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Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
New Green Valley Elementary Principal Amy Gregory, right, dicusses scheduling with her new assistant principal Shonteria Culpepper.
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Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
New Green Valley Elementary Principal Amy Gregory poses at the entrance of the school.
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Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Students arriving at Green Valley Elementary for the new school year Aug. 9 will find a new principal waiting to greet them.
Amy Gregory, who in May was appointed to take the helm at Green Valley, plugged into her new job and school community over the summer and said she’s excited about her new role.
“I am so pleased at how welcoming everyone has been in such a short amount of time,” she said.
Gregory, 40, has been in education for 18 years, the last five as assistant principal at Gwin Elementary, just about two miles away.
She started her education career as a first-grade teacher at Pinson Elementary in Jefferson County and then taught kindergarten and first grade for five years in Kentucky. When her family moved back to Alabama, she taught four years in the third and fifth grades at Deer Valley Elementary and then spent a year as the reading coach at Bluff Park Elementary before moving to Gwin.
Leaving Gwin is bittersweet because of the close connections she developed with students and positive relationships with faculty and staff, she said. However, “this is a new chapter, and I think this will be challenging and fun.”
Gwin and Green Valley, being so close together, already collaborate on a lot of things, so it should be a smooth transition, Gregory said.
She already got to meet some students at a community social at Star Lake in June and was planning some Popsicles with the Principal gatherings as well.
Putting students first
Gregory said she wants Green Valley students to know that she is going to put them first.
“I care about a lot of things, but in this job, you really have to put them first,” she said. “I want them to know I care, that this is a safe place and it’s going to be a place to have fun.”
She also wants parents to know that the teachers and staff at Green Valley will treat their students as if they are their own children. It will be a safe environment for them, and all the adults will be watching out for them, she said.
As for the faculty, Gregory wants them to know she views them as professionals and will support them the best she can.
“I want to lead with them, and I want to learn with them,” she said. “I want to be in the trenches with them, working alongside them.”
Even though it’s summer and she didn’t officially begin her new job until July, she already has met many of the teachers. Green Valley teachers were involved with the committee that conducted interviews for the principal job, and since getting the job, Gregory met with an insight team that shared with her some of the expectations that faculty at Green Valley have of a principal, she said.
“I think they are looking for someone who will listen, and I think they were pleased to find someone who is passionate about curriculum and instruction,” she said.
Gregory said she already has met with the instructional coaches at Green Valley to talk about professional development growth opportunities for teachers.
When she was at Gwin, she helped lead problem-solving teams that met monthly to review student achievement data to make sure students are moving forward and help them improve in areas where they fell short, she said.
She has not yet had much time to review student achievement data at Green Valley but will be digging into that data with teachers to see where students are and what resources can be provided to help students grow and progress, she said.
Moving from Gwin
Eighty-one people applied for the Green Valley principal job, but only 49 of those met the criteria for the position, said Mary Veal, the human resources director for the Hoover school system. Six candidates were interviewed (three from inside the school system and three from outside), Veal said.
There were a lot of really good applicants, but “Amy just simply rose to the top,” Superintendent Kathy Murphy said. “We’re really excited about Amy Gregory and her leadership at Green Valley.”
Gregory has done very well as an assistant principal at Gwin and had the privilege of working with Gwin Principal Kimberly White, Murphy said. “Dr. White is a great leader,” Murphy said. “She’s had an opportunity to learn from one of the best.”
White allowed Gregory to be exposed to every aspect of school leadership, from classroom management, to school discipline, curriculum and instruction, Murphy said.
Gregory is replacing Jeff Singer, who has moved to become an assistant principal with split duties under Deer Valley Elementary Principal Wayne Richardson and Brock’s Gap Intermediate Principal Scott Mitchell.
Murphy said she was not unhappy with Singer’s performance, but he was ready for a change. He also will be brainstorming with Murphy about ways the Hoover school district can better assist at-risk students, which is something he cares deeply about, she said.
“Some of our children come with some big, fat challenges — real struggles and difficult backgrounds,” Murphy said. “What are we doing for them? How are we helping them?”
As for Gregory, Murphy said her goals for Gregory are the same as for any principal — to make sure students have a safe learning environment, to love, care and nurture children, to do everything possible to make sure every child makes at least a year’s worth of academic progress over the school year, and to continue to improve the culture and climate at their school.
Some schools are more challenged than others with the latter task, but that’s always a big thing, Murphy said.
HEART FOR CHILDREN
White, who oversaw Gregory the past five years at Gwin, said she is very happy for her.
“She has a true heart for children and is just very prepared to take on the leadership role of being the principal at Green Valley,” White said. “She’s great at building relationships with teachers and students and faculty.”
Gregory understands the importance of creating a positive culture, putting students first and making sure students are learning and growing, White said. She also has a strong knowledge about curriculum, White said.
It also helps that Gwin and Green Valley are in the same feeder zone for Simmons Middle School, so she already understands the culture of the community in that area and what will be expected of children when they move on to Simmons, White said.
Gregory said she has had some wonderful mentors over the years, including White, Richardson and Mitchell. She has witnessed their different management styles and taken all of that together to help her create a management style that works for her, she said.
Gregory said she always knew she wanted to be a teacher and still to this day considers herself a teacher, even as a principal. She loves working in an elementary school because there is so much developmental difference between a kindergarten student and a fifth-grader, she said.
“I get to see the kids grow,” she said. “That’s just really special.”
Other new faces
Gregory is not the only new administrator at Green Valley. The school’s assistant principal from last year, Dana Depew-Junkin, is moving to Riverchase Elementary this year. She is being replaced by Shonteria Culpepper, who was the math coach at Bluff Park Elementary last year. Green Valley also has a new registrar, Cindy Fortenberry, who is replacing LaTonya Jones.
Gregory has a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in elementary education, a master’s degree in instructional leadership and an educational specialist degree in instructional leadership, all from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
She and her husband have a 12-year-old son who is entering his seventh-grade year at Simmons. They live in the Southwood Highlands community in Hoover.
The biggest challenge for her, she said, is creating balance between her home life and new job.
“I want to keep myself in check, taking care of myself and family but also doing what it takes to be successful as an instructional leader,” she said. “I am honored to be given the opportunity to work at Green Valley.”
Hoover City Schools administrator changes
► Gwin Elementary Assistant Principal Amy Gregory was promoted to principal at Green Valley Elementary, replacing Jeff Singer.
► Green Valley Elementary Principal Jeff Singer is now assistant principal at Deer Valley Elementary and Brock’s Gap Intermediate and advising Superintendent Kathy Murphy on support for at-risk students. He is replacing Jamie Smith.
► Green Valley Elementary Assistant Principal Dana Depew-Junkin is now assistant principal at Riverchase Elementary, replacing April Bucki.
► Bluff Park Elementary math coach Shonteria Culpepper is now assistant principal at Green Valley Elementary, replacing Dana Depew-Junkin.
► Michelle Brakefield, formerly a teacher at Meadow View Elementary in Alabaster, is now assistant principal at Gwin Elementary, replacing Amy Gregory.
► Shades Mountain Elementary math coach Aqila Malpass is now assistant principal at Rocky Ridge Elementary, replacing Alicia Peters.
► Simmons Middle School Assistant Principal Tonya Rozell has left the school system. Her replacement had not yet been selected as of the Hoover Sun’s press deadline.
► Riverchase Elementary Assistant Principal April Bucki is now a second-grade teacher at Deer Valley Elementary, replacing Kristi Weeks.
SOURCE: Hoover City Schools
