New PR coordinator for Hoover schools has passion for education
Alex Derencz has been telling stories as a professional journalist for more than five years, and now he’s ready to share stories about Hoover City Schools with the rest of the world.
Derencz, 28, is the new public relations coordinator for Hoover City Schools, replacing Jason Gaston, who moved to the same role for Trussville City Schools in January.
Derencz said he highly enjoyed working on education stories as a journalist, especially after COVID-19 hit and shut down in-person instruction across the state. When that happened, educators were forced to reinvent how they do their jobs in about 48 hours.
Derencz, worked as a multimedia journalist for ABC 33/40 for the past three years and said he has been in awe of how educators have continued to persevere through the pandemic and rise to the challenge.
“It’s been nothing short of amazing,” he said.
Derencz reported on school districts through-out the metro area and beyond, and said some of them don’t have a public relations coordinator like the Hoover school system does. He found himself playing a critical role relaying information to parents and others about what was happening with schools.
He wouldn’t trade his experiences as a journalist the past six years for anything, but decided the education world would be a better place for him. A lot of the day-to-day skills he has translate well into public relations for education.
He applied for the Hoover job because the Hoover school system has a reputation for being one of the top school districts in the state, and he has not been disappointed since starting the role in January, saying everyone in the school system has made him feel very welcome.
“The people are what makes Hoover City Schools what it is,” he said. “The people in this school district are just incredible. I’m just blessed to have the opportunity to continue the legacy created by Jason Gaston. There are just so many great things happening with our schools each and every day. To be able to share that, there’s nothing better.”
He also likes the idea of not just sharing what is happening within Hoover City Schools but what graduates from Hoover schools accomplish as they move into the world and help solve the problems of tomorrow, he said.
Tera Simmons, the interim superintendent for the school system, said Derencz’s experience as a multimedia journalist — doing stories both on camera and in writing — made him a good fit to replace Gaston. “He’s come in here with a lot of enthusiasm and ideas on ways we can improve our communication,” Simmons said. “We’re just delighted to have him as a part of the team, and we’re always looking for ways to improve our communication with our stakeholders.”
Derencz said he has always had a passion for education and never missed a day of school from second grade through high school. He also developed a love for teachers after so many teachers looked out for him after he lost his mother to multiple sclerosis in 2008.
BACKGROUND
Derencz is from the Baltimore area but attended Auburn University, where he majored in broadcast journalism and minored in Spanish and graduated in 2015.
By that time, he already had the opportunity to shadow TV journalists for WBAL-TV 11 in Baltimore for three summers and do an internship for WPMT-Fox 43 in York, Pennsylvania. At graduation, he already had a job lined up with WRBL in Columbus, Georgia. Within a year of working there, he was named the station’s east Alabama reporter, covering about six counties in and around Auburn and Opelika.
He stayed with WRBL for about 21/2 years before being hired by ABC 33/40 in Hoover in December 2017.
When he’s not working, Derencz, who lives in Homewood, enjoys spending time with his wife, Carly, and is a passionate fan of the Baltimore Orioles and an avid golfer.