Alex Ethridge
With 28 years of service in public education, Homewood City Schools Director of Instruction Patrick Chappell announced his plans for retirement this spring.
Chappell has dedicated his career to the students in Homewood by helping to foster a strong vision for Homewood’s leadership in curriculum and instruction.
“This decision is truly bittersweet for me," he said. "I have spent 27 of my 28 years in public education working for Homewood Schools, and I have loved every minute of it."
In 1994, Chappell came to Homewood as a middle school teacher, and later he was hired as Homewood High School’s assistant principal for instruction. In 2005, Chappell was promoted as a district level administrator of instruction. He has been an administrator in Homewood Schools for 21 years.
Throughout his career in Homewood, Chappell has helped develop and facilitate many instructional programs that allowed HCS to excel in many areas. He has participated and led in all of the district’s strategic planning processes — five total — over 25 years. A participant in Homewood’s first administrative cohort program himself, he directed the other three Homewood-Samford partnerships that resulted in the leadership development of many of Homewood’s current school leaders.
Chappell also has helped to develop or improve upon creative structures, schedules and initiatives which served to enhance student learning. He assisted in creating and implementing Homewood’s instructional learning targets, its elementary standards-based grading process, academic teacher-teaming at the secondary level and embedded professional learning for Homewood teachers. He has overseen the successful growth of Homewood High School’s Advanced Placement program over the last two decades. For the last 16 years, Chappell has directed professional learning for teachers and administrators, led new teacher induction and support, facilitated all accreditation and state monitoring processes and served as the district's liaison to the Homewood Schools Foundation.
This spring, Chappell will be joining Publisher’s Warehouse as a Customer Development Analyst.
“I rest easy at night looking to the future of Homewood Schools, as I care deeply about this community," he said. "Our schools are full of bright, young leaders investing in this community and in ‘the Homewood way’ just as I did as a young teacher and administrator.”
Chappell said he believes that Homewood will continue doing what HCS does best. “HCS will continue to build and evolve from the best of our past by always looking to the future. I will always be an ambassador for Homewood Schools and one of Homewood’s biggest cheerleaders,” he said.
HCS Superintendent Dr. Justin Hefner said Chappell has been a person he admired for many years. “He’s an outstanding school leader and even better person. We will miss him dearly but know our district is academically moving in a positive direction. Dr. Chappell’s collaborative leadership will continue to serve Homewood City Schools for years to come.”
Submitted by Merrick Wilson.
