Hoover school board hires Homewood assistant superintendent as next leader

The Hoover Board of Education this morning voted unanimously to hire Kevin Maddox, the assistant superintendent for Homewood City Schools, as the next superintendent for Hoover City Schools.

Maddox has 29 years in education, 20 as an administrator. He has served as Homewood’s assistant superintendent since 2012. Prior to that, he served five years as a principal at the middle or high school level in Homewood, four years as a principal in Talladega County Schools, two years as an assistant principal in Talladega County and eight years as a teacher.

At Hoover, Maddox will replace Dee Fowler, who is retiring for a second time after spending a little more than two years as Hoover’s superintendent. His appointment is subject to working out contract details, including compensation, benefits and the length of his term.

Maddox was selected from among seven candidates who completed applications for the Hoover superintendent job, said Carl Johnson, an attorney for the Hoover school board.

Other candidates included:

• Chris Robbins, chief learning officer for Hoover City Schools
• Matthew Smith, chief performance officer and interim chief schools officer for Atlanta Public Schools (and a Hoover resident)
• Adam Pugh, former superintendent for Lafayette County School District and Pontotoc City School District in Mississippi
• Vivian Malone, principal of Popp’s Ferry Elementary School in the Biloxi Public School District in Biloxi, Mississippi
• Daniel Gallagher, former superintendent for Bound Brook Board of Education in Bound Brook, New Jersey
• John Barge, former superintendent for the Georgia Department of Education and McIntosh County School District in Georgia

Kermit Kendrick, president of the Hoover school board, said the board went through a thorough and multi-dimensional effort to identify potential candidates to “build on the tradition of excellence that is synonymous with Hoover City Schools.” The board did everything it could to ensure that qualified people representing every sector of the community were considered for the position, Kendrick said.

“Our vetting process has been both exhaustive and effective in identifying a number of exceptionally well-qualified career educators who could serve ably in this position,” Kendrick said. “Our task today is not simply to select a well-qualified leader, but one whose educational philosophy and experience and temperament will further elevate the already high standards of educational achievement that has been the hallmark of Hoover City Schools and who would work tirelessly to ensure that all Hoover students have an opportunity to reap the rewards of our continued progress.”

Kendrick said the board took its task very seriously.

“We feel like Dr. Maddox was a great fit for Hoover at this time and the right person to build on the accomplishments of Dr. Fowler,” Kendrick said.

Kendrick said board members met with candidates individually and sometimes in pairs.

Board member Amy Tosney said she met with multiple candidates more than two times and met with Maddox three times, asking him every question she could possibly ask.“Being a former teacher, I dug deep,” Tosney said. “I wanted to know how he would be with teachers, how he would be with students and how he would be in the community. I think this is a great move for Hoover. I like the fact that he’s relational. I’m very relational, and I know a lot of teachers are.”

The fact that he has experience in Homewood also is good because the Homewood school system is very similar to the Hoover system in a lot of ways and the two systems often compete for teachers and staff, Tosney said.

Board member Alan Paquette said he liked the approach the board took with its search. Three of the board members who went through the previous search after former Superintendent Kathy Murphy left learned from that process and led the way this time, he said.

Instead of announcing finalists and conducting interviews publicly, this board chose to do use its attorney’s office to vet candidates and then conducted interviews privately.

“We left no stone unturned,” Paquette said. “We interviewed multiple candidates that I still to this day could tell you would do a great job if we appointed them this morning. [But] all five of us independently came to the exact same conclusion as to who we thought should lead our school system.”

Fowler said he is not on a first-name basis with Maddox but knows him to some degree and knows of his work. “I have great confidence in the board,” Fowler said. “I think they made a wise choice. … I look forward to working with Dr. Maddox in the transition.”

Fowler said that, once a contract is finalized and Maddox begins, he will step down as superintendent and work in a consultant role until Oct. 1.

Efforts to reach Maddox for comment so far have been unsuccessful.

However, in his application, Maddox wrote that Hoover City Schools, much like Homewood, is a multi-faceted organization with a tradition of sustained excellence.

“Our districts are very similar in terms of academic expectations, extra-curricular successes and community support,” Maddox wrote. “Because of my diverse experiences working in a similar high-performing school district, I feel uniquely qualified and prepared to take on this challenge.”

Maddox said during his time as assistant superintendent, he has been charged with managing important aspects of the school district, including human resources, finances and facilities.

“I am extremely proud of our efforts to renovate and expand our schools over the past five years in response to student growth,” he wrote. “I am also proud of our legacy in recruiting and retaining large numbers of very talented staff members.”

Maddox said he believes an effective leader must remain humble, positive trustworthy and approachable and said he maintains an open-door policy where people feel safe and comfortable talking about difficult issues.

“I support a collaborative leadership model where stakeholders are strategically involved in the decision-making process,” he wrote. “As a result, cultivating relationships is essential for creating a climate of trust, self-reflection, innovation and improvement. I am committed to developing meaningful relationships with my colleagues in Hoover City Schools.”

DEPARTING WORDS ABOUT FOWLER

Kendrick, in his remarks to a room full mostly of principals, central office staff and two Hoover City Council members, took time to thank Fowler for his work, noting that he took the helm at a critical time.

“Dr. Fowler’s positive contributions to the system have been anything but limited in their scope and impact,” Kendrick said. “With the support of an extraordinarily dedicated and capable instructional, support and administrative staff, Dr. Fowler led us through an unprecedented health crisis, implemented needed internal structural reform, advanced the system’s program of capital improvements, and raised the system’s already lofty academic and extracurricular profile, all while maintaining a strong financial, business and operational foundation to support the district’s educational mission.”

Kendrick said Fowler’s most enduring legacy may be his self-effacing leadership style that placed a premium on teamwork and the collegial approach to problem solving and that unhesitatingly spotlighted the contributions of others rather than his own in achieving the goals of the district.