Photo courtesy of Whit McGhee.
Whit McGhee
Whit McGhee is the new communications and media specialist for Vestavia Hills City Schools.
What led you to Vestavia Hills?
My work background prior to joining this school system was in journalism for a daily newspaper, The Anniston Star, and admissions marketing for two universities, Jacksonville State University (my alma mater) and The University of Alabama in Huntsville. From my experience, journalism’s goal is telling the truth, and marketing is promoting positives about an organization. I feel like both of those concepts are married in this job.
What are some tangible results that parents of school age children can expect to see as a result of your efforts?
The main thing I’ve been focused on through these first few months is reaching out to Vestavia residents where they are. We’ve had a lot of change over the past few months, and we don’t want to assume that people will just manage on their own to hear about it. That’s why we’re expanding our news sharing and publicity through local media, newsletters, blogs, social networks, and videos.
What are you doing to make sure the achievements, and areas for improvement, across all schools in our system, are being made visible?
We need to be doing more to celebrate our achievements. One of the ways we’re going to do that is through the creation of a district-wide annual report, which will highlight accomplishments, awards, and data from each of our schools. We’re going to publicize the report city-wide when it’s completed, because we’ve got a lot to be proud of. We also need to take a critical look at our opportunities for improvement, and that’s why we’re in the midst of a yearlong strategics program with The Cambrian Group.
When you look back on the communications accomplishments of the school system after the 2014-15 school year, what is the number one goal you look forward to saying you helped achieve?
I want to do my part to build community pride in the new leadership we have and the new direction we’re going to be taking as a school system. I feel like I’m getting in on the ground floor of a new era for this district that’s all about transparency, accountability and fulfilling the needs of every child in our classrooms. That’s a lot to be proud of. If I’ve done anything by the end of the year to help people become more invested in these schools, I’d count it as a successful year.
What might Vestavia residents be surprised to learn about you?
I’m a native of Anniston, and I’m a newlywed. I’ve been married to my wife, Lauren, for six months (as of October). We relocated here from the tiny town of Arab, Alabama, and so far Vestavia has been wonderful to us. We don’t have any kids or pets yet, but we do have a great collection of Beatles and Four Seasons LPs.
It was a dream of mine for the last ten years to move to this area. I felt called to be here with my wife because of the opportunities we’d have for growth as well as its location near so many of our friends and family. Now that we’re here, I’m still amazed and humbled that Vestavia Hills has welcomed us with open arms. It’s an even better place than I had hoped.
