Freeman leaves position as Hall-Kent Elementary principal

As the last days of the school year wind down, Abbie Freeman is preparing to say her last goodbyes to her students at Hall-Kent Elementary.

Freeman has been Hall-Kent's principal for the past three years, but her family is moving to the Florida Keys over the summer. There, Freeman will become principal of Ocean Studies Charter School in Tavernier, Florida.

While she said she is excited for the move, Freeman said she will miss greeting students as they came in each morning. In her time at Hall-Kent, Freeman said she appreciated the teamwork between parents and staff, as well as “the level of excellence, the possibilities that are available to the students of Homewood.”

“I’ll miss the children the most," Freeman said.

As she leaves, Freeman said some of her favorite memories are from moments that could have become nightmares. When the "Snowmageddon" and flooding struck Homewood in 2014, Freeman said she was proud to see everyone at her school step up to help each other.

“That’s when you could see the Hall-Kent family come together to just help anybody and everybody that they possibly could,” Freeman said.

Kiana Coleman was announced on May 11 as the new principal of Hall-Kent. She has been the assistant principal under Freeman for three years, and before that taught in different roles at Edgewood Elementary, Hall-Kent and Homewood Middle.