Photo by Erin Nelson.
Kiana Coleman, left, principal at Hall-Kent Elementary, and Jill Walden, the assistant principal, stand in front of artwork in the school hall on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. Coleman will soon begin her new role as director of student services with Homewood City Schools, and Walden will become the principal at the elementary school.
While they aren’t new faces to the Homewood school system, Kiana Coleman and Jill Walden will take on new roles for the 2022-23 school year.
Coleman, previously the principal at Hall-Kent Elementary School, will now serve as the director of student services for the entire school system, while Walden, who was previously an assistant principal at Hall-Kent, will move up to the principal’s role vacated by Coleman.
Kiana Coleman
Coleman has spent her entire 21-year career in education with Homewood, beginning at Homewood Middle School and working at both Hall-Kent and Edgewood elementary schools. For the past six years, she has served as Hall-Kent’s principal. While it’s been a great experience and has allowed her to help teachers grow professionally as well as build relationships with students, she said she’s excited to take on this new challenge.
The role grew out of the system’s strategic plan, and she’ll focus on addressing the whole child, helping students not just academically, but emotionally and socially as well.
“A lot goes into it,” Coleman said. “My heart is always on how I can impact student learning … (and) well-being.”
Coleman said if students are having a rough home life or have other issues outside of the classroom, it can make it hard to focus on their schoolwork. Coleman said she plans to do more research on trauma and mental health and how they impact students. She’ll also be focusing on attendance and working with families on any issues related to that. She said she is passionate about making sure students achieve above their grade level and that plenty of funding is available for special education and arts programs.
Coleman got into education after fighting the call for a while. She started with a degree in psychology, but her lifelong work with children, whether through church or camps, eventually led her into the classroom.
Being in Homewood allows students to get a taste for the real world because it is a diverse student and staff population, Coleman said. “I love the diversity.”
Coleman said she wants students to see her as an ally and said the one “sad” part of moving to the central office is the loss of daily interactions with students.
As she steps away from Hall-Kent, Coleman said Walden will do a great job. She has a “passion for personalized learning” and has the same vision and philosophy Coleman does for the school.
Jill Walden
Walden said it means a lot to be named principal at the school where she previously served as a teacher.
The atmosphere at Hall-Kent is tight-knit, she said. “We are seriously just like a family at this school.”
Everyone at the school and in the community supports the students and staff, and she plans to get to know the “family” more now as the principal. Her personal goal is to know every family at Hall-Kent and develop positive relationships with them.
She also hopes to build a “positive climate” within which to recruit teachers. While instruction is her top goal, creating a positive school climate is important as well, she said.
Stepping into the top role at Hall-Kent, Walden said she is now responsible for setting the tone and leading the school forward. She came to Homewood City Schools after 10 years in Talladega County Schools.
The days for a teacher are a little more set than an administrator, Walden said. While there are yearly goals to be reached as an administrator, each day can look different and she’ll have to be available for everyone, she said.
Walden said she’s most excited about having a more “global” view of the school and being a bigger part of the community. She said she expects to be more visible to parents as well.
Walden said Coleman taught her the importance of managing every situation as it comes and being calm when the need arises.
