Board taps Hyche to lead HHS

By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
A veteran educator whose experience ranges from working in the classroom as a history teacher to serving as the top administrator of a Class 6A high school has been named the new principal at Hartselle High School.
Hartselle School Board unanimously approved the appointment of Jeffery Neil Hyche, principal of Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, to that position at a regular meeting on Monday night. He will assume the position Jan. 1, 2009. As a three-year contract employee, he will be paid $106,500 annually.
Superintendent Dr. Mike Reed recommended Hyche from a pool of 62 applicants. Eight of the applicants were interviewed. Of that number, five were principals, two assistant principals and one a guidance counselor.
Reed said a committee composed of high school teachers and parents sat in on the interviews.
Hyche, who was present at the meeting, said he was drawn to Hartselle High School because of its outstanding reputation for both academic and athletic excellence.
The support the community gives its schools is unparalleled,” he said. “I’m excited to have this opportunity and look forward to working to make Hartselle High one of the elite schools in the state.”
Hyche has served as principal of Hillcrest, a school of about 1,250 students, for the past 10 years. He was also a classroom teacher and assistant principal there for eight years.
As principal, he initiated and maintained a German Exchange Program, oversaw the development and construction of new athletic facilities at not cost to the school or school system, initiated the Hillcrest Ambassador Program, helped establish boys and girls’ soccer, tennis, golf and wrestling programs and wrote grants for the establishment of two greenhouse businesses to benefit special needs businesses.
He served as a graduate assistant at the University of Alabama in 1989-91, was a registered state lobbyist for the Alabama Association of School Boards in 1989, served as assistant to the president of Spring Hill College in Mobile in 1988-99, was a legislative assistant for Sen. Richard Shelby in 1986-88, and served as state coordinator for the Shelby for Senate Campaign in 1985-86.
He is a member of the National Association of Secondary School Principals, Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools, Alabama Bar Association and University of Alabama Alumni Association.
Hyche graduated from the University of Alabama in 1982 with a bachelor of arts degree in history and in 1991 with a master of arts degree in secondary education. He earned a Class A certificate in education administration from UA in 1993 and an education specialist in education administration certificate from the University of Montevallo in 1997. He received a Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama Law School in 1985.
The school board voted on other matters as follows: