Steele JR High Facts
Steele Elementary School is part of the Saint Clair County Board of Education, and the Ashville school feeder pattern. Students who graduate from Steele in 6th grade matriculate on to Ashville Middle School. The school is located in Steele, Alabama, nestled in the shadow of the Chandler Mountain Plateau. This plateau is six miles wide and sits at 1,500 feet above sea level. This feature not only affects the school geographically but also demographically. Chandler Mountain's flat top is conducive to growing crops, specifically tomatoes. From spring to early fall it plays host to a large population of migrant farmers. Consequently, at the beginning of the school year, Steele Elementary has a higher enrollment. Once the migrant families move on to other destinations, the school population drops to its average size of just over 150 students.
Steele Junior High School has an experienced faculty of 8 classroom teachers, 1 counselor, 1 librarian, 1 physical education teacher, and 1 special education teacher. All teachers are highly qualified in their grade level or subject areas and many hold advanced degrees. The principal, David Beegle, has been serving as Steele's administrator since 2022.
Steele Elementary students have many educational and extracurricular opportunities. Students in 4th through 6th grade have the chance to participate in the Peer Helpers program. Fourth through sixth grade students take technology classes that cover topics such as keyboarding, internet safety, and computer coding. All students in Kindergarten through sixth grade take art classes weekly.
St Clair County is one of Alabama's fastest growing counties, and Steele Elementary continues to grow in student population as well. The future looks very bright for the Steele Raiders!
Steele Elementary History
Education has been a part of the Steele, Alabama community since its founding in the 1850s. Steele's first school was a one room log structure, heated by a log fireplace. There was another school located in the Baptist Church, also built of logs. As Steele's population grew so did the number of school houses. Aside from the school, located in Steele proper, there were others erected in various locations in the surrounding area. These were Union, Deerman's Chapel, and Rock Hill. In the early twentieth century an all girls' college was created named Valley Grove. It was at this site later in that century that all the surrounding schools would eventually be consolidated into one school.
That school would become known as Steele Junior High School and later, Steele Elementary School. This school is therefore woven into the very fabric of the Steele Community.
