The Chambers County School District is pleased to announce the hiring of Mr. Troy Kelley as the new Rams principal at Valley High School. Mr. Kelley will be making the move from his current role as Principal at Inspire Academy in LaFayette. Mr. Kelley will succeed Mr. Montray Thompson who had served as the VHS principal since 2021. Mr. Kelley has been serving high school students from both attendance zones in the district as the career technical principal since the start of the 2023-24 academic year.
Mr. Kelley is excited about this new challenge of being named as, the next principal at Valley High School. He is committed to building a culture of trust and teamwork with the staff to focus on student achievement. He plans to make a difference with all students whether they plan to pursue a career in the workforce, further their education in college or enter the military. His vision is fortoto develop into developing greater academic success for all of the students at Valley High School which would be comparable to the outstanding athletic accomplishments the school has experienced this year.
Chambers County Superintendent, Dr. Casey Chambley was happy to be able to recommend Mr. Troy Kelley as the next principal at Valley High School. Dr. Chambley submitted Kelley’s nomination to the board for approval at the Monday, May 20th meeting of the Chambers County School District’s board members. Chambley continued noting that “Troy Kelley’s work ethic and commitment to making a difference with student achievement was most evident during the interview process.” Dr. Chambley added that five finalists were pulled from the applicant pool and the committee’s recommendation for Mr. Kelley was unanimous.
Mr. Kelley will begin transitioning to his new role as the Valley High School principal next week while balancing his remaining duties as principal for Inspire Academy. Next year will mark Troy Kelley’s 34th year working in the field of education. Before his role as Principal at Inspire Academy, Kelley taught English at Long Cane Middle School in Troup County as well as serving as an English teacher at Arnold Magnet School in Muscogee County. From 2020-21, Mr. Kelley served as the Director of Adult Education at Southern Union Community College in Opelika. He relocated with his family to Chambers County after retiring as an educator in Tennessee in 2018 to serve as the Director of Academics at Springwood School until 2020.
During his 27-plus years as a Tennessee educator, Kelley served as a teacher, coach, assistant principal, middle school principal, high school assistant principal,, district widistrict-widede district-wide K-12 instructional coach with the Sevier County School System in Sevierville, TN. Kelley and his wife, Karen relocated to Chambers County, Alabama building their home on family land in Fredonia in 2018. They have two children, Jonah who is employed with Thalmus, and Kyndall who will be a rising junior studying English and Journalism at Auburn University this fall.
Troy Kelley earned his Bachelor of Science in English from Carson Newman University in 1990. He later went on to earn his Masters in Teaching in 1995 from Carson Newman University. In 1997, he earned his Educational Specialist, ED. in Administration and Supervision from Lincoln Memorial University. He and his wife, Karen reside in Fredonia.
Mr. Kelley is excited to have this new opportunity to serve as principal for Valley High School serving the students and staff for Chambers County.
