Earon Eubanks Sheats has been named the principal of Hartselle Intermediate School. 

Sheats will be starting the new position toward the end of the month and will be coming from Austin Junior High, where she worked as the assistant principal. 

Superintendent Dr. Dee Dee Jones said Sheats was chosen from among 49 applicants for the position, and she is excited to have Sheats back in Hartselle City Schools. 

“We were looking for someone who had administrative experience,” Jones said. “Also I had asked the faculty what they were looking for in a leader, as well, and they said they were looking for someone who could be there for them.” 

Sheats has 17 years of experience in education and said she is excited to be part of Hartselle Intermediate. “I am super excited to begin this new chapter and look forward to meeting all the parents and stakeholders in Hartselle Intermediate,” Sheats said, “and to continue the great things we have going on but also to start some new traditions.

Jones said Sheats will bring passion and enthusiasm to the school. 

“She has much to offer – her enthusiasm and love and passion for students, and then she’s been on the cutting edge on a lot of the new technology and curriculum,” Jones said. “I think she will continue to help us align and do vertical planning from the elementary schools to the intermediate up to the junior high and onto the high school.”

Sheats said she was first inspired to enter the education field by one of her teachers, Pam Berry, at Hartselle Junior High. 

“She just inspired me with the way that she taught. She helped learning come easy to me, and I wanted to be like her,” Sheats said. “We would sit down and calculate how many years it would take until I could graduate and come back with my four-year degree so I could come back and teach in her place by the time that she retired. That was always a small dream on the inside, and little did I know that I would have an opportunity to teach math, so that was truly a dream come true.”

After being encouraged to pursue a path in administration, Sheats completed her master’s degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She said becoming an administrator has offered some new opportunities to impact students and teachers alike. 

“I have influence over my 130 students, but then in administration you also have the opportunity to grow teachers and many students and make things great for everyone on a campus,” Sheats said. 

Sheats said Hartselle Intermediate School already has great things happening on campus, and that she is excited to build on the strong foundation. 

“My number one goal is to build relationships with the students and teachers. I am real big about calling people by their first name and getting to know people and leading, especially relational leading. I think that is the key with any organization, and most definitely in education. I believe in student engagement and seeing the student actively engaged in what they are learning day in and day out. I like to see their energy and their passions come to fruition inside and outside of the classroom. That’s my main goal is to build relationships and help them. I know that we have a lot of things going on in our school, and I look forward to continue to develop students and develop people,” Sheats said.