‘I’m in my dream job’: New Simmons Middle School principal is no stranger to the community

When the principal position at Simmons Middle School came open in May, following the decision by Brian Cain to retire, 99 people applied for the job.

Hoover schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy said there were a lot of qualified applicants, but one name rose to the top: Kevin Erwin.

Erwin is no stranger to Simmons Middle School, having been at the school for 20 years. He started in 1999 as an eighth-grade social studies teacher and football, basketball and track coach. In 2012, Cain hired him as an assistant principal, and when Cain had to take medical leave in January, Erwin was asked to step in as acting principal.

Murphy said Erwin proved his ability to lead the school during those five months and certainly has served the district well before that. He also brings many important values to the table, she said.

“Mr. Erwin is a person that walks with integrity and has a strong belief system as it relates to children and who they are and how we welcome them,” Murphy said. “I see a real commitment in him to embrace all of our children each and every day.”

He knows the importance of teaching and learning and certainly knows Simmons well, she said. “There will not be a significant learning curve.”

Also, Murphy said she received numerous emails from faculty and parents supporting Erwin for the job.

Erwin said he couldn’t have asked for a better script. He lives just five minutes from Simmons and is working at a school where his wife and five children attended. “I’m in my dream job,” he said.

While Hoover is a big city, he feels like he is part of a very intimate community. He said he loves seeing students and parents at the store and even loves when a mother stops him while he is working in his yard to talk about her child’s science grade.

He previously taught four people who now work at the school, he said. “That builds community, and it makes you really want to be part of something that’s bigger than you.”

He doesn’t mind getting up in the middle of the night when a false alarm goes off at Simmons or helping out with painting or pine straw with the Hoover City Dad Brigade back-to-school cleanup because it’s his school and he takes ownership of it, he said.

Erwin, 55, didn’t start out as an educator. After graduating from Banks High School in Birmingham in 1982, he worked as a youth and children’s pastor at several churches. While at Cathedral of the Cross, he was asked to help teach and coach at Cathedral Christian School and liked having a class of kids every day, he said.

His pastor encouraged him to become a teacher, so he got his bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1999.

Former Simmons Principal Carol Barber hired him to teach and coach at Simmons that same year. He later went on to earn a master’s degree in education leadership and gave up coaching when he became an assistant principal.

Erwin said it was tough for the faculty and students to see Cain struggle with his health during the first semester of last year, and when Cain took medical leave, everyone pulled together and “brought their A game” to make sure the school kept functioning well. That was a testament to their love for Cain, he said.

Charles Butler, an administrator with a lot of experience, came out of retirement for a semester to fill Erwin’s assistant role and provide guidance.

“I think it went much smoother than I anticipated,” Erwin said.

Erwin said he never felt nervous about it and could feel the support from faculty and students alike. He plans to continue the relational and family-oriented leadership style he learned from Barber and Cain, he said.

Erwin has spent the summer preparing for the new year, interviewing and hiring a new assistant principal and seven teachers.

The school is expecting to add 70 to 80 students this year, in addition to the 250 additional students and 30 additional faculty added last year due to rezoning, Erwin said. 

That brings enrollment to more than 1,100 students. 

The continued growth meant the school had to add four new eighth-grade teachers to form a fourth eighth-grade team this year. It also required moving some things around to create the needed space and some restructuring of schedules to make sure kids had better opportunities to participate in electives, Erwin said. They don’t want to have to tell students there is no room for them in the band or a Spanish class, he said. 

Teachers were flexible and willing to do things differently, he said.

Erwin said one new thing he plans to do is create a student leadership committee to give students more of a voice in decision-making at the school. The school also this year will begin using curriculum from a character development program offered through Samford University and facilitated by Cain.

Erwin said he also wants to continue helping new faculty adjust to the culture and climate at Simmons and continue tweaking the school’s safety plan.

He’s thrilled to be able to serve at Simmons, he said. “This just has really been a special place for me.”