Deer Valley Assistant Principal Ami Weems named new principal at Bluff Park

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The Hoover school board this morning approved Deer Valley Elementary School Assistant Principal Ami Weems as the new principal for Bluff Park Elementary School.

Weems will replace Terry Lamar, who on Oct. 3 was promoted to the new position of director of equity and educational initiatives in the Hoover school system’s central office.

Weems said she was very excited and “beyond blessed” to be the new principal at Bluff Park. She said she will begin splitting time between Deer Valley and Bluff Park on Monday, Oct. 29, and likely move full-time into the principal role around Nov. 7.

This is her 17th year in education, all of which has been at Deer Valley Elementary. She started there as a physical education teacher when Deer Valley opened in 2001 and served 11 years in that role. She earned a certificate in education leadership and administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2008 and was appointed assistant principal at Deer Valley in 2011 when Assistant Principal Scott Mitchell was named principal at Brock’s Gap Intermediate School.

Hoover schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy said there were some terrific candidates for the Bluff Park principal job, but Weems distinguished herself as the person who was best ready to lead Bluff Park Elementary.

“I’m particularly excited as I see our assistant principals preparing themselves for the next step,” Murphy said.

Weems has spent several years under the tutelage of Deer Valley Principal Wayne Richardson, and Richardson always makes sure his assistants get their hands in as much as possible, Murphy said. Weems has had a lot of opportunities to lead in her school, she said.

Richardson said he took a chance on Weems when he hired her as an assistant principal because she had no experience in an academic classroom or in administration, but he knew he could trust her. As it turned out, “it was easily one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

Weems has grown by leaps and bounds in her role as an assistant, he said. “I went from teaching her everything I knew to learning everything she knew, and by the end, I was taking notes,” he said. “Ami has been amazing.”

Weems is passionate about education, which is very powerful when combined with her ability to influence others, Richardson said. She has an ability to get faculty fired up about new initiatives, he said.

She’s also a learner and over the course of seven years has become an expert in how to help children learn, Richardson said.

She is an encourager who makes connections with people, whether it be staff, students or their families, and is always there for people who are experiencing tragedy, he said.

Because she lives in Bluff Park, she already has many connections with families in that community as well, Richardson said.

“We’ll miss her. The kids will grieve her, and we’ll grieve her, but I’m excited for Bluff Park,” he said. “She’s going to do a fantastic job over there. She’s not perfect, but she’s pretty close.”

Weems and her husband, Lance, grew up in Ashland in Clay County. She said she always looked forward to the day she could be in a bigger city and have access to something other than a Piggly Wiggly grocery store.

When she and her husband moved to Hoover in 2001, they settled in Bluff Park, where she said the people have a kind, compassionate spirit similar to the atmosphere where she grew up. And, ironically, she finds herself usually shopping at the Piggy Wiggly in Bluff Park.

Weems said she’s a firm believer that everyone has a purpose and that her purpose is helping children and helping others grow as leaders.

She obtained her bachelor’s degree in health promotion from Auburn University but wasn’t able to put that to much use where she and her husband first moved after college. She obtained her master’s degree in physical education from Troy University in 2000, and she got the job as a physical education teacher at Deer Valley the next year.

She quickly realized she had the characteristics needed to move into a leadership role, and Richardson served as a great mentor for her, she said.

“He is wonderful about shared leadership at Deer Valley. There is nothing that he has kept me from getting my hands in,” she said. “He has offered me so many opportunities that many times other assistant principals might not have.”

Weems described herself as organized, enthusiastic and innovative and said she looks forward to continuing the idea of shared leadership at Bluff Park.

“They are already a phenomenal school,” she said, but as educators, “you never stop learning and you never stop growing. I look forward to taking Bluff Park to that next level of greatness.”

Weems, 44, said she’s a very active person and enjoys Crossfit, kayaking, bowling, and cheering for her Auburn Tigers. She and her husband also now spend a lot of time traveling to watch their two daughters, Presley and Ava Hayes, run cross country at Auburn University and Mississippi State University, respectively.

This article was updated at 1:44 p.m. with comments from Weems.