Photo by Erin Nelson.
Kristi Sayers, the former principal of Oak Mountain High School, retired from her education career after 32 years. She spent 20 years in the classroom as an English teacher and the last 12 in administration.
Kristi Sayers had planned to retire from her position as principal at Oak Mountain High School at the end of the last school year. However, with the pandemic still in effect, she wanted to make sure she got the new school year up and running before she left.
“I didn’t want to leave with anything up in the air,” she said.
Sayers retired from her education career in mid-September after 32 years. She spent 20 years in the classroom as an English teacher and the last 12 in administration.
“I would say the last two years were the most stressful I’ve ever experienced,” Sayers said. “I was accustomed to not making everyone happy but wasn’t accustomed to not making anyone happy. Educators are helpers and fixers and want to do the right thing by the students. It was so difficult doing that with the current circumstance.”
She spent 14 years working in Hoover City Schools, and when her daughter was in ninth grade, she decided to take a position teaching at Oak Mountain High School because they already lived in the Oak Mountain area.
After teaching there for just over a year, she moved into the assistant principal role at Pelham. After 134 days, she switched gears and took a position in the central office working as the secondary curriculum specialist, which transitioned into the professional development supervisor position.
When former Principal Joan Doyle retired from OMHS, Sayers decided to “go back home.”
She said her leadership style has always been to develop people, whether in the classroom or working with adults.
“We did a lot of things at OMHS to provide leadership development among our students,” she said. “It’s exciting to see those students thrive when they are given the opportunity to do so. My students always amazed me with what they could do with projects. If you give them the opportunity to flourish, they will.”
Sayers’ replacement, Andrew Gunn, was approved by the board three days prior to her official retirement. The two have worked together before and “have a great personal relationship,” Sayers said.
“He will do a great job, I have no doubt,” she said.
He has previously been an assistant principal at OMHS and he said it’s kind of like he never left.
Sayers’ co-workers gave her a retirement celebration that included friends, family and people she worked with in the past, all coming to wish her well.
“I felt absolutely loved and undeserving of the things they said and the gifts they gave. It was a great celebration,” she said.
Sayers said she won’t be spending her days relaxing at her lake home. She has gone back to her real estate roots after renewing her license two years ago.
“I knew I was getting ready to retire and transition and wanted to be able to jump right in,” she said. “The market has been phenomenal and it was a great time to jump in. It’s been a pretty easy transition.”
Working with ARC Realty out of its Cahaba Heights office, Sayers’ areas of expertise are Shelby County, Hoover and Vestavia Hills. She has recently added the Lake Logan Martin area to her list.
Sayers will also be working in the educational division of Franklin Covey. She applied for the position in January and said she had actually forgotten about it until months later when they called and offered her the position over the summer after passing nine interviews.
She will be working for Franklin Covey, covering all schools in Alabama except for Baldwin County.
“It was an opportunity that presented itself and one I really liked and something I could not turn down,” she said. “I actually will be back in school and continue to work with principals and district leaders teaching them the “Leader in Me” process. My part is to show people how we can help with what our schools need.”
Sayers said the Oak Mountain schools will continue to be near and dear to her heart as she moves on into her next phase of life. She said she is not sure if she will be any less busy, just a different kind of busy.
“It’s where we raised our family, where my children graduated, and I certainly wish them all the best,” she said. “They have some of the hardest working and best teachers in those schools.”
