Denny brings a teaching and technology background to Thorsby-Clanton Advertiser

By Kerry Reeder | Staff Secretary

The search for a new assistant principal at Thoresby High School has ended as Darren Denny stepped into the role after his third nine-week term ended in March. Denny, who taught at Helena High School before coming to Thoresby, brings experience in middle and high school education.

Denny grew up in Blount County and holds an Educational Specialist degree in Instructional Technology from the University of Montevallo. While in Montevallo, Denny visited an elementary school in Shelby County and worked with younger students at a local middle school.

Because Thoresby is a K-12 school, the diverse educational levels make Denny’s experience well suited for the job.

“When it came, it was a perfect fit,” Denny said. “I really prayed about it, and I thought if I was supposed to be in this place, God would do it.

Denny said his biggest uncertainty when he left Helena was leaving the kids behind and one-on-one in the classroom. Now, there are a lot of kids who don’t get as much one-on-one time as an assistant principal.

As a K-12 school, Denny’s approach to balancing all students is increasingly unique to each generation of students.

“The kids here are fantastic,” Denny said. “Within a week I had kids walking down the hallway saying hello, and it’s great. Sometimes you don’t find that in other areas.

In addition to his elementary education experience with college and recent high school teaching experience, Denny taught at an alternative school in Autauga County for three years prior to Helena. It also benefits from the disciplinary side of teaching.

“The way I see it, it’s like football,” Denny said. “If you know the rules, you can play the game. I try to make sure you know the rules so you don’t get into any trouble.”

Denny’s hire will take some things off the plate of Thoresby principal Holly Mattson, who took over for Corey Clements. After Clements left, Mattson was left without an assistant. She said Denny is more high school minded in his approach, and her being more elementary school minded is a perfect mix in a K-12 school like Thorsby.

“It was great, and he was a huge help,” Mattson said. “He has a lot of leadership skills that I think will be a great asset to our school, and he’s going to bring a lot to our team and he’s a perfect fit so far.”

Matson said it’s special to bring in someone from outside the immediate community because you don’t know how he’ll fit in and his work ethic. However, Mattson said you would never know if Denny came from outside of Chilton County.

Denny said she hopes future fundraisers, ways to help with student parking and other small improvements will allow them to make the rest of this school year and next year. Denny hopes to have more input on the curriculum next year. Thorsby has started collecting data and creating folders on Google Drive for history teachers to use. The content is divided into weeks and units throughout the year and it is up to the teacher if they choose to use it.

“This is not something you should use,” Denny said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, if you want some more digital stuff, here it is.’ Ultimately I’ll be about the curriculum, so I love doing anything like that.

With such a history of technology, Denny’s has a unique way of framing the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. The silver lining that Denny finds in the pandemic is the advancement of technology in everyone’s lives. That growth has created a wide range of opportunities in technology for students entering the workforce or college after graduating from Thoresby.

“It was horrible, and we lost a lot of good people. But, if there’s a bright spot, it’s Alabama’s early jump in tech,” Denny said. “People who were hesitant to go into tech, they were forced (by the pandemic), and I think it helped because there’s no work out there that doesn’t have anything to do with digital.”

Just a few weeks into his new job, Denny said he’s seen how close Thorsby families are and how close-knit the community is. A facet of the community he likes to see.

“It’s a lot of fun, and I love a challenge. It’s just for the kids to know that what they can do is in their head, and don’t listen to anyone who says you can’t do it,” Denny said. “The teachers, the staff were great, and I have nothing bad to say (about Thoresby).”