Welcome to Van Middle School!

I am Shelby Davidson, Principal of Van Middle School. I have served as Principal at VMS for over 10 years now!  My wife, Amanda, teaches at Van Jr. High and we have three children. Cortland is a 2017 graduate of VHS and a 2021 graduate of Texas A&M University. He is the head tennis coach at Van High School. Carli (2019 VHS graduate) is a junior at Texas A&M and Casi (2021 VHS graduate) attends TJC. My wife and I both are graduates of VHS.

My education includes a BBA from The University of Texas at Austin, an MPPA from Baylor University, and an Ed.D. from Lamar University. I also earned a Certificate of School Management and Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Business School as well as an Advanced Certificate of Ministry from Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University. 

Our slogan at Van Middle School is “ VMS – a place where students are loved, accepted, respected, and INSPIRED." Our goal at Van Middle School is to create an atmosphere where students will truly be inspired to reach their full potential. I personally believe that each student has special gifts and talents, and our primary goal as a faculty and staff is to help identify, reveal, develop, and nurture these special gifts and talents.

Our theme at VMS is “No Excuses.” In holding students accountable, we believe that there are truly no excuses for student success. We encourage every student and staff member to wear their favorite college shirt each and every Wednesday throughout the year. Each classroom will “adopt a college” in keeping with this theme. As you walk through our halls and enter our building, you will notice our college theme throughout our campus. Our school is a member of the official “No Excuses University” network of schools. We believe that all students should be prepared for college (No Excuses).

We hope that you will always feel welcome to be a part of your child’s education at VMS. We invite you to visit our campus at your convenience. I feel honored to have both the awesome opportunity and great responsibility to work with outstanding students and teachers as principal at VMS.

The school calendar, student handbook, and student code of conduct can be found at www.vanisd.org. We are excited to have your child at Van Middle School for the 2021-22 school year. If I can ever be of help to you or your child, please do not hesitate to contact me.

AA  – Tyler Junior College
BBA – The University of Texas at Austin
MPPA – Baylor University
Ed.D. – Lamar University
Principal Leadership Institute - Harvard Graduate School of Education