beyond,” Posey said. “She has been through more things in her life than most people should ever have to endure, and she still comes to work with a smile, ready to learn. Her faith is unimaginable. She’s probably one of the greatest and most special people I’ve met, so I’m not surprised in any way she got this honor.”
When Beam’s name was announced as the winner of the Finley Award in front of the entire student body in an assembly, the children roared loudly in appreciation and celebration, and Beam received the news with humility.
“What an honor,” she said after the announcement. “Coach Finley was such a great example of the character traits you would hope to have, and to receive it is amazing,” Beam said. “I’m just overwhelmed and grateful.”
Beam will be honored formally at a Finley Awards ceremony on March 20 at the Finley Center at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex. The Finley Committee each year also selects one senior from each of Hoover’s two high schools to receive the top Finley Award along with the faculty winner. Those winners are to be announced soon.
