CULLMAN – Joey Orr is a mother of three, a teacher with 13 years of experience in the classroom and she holds a master’s degree in school administration. She is the children’s minister at Grace Chapel. Additionally, she has lived throughout the world, growing up as the child of an Army officer, yet she and her husband handpicked Cullman as the best town in the country to raise their family.
Orr’s background reads like a solid, if not perfect, resume for the vacated position of Cullman City School Board, Place 1, a position that Kim Addison opted not to run for again.
Her ability to empathize and wear the hats of four different factions affected by the school board makes Orr a uniquely qualified candidate. She understands the roles of a parent, a teacher, a school administrator and a community member having experience in all of those areas.
With a vested interest in the city schools as a mom of children attending Cullman’s high school, middle school and an elementary school, Orr feels she can give the parents of Cullman’s students a more powerful voice on the school board. The Orr kids have been involved in many extracurricular activities including basketball, dance and drama just to name a few.
“I have a background in education. I taught school for 13 years, and when my husband and I moved back here, I taught kindergarten at Cullman City Primary School for five years. I loved what I was doing at the primary school, but God called me into ministry full time. It was a hard decision to make because I was leaving behind everything I knew. Plus, my mom was a teacher and my grandparents were teachers and teaching was our world, but I was being called to do something else. I’ve found, with children’s ministry, I’m very much still teaching but not in a traditional classroom. However, I do miss the aspect of being in the school. Schools are such a huge part of any community and are the lighthouse in our community. I miss being a part of that. The school board would provide me the opportunity to be a part of the schools and the shaping of the community kids’ education again.”
With the Orr children entering 10th, eighth and fifth grades, their mom has been involved in their education and extracurricular activities from day one, also coaching Upward League basketball. Her involvement in the Cullman community has been evident through her friendships, her family and her church life.
“I can help parents by providing a voice on the school board. I know some of the decisions coming up soon for the school board are decisions concerning overcrowding and they’ve talked about whether or not to move sixth grade. I’m going to be very interested in that because my child will be affected by that. I feel like I have an inside view on how parents will feel about that. Also, by being a teacher, I feel like I can be a voice for teachers as well. Many times, their opinions can be overlooked even though they are on the ground and our foot soldiers, so I feel like I can advocate for them as well since I understand where they are coming from with their viewpoints.”
Orr’s goals for the school board include updating school buildings where needed, staying on top of technological advancements to keep students exceeding state standards and celebrating the accomplishments of the district’s teachers and staff and providing them with the support they need. With addressing the overcrowding in the schools will come devising plans to make the traffic lines to and from school more workable.
Orr’s goal is to help set the vision for the school system and continue on the path to excellence while maintaining a safe, secure place for the children of Cullman to grow and learn.
For more information on Orr’s campaign, please visit http://qrne.ws/orr.
Orr will be facing Mary Hovater for Cullman City School Board, Place 1 in the municipal election on Aug. 23.
