Alabaster City Schools

Dr. Dorann Wilburn Tanner is the Chief Student Services Officer for Alabaster City Schools, where she has led the district to a 99% graduation rate and provides comprehensive student support services. Dr. Tanner has over twenty years of experience in education and social work. Dr. Tanner began her career as a social worker for the Department of Human Resources. After her time at DHR, Dr. Tanner accepted a position in education as a middle/high school counselor and 10th-grade Health teacher. She continued her career by becoming the first school social worker for Shelby County Schools. In 2013, Dr. Tanner became the first Student Services Coordinator for the newly formed Alabaster City Schools. Dr. Tanner is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She earned her BSW from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, her MSW from the University of Alabama, and her Ed. S degree from the University of West Alabama. She received her doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of the Cumberlands in 2020. Dr. Tanner received the Ronda Cotten Student Services Excellence Award from the Alabama Department of Education in 2016, the Sue Adams Student Services Leadership Award in 2017, and 2018, was named National School Social Worker of the Year by the School Social Work Association of America. In 2021, the Alabama School Public Relations Association named her the Alabama Communicator of the Year. In 2023, she received the School Safety Partnership Award from the Alabama Association of School Resource Officers. Dr. Tanner lives in Alabaster with her husband. Her two children attend Auburn University.