Photo courtesy of Hoover City Schools
Kristi Sayers is the new principal of Hoover High School, starting July 9, 2025.
The Hoover Board of Education on Tuesday night approved the hiring of a new principal for Hoover High School — a familiar face to many at Oak Mountain and in the U.S. 280 corridor.
The board unanimously backed Superintendent Kevin Maddox’s recommendation to hire Kristi Sayers to replace Jennifer Hogan, who retired July 1 after two years as principal to help her parents with health issues.
Sayers brings more than 32 years of experience in education, including 14 years as a teacher in Hoover City Schools and seven years as principal at Oak Mountain High School before retiring in October 2021 — a role well-remembered in the 280 community. In 2017, she was named High School Principal of the Year for State Board of Education District 5 by the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools.
She also ran in 2018 for Shelby County school superintendent — in an elected race — narrowly losing to Lewis Brooks by fewer than 400 votes out of nearly 25,000 cast.
Since retiring, Sayers has worked with FranklinCovey Education, supporting leadership development in more than 40 schools across Alabama. But she said she missed being part of a school community.
“There’s quite nothing like being in the schools, the hustle and the bustle,” Sayers said. “I just missed it. … I thought about it every day.”
She added: “I’m excited to return to a district and community that mean so much to me. Hoover High School has a proud tradition, and I look forward to supporting the students, staff and families as we work together to continue that legacy of excellence.”
After her first seven years as a teacher, Sayers taught at Berry Middle School from 1995 to 2002, then at Spain Park High School from 2002 to 2009 before moving to Oak Mountain High School.
She served as a teacher and interim assistant principal at Oak Mountain before becoming an assistant principal at Pelham High School and then joining Shelby County Schools’ central office in 2012. She worked as a curriculum specialist and later professional development supervisor before being named Oak Mountain’s principal in 2014.
Sayers holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Alabama, a master’s in educational administration from the University of Montevallo, and both an educational specialist degree and a doctorate in educational leadership from UAB.
Superintendent Maddox said Sayers brings “a depth of knowledge in education, a passion for student growth and a strong leadership presence,” calling her vision and experience “an incredible asset to the Hoover High School community.”
Hoover High — Alabama’s largest high school — enrolls more than 2,800 students, far more than Oak Mountain’s enrollment when she left, but both are 7A schools.
“Definitely more students, more faculty and staff, more opportunities for success,” Sayers said.
She begins her new job Wednesday, July 9.
“It is an honor to lead Hoover High School,” she told the board Tuesday night. “It is not lost on me what a privilege it is to join the Buc nation, and I’m going to daily do my very best to lead and to instill in others and to model those three core principles of Hoover High School — the respect, the responsibility and the integrity. That is my job. That is something I am passionate about.”
Her years in Hoover City Schools, she said, helped shape the educator she is today.
“That’s because I was surrounded by excellence every day,” Sayers said. “It is my goal to become a long-lasting member of the Buc nation, and I am thrilled to start that journey tomorrow at 7 o’clock a.m. and do my very best every day.”
She ended her remarks with a smile and a “Go Bucs.”
