Respect for Madison City Schools attracts Tess Halbrooks’ family to relocate from Dallas
MADISON – The student population of Madison City Schools will realize classroom benefits from Tess Halbrooks’ passion for education and her commitment to serve as an advocate for staff and students alike.
Halbrooks translated her willingness to support MCS students into a seat with Madison Board of Education in October.
As proof that the Halbrook family believes in the Madison district’s value, they moved to Madison specifically for their two sons to attend school here.
Tess, husband Chris and sons Luke and Benjamin moved to Madison in July 2020 after living for many years in the Dallas, Texas area. “My husband Chris grew up in Hartselle, and his family members are longtime Madison residents,” Tess said. “We knew of Madison’s high-caliber school district from his family and did our own research as well before moving.”
“We moved to Alabama to be close to family and chose the Madison city area so that our kids could attend school at MCS,” Tess Halbrooks said.
The Halbrooks’ sons enrolled in Madison City Schools in 2021. Tess Halbrooks has seen “the real impact the teachers, administration and MCS team members have had in their lives.”
A native of Houma, La., Halbrooks attended Tulane University in New Orleans where she received a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in accountancy. After graduation, she worked in public accounting for several years for the PricewaterhouseCoopers firm before accepting various corporate leadership roles in accounting and finance for large companies, such as Neiman Marcus, GameStop and Adtran.
After moving to Madison, Halbrooks has participated in Leadership Greater Huntsville as a graduate of the Focus-41 class and Flagship-36 class. She also served on Leadership Greater Huntsville’s Board of Directors.
“The power of education is transformative. I have spent many hours volunteering at Heritage and have seen firsthand the energy and dedication each MCS team member pours into the students,” Halbrooks said.
Since her older son entered kindergarten, Halbrooks has worked as a parent volunteer with Heritage Elementary School PTA by serving with the PTA Room Mom program and by assisting with various other schoolwide events. She does not view this time as drudgery. “Volunteering in our school is one of the biggest privileges of being a school parent. I love the connection it brings to their teachers and getting to see everything that goes into a school day. (This experience) has made me incredibly appreciative of everything our MCS staff does for our students,” Halbrooks said.
“I enjoy cheering for my sons as they both participate in local Madison sports programs. I enjoy hosting friends to our house and building community with those around us,” she said.
Her husband Chris serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer for Aetos Systems, a local, woman-owned small business. His duties include spearheading strategic expansion, identifying new market opportunities and leading the business development lifecycle to drive sustainable growth.
Currently, Tess works full time as Vice President and Controller of Litmos, a global learning and development software company.
“Tess Halbrooks’ leadership and dedication will be a great asset to our district,” MCS Manager of Public Relations John Peck said.
Madison City Council appoints members of Madison Board of Education to serve five-year terms without compensation. Terms are staggered, so only one board member’s term expires each year.
