Superintendent candidate: Hartselle’s tradition of excellence is its draw
Rachel Poovey told Hartselle Board of Education members Wednesday she wants the superintendent’s job because she has “loved every minute” of her 30 years in public education and there is nothing else she ever wanted to do.
She said she wants the leadership role and believes she would be a good fit.
Although she is a Birmingham native, she worked for Decatur City Schools in various capacities for 26 years and now commutes to Trussville, where she is assistant superintendent for teaching and learning at Trussville City Schools.
She was the second of three finalists to be interviewed for the job this week. Holly Sutherland, superintendent of Haleyville City Schools, was interviewed Monday. Tony Dowdy, deputy superintendent of Calhoun County Schools, was scheduled to be interviewed Thursday.
The public interviews are being held at 5 p.m. at the central office and are followed by a reception at the Burleson Fine Arts Center next door. Before the interviews, each candidate had lunch with central office staff and visited district principals.
The new superintendent will replace Brian Clayton, who is retiring soon.
Poovey said she first fell in love with students with severe special needs when she was in eighth grade and eventually earned a degree in special education and moved up to leadership roles from there.
In Decatur she was developmental programs coordinator before taking the opportunity to go to Trussville. She said Decatur City Schools was great to her for 26 years but “I needed an opportunity to grow, and people didn’t leave Decatur because it was a great place to be.” She landed the Trussville job she in 2021. She said she still commutes to Trussville and lives with her family during the week.
“When I am in Trussville, I am fully committed to them,” she said, listing the many events she routinely attends.
During her time at Decatur City Schools, Poovey served in various roles, including developmental services coordinator, elementary supervisor, middle and elementary school principal, assistant principal and special education teacher.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood special education from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree in intellectual disabilities and an educational specialist degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also earned a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Alabama.
Board Chairman James Joy asked how she would foster a culture of collaboration between principals and central office leaders and how she would ensure that the district’s leadership structure is effectively implemented to support shared goals and accountability.
She said communication between principals, others and central office leaders is the key. At her school, some meet daily and some meet weekly. She meets with the superintendent and the chief financial officer every Monday to talk about the events of the previous week and upcoming events.
“Let’s make sure there is somebody in every school every day who is listening to any questions, listening to any challenges, hearing the talk, sharing on the students, sharing on the teachers,” she said. “We are really there to support. While we are sometimes the people who have to say no, we are really there to support and every time you are at a school you are there to gather data … to determine what is the next best thing.”
She added that “our other job is to celebrate the teachers and the people out in the schools. We do a great job of celebrating students, but sometimes we forget that the custodian needs a pat on the back. If we don’t (remember), they are not going to talk to us and we are not going to know what the problems are and we are not going to solve them.”
Board member Daxton Maze asked from a professional perspective what is the draw for Poovey to Hartselle City Schools and what makes the job a desirable one.
“What draws me is I truly love north Alabama,” she said. “I know the people here. I’ve been working with them since I came to north Alabama 35 years ago. They are my friends, they are my colleagues, and they rave about how they are treated here, how they work here, the community that you have — their willingness to try new things, the success of their own children, the traditions.
“You truly have a tradition of excellence. I love to be with people. I love relationships and working with people and that goes on here because if it didn’t, you wouldn’t thrive like you do for this long a period.”
Board members took turns asking questions for 1½ hours and then adjourned to the reception area. The job pays between $185,000 and $225,000, plus benefits.
