Harriette W Gwin Elementary School

Dr. Kimberly White photo smiling

My name is Kimberly White and I am the principal at Gwin Elementary School. I have worked in the Hoover City Schools since 2002 and have enjoyed each day that I have worked with students whose goals and hopes for the future inspire me.

Although I was not always certain that I wanted to be a teacher, I always knew that I wanted to positively influence the lives of children. So with that goal in mind, I attended Spelman College where I studied Psychology in hopes of becoming a child psychologist. While attending school I began volunteering each week as a tutor for underprivileged children in the inner city of Atlanta, Georgia. It soon became evident that I, like my mother and grandmother before me, would one day become a teacher.

After my sophomore year of college, my family moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama and I transferred to The University of Alabama where I studied Elementary Education. I later began my teaching career as a first grade teacher at Eastvalley Elementary School in Marietta, Georgia. I gleaned lots of knowledge from working with the teachers, students and parents the two years I worked at the Charter School. I left Georgia to go back to the University of Alabama where I earned a Master's Degree in School Administration while teaching at Rock Quarry Elementary School.

I soon began to realize that working with students and teachers was my calling. I decided to further my education by pursuing a Doctoral Degree and was accepted and enrolled in the program at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. In Nashville, I delved into the community by volunteering and began teaching at Wright Middle School. At Wright, I began to study more and more about the middle school concept and developed a love for middle school-aged students. I often served as substitute administrator to gain experience as an assistant principal. Then in 2002, I married and moved to Birmingham, Alabama where I became the Seventh Grade Unit Principal at Simmons Middle School.

In July of 2011, I embarked on another journey in my quest to serve students by becoming the assistant principal at Gwin Elementary School. Then in the Spring of 2012, I was named principal at Gwin. It is a pleasure working with our teachers who are committed to education and who enjoy teaching and learning. I have gained real insight about working with students in my over 20 years as a teacher and principal and hope to continue to grow professionally while at Gwin. I am honored to serve the Hoover community as the faculty, staff, parents and I work together to guide students toward growth, achievement, and fostering youth to become adults of strong character.