Hoover High, Bluff Park educators named Hoover's 2021-22 Teachers of Year
Hoover school system leaders today surprised two teachers at Hoover High School and Bluff Park Elementary School with Teacher of the Year awards.
Paul McEwan, a biology teacher at Hoover High, was named the district’s 2021-22 Secondary Teacher of the Year, and Geri Evans, who teaches science, technology, engineering, arts and math at Bluff Park Elementary, was named the Elementary Teacher of the Year.
McEwan also was Hoover’s Secondary Teacher of the Year in the 2016-17 school year and went on to be named the 2017-18 Alabama Secondary Teacher of the Year and alternate for the overall 2017-18 Alabama Teacher of the Year award.
He is in his 38th year of teaching and 16th year at Hoover High, where he teaches ninth graders and International Baccalaureate students. Earlier this year, he was named Alabama’s Outstanding Biology Teacher for 2021 by the National Association of Biology Teachers.
McEwan has a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry and a master’s degree in instructional technology, both from Asbury University.
Evans is in her 25th year of teaching and has been with Hoover City Schools for 20 years. She has been at Bluff Park Elementary 17 years and is in her sixth year as the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) teacher there.
She was named an Alabama finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in 2020 and was the Hoover school district’s elementary school nominee for the Jacksonville State University Teacher Hall of Fame in the 2017-18 school year.
Evans has a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Minnesota State University and a master's degree in technology education from Lesley University.
McEwan and Evans were chosen from among the Teachers of the Year at each school in the Hoover district. Here is the complete list of Teachers of the Year from each school:
ELEMENTARY/INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLS:
- Bluff Park Elem. — Geri Evans
- Brock's Gap Intermediate — Lisa Sparkman
- Deer Valley Elem. — Samantha Thrasher
- Green Valley Elem. — Melissa Wilcox
- Greystone Elem. — Anna Tow
- Gwin Elem. — Kelley Feagin
- Riverchase Elem. — Courtney Beam
- Rocky Ridge Elem. — Jennifer Manley
- Shades Mountain Elem. — Elizabeth Lochamy
- South Shades Crest Elem. — Karen Pirkle
- Trace Crossings Elem. — Celeste Burton
MIDDLE SCHOOLS:
- Bumpus — Jasmine Jenkins
- Berry — Tory Hixon
- Simmons — Sarah Cox
HIGH SCHOOLS:
- Hoover — Paul McEwan
- Spain Park — Joy Gonzalez
- RC3 — Andy Poker
Read more about McEwan and Evans in a future print edition of the Hoover Sun.