Leslie Sedberry sees her move from assistant principal to principal of Athens Middle School as a chance to continue serving a community she already knows, with relationships built among students, staff and families.

“Stepping into the principal role allows me to build on that work and continue serving a school community I care deeply about.” Sedberry described that commitment in written answers to The ALEdTribune.

The district's leadership directory lists her as principal. Her earlier assistant principal role also appears in an archived school course catalog, documenting the continuity behind the change in position.

Alabama's most recent published enrollment report records 935 students at Athens Middle in 2025-26, last school year. The figure describes the school before this principal transition. Sedberry's plans now center on students feeling welcomed, supported and challenged, with staff working together to meet their needs.

A familiar community, a new role

Sedberry said serving as assistant principal gave her opportunities to build strong relationships across the school community. Those connections are central to why she wanted to take on the principal's responsibilities.

Her professional background includes National Board certification, recorded in the Athens City^↗ET Board of Education's teacher recognitions. In her answers, she connects leadership with teaching and learning, describing the principalship as an opportunity to carry forward work with a staff and community she values.

“I want families to notice a school where every student feels welcomed, supported, and challenged to grow each day.” Her description brings a positive school environment together with academic expectations. She hopes families will see strong classrooms, positive relationships and staff committed to helping children succeed.

The emphasis is on how students experience the school, as well as the work adults do together. Sedberry's answers return to collaboration, support among colleagues and the importance of keeping students' needs at the center of school systems.

“I also hope they see strong classrooms, positive relationships, and a staff that is committed to helping every child succeed.” Her answer puts the adults in the building alongside the classroom experience. She wants families to see a common commitment to their children, with positive relationships supporting the expectations she describes for students.

A larger middle-grade school

Alabama publishes school enrollment in two reports that count differently, so this profile reads each one on its own terms.

The state's Report Card counts, which run through 2024-25, show a school that grew once those records began covering sixth grade. Athens Middle reported 817 students in 2018-19, the first year those records cover sixth through eighth grade, and 937 in 2024-25. That is 120 more students, or 14.7%. Before 2018-19 the records cover only seventh and eighth grade, so the chart keeps those years on a separate line.

The rise was not continuous. The Report Card total peaked at 970 in 2021-22, and 2024-25 sat 33 students below that high.

The fall attendance report, the source for the 2025-26 figure, is the one to use for last year's change. On that basis Athens Middle counted 935 students in 2024-25 and 935 again in 2025-26, so enrollment held level in the year before the principal transition.

Asked what growth asks of staff, Sedberry emphasized their ability to work together around students' needs. “Growth asks our staff to remain flexible, collaborative, and focused on meeting the needs of every student.” She also described strengthening school systems, supporting colleagues and maintaining a positive learning environment.

Supporting students across the grades

Last school year's grade counts were close in size: 311 sixth graders, 309 seventh graders and 315 eighth graders. Those counts reconcile exactly to the published school total of 935.

Sedberry's emphasis on collaboration has a practical context in the school's posted curriculum guide. It describes a Problem-Solving Team involving teachers, administrators, counselors and other participants as needed. The group discusses students' needs and ways to assist teachers, including instructional approaches, interventions and behavioral support.

The same guide describes core coursework in English, mathematics, science and social studies, alongside elective choices. It also identifies PowerSchool as a way for parents and students to access grades. These descriptions put classroom instruction, individual support and family access to information within the broader school setting Sedberry discusses.

Athens Middle within the district

Athens Middle accounted for 16.4% of Athens City's published district enrollment of 5,688 in 2025-26. It was the district's second-largest school by the individually published school totals. The district count includes 160 pre-K students at other schools, while Athens Middle's published total reports none, so the share is a guide to scale rather than a like-for-like comparison.

Those figures show the scale of the community Sedberry is leading. Her own answers focus on the experience within that community: classrooms where children are challenged, relationships that support them and adults who remain flexible as they work together.

For families, her stated goal is a school where welcome and support accompany learning. For staff, it is collaboration and support for one another. Sedberry's principalship builds on existing relationships, with a commitment to continuing the work of a school community she says she cares deeply about.

Detailed code that reproduces the analysis and figures in this article is available exclusively to EdTribune subscribers.