Elizabeth Fleming

TESTIMONIAL

Elizabeth Fleming

Director of Public Development
Huntsville City Schools
elizabeth.fleming@hsv-k12.org

Elizabeth Fleming is a Huntsville native and mother of school-aged children. She serves as Director of Public Development for Huntsville City Schools, and will speak about public education in our community (on behalf of all three of our public school systems in Madison County.)

Q: Where do you live?

I live in an older neighborhood filled with mature trees and wildlife, very close to Huntsville Hospital and Downtown, with a 10-minute commute to work in North Huntsville.

Q: Where are you from and how did you get to the Redstone region?

I’m a true Huntsvillian, which is rare. I was born and raised here and when I graduated from Huntsville High School, my parents drew a 500 mile radius around our house and told me to get out of it. I spent 8 years in Massachusetts, Tennessee and Birmingham, AL before returning home. My mom was an Army brat and my dad was from Philadelphia. When they moved to Huntsville from Charlotte NC, they thought it would only be for two years. My parents fell in love with the community in the 80s and never left.

Q: If you raised/are raising kids, please share about their education experience:

We have two children, Foster age 14 and Sarah Laughlin age 10. Foster just wrapped up his 8^th grade year at Huntsville Junior High School and is headed to my alma mater Huntsville High this fall. Sarah Laughlin is starting the 5^th grade at Monte Sano Elementary.  They both started in the public school system in Pre-K at Monte Sano and I feel they are very well prepared. Our elementary school earned a 100 on the state report card for the last two years.  The PTA involvement is incredible and the school is nestled on Monte Sano, a mountain, making “school always cooler on the mountain”.  Huntsville Junior High pushed Foster to expand his friend network and most importantly gave him the opportunity to begin choosing his classes. He took advantage of foreign language and extra STEM courses. We just broke ground on a new school for the Huntsville middle school feeder and I am excited to see the advances that will be made at the new campus – let’s just say his school still looks smells like it did when I was there, with new murals!

I began working for Huntsville City Schools five years ago. I am not sure my kids love or loathe that fact, but they do see the passion from an inside perspective of the district team doing all we can to support 24K students in our city. Yes, they attend academic, athletic, arts and district events outside of their own school!

 

Q: What is an ideal weekend for you?

That is a loaded question right now because our weekends revolve around our two kids and their activities. Our oldest is starting to focus in on just one sport. He is a golfer like his daddy and is able to compete in a number of tournaments including the US Kids, Alabama Junior Golf Organization, and the Alabama Golf Association.

Our youngest is still playing as many of the recreation league sports as we will allow, but her passion is horseback riding. She rides at the farm where I learned to ride and competes in the hunter jumpers. We have an active Alabama Hunter Jumper Association and will also travel for A Rated shows across the southeast.  

Maybe that is the point, we can do all the above and find ways to enjoy weekends at home and no travel. You will often find us picking out dinner spots while walking through downtown – they still indulge me and feed the fish and ducks at Big Spring Park. The kids love to sneak out to Mid City and from there, the options are endless, with activities such as climbing, shopping, and live music. It’s pretty cool with all the options, it’s just a challenge to sometimes all agree.  When I need my retail therapy, I go to Five Points where my favorite independent book store, The Snail, is next to my new hobby needlepoint store, Sister Stiches and next to that is a Toy Store with several independent boutique stores mixed in.

Q: What is one thing you would like Space Command personnel to know about the region?

My whole life Huntsville has been a melting pot. I remember friends moving here during a BRAC and now witness the growth day to day. If you are looking for small-town charm, you will find it. If you are looking for a vibrant downtown, we now have it. If you are looking for green pastures or mountain trails, we have those too. In many ways, Huntsville is a chameleon — a community that adapts to the people who call it home.