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Hoover City Schools highlights Black History Month, Be Kind Week, GEMS expo, teacher awards and track state titles
Summary
District leaders recognized Black History Month classroom projects, announced Be Kind Week and Pink Shirt Day activities, reported GEMS expo participation and sponsors, honored two Presidential Award finalists and celebrated multiple Hoover High state track championships.
Hoover City Schools used its Jan. 14 board meeting to highlight student and staff achievements and to announce community events for February, including Black History Month classroom activities, Be Kind Week activities tied to Pink Shirt Day and an upcoming career fair.
Director of communications/administrator Merrick Wilson told the board that schools across the district are marking Black History Month with classroom research projects, student performances and guest speakers, and that several schools plan living history or “living museum” events later in the month. She singled out student projects that used repurposed bottles to present biographies of notable African Americans.
Catherine Stewart, Hoover City Schools mental‑health services specialist, briefed the board on Pink Shirt Day and the district’s Be Kind Week. Stewart described the origin of Pink Shirt Day (an anti‑bullying campaign that began in Canada in 2007) and said the district’s Be Kind Week will take place in late February. Stewart said the district’s service project is “stocking the counselor’s closet” by asking students to bring snacks to share. During the meeting staff mentioned two different specific pink‑shirt days (Feb. 25 and Feb. 26) in separate remarks; the district promoted wearing pink during the Be Kind Week activities.
Megan Neal Bluffhart, assistant principal, and a committee of volunteers summarized the 11th annual GEMS (girls in engineering, math and science) expo. The program drew 657 girls in grades K–8, 79 teams and approximately 15–20 high‑school volunteers; the district credited Hoover Foundation, Signature Homes and U.S. Steel as sponsors and said the event was provided free to participating students.
The board recognized outstanding educators and coaches. The district honored Ashley Dart of Gwen Elementary as a 2024 Presidential Award finalist in mathematics and Melody Green of Berry Middle School as a 2024 Presidential Award finalist in science; the board noted the Presidential Awards are the highest national honor for STEM teachers and are administered on behalf of the White House by the National Science Foundation.
Athletics highlights included recognition of Hoover High School boys’ and girls’ track teams and the Bumpus program for multiple state championships. Coach remarks at the meeting cited state‑record relay performances, a combined total of 10 individual state champions during the indoor season, team indoor scores of 137.5 for the boys and 108.5 for the girls, and a total of 24 all‑state athletes. Board members and district staff praised coaches, student‑athletes and families for sustained success across seasons.
The meeting also included routine scheduling and a public comment on parent fees for the MySchoolBucks payment processor; a community member asked the board to review transaction fees charged by the vendor.
Ending: District leaders encouraged staff, families and community partners to participate in Be Kind Week events and the February career fair and said they will continue school visits and outreach into February.
