A heart for service

Former Board President Kym Prewitt couldn’t help getting misty-eyed during her final meeting in May.

Her term expired on June 10 and while it is a bittersweet exit, she’s excited about what lies ahead.

“Rolling off the board at this time feels a little like jumping off a speeding train that is headed to great places,” she said.

Prewitt served on the Board of Education for five years and was appointed president in May 2014. She is a lifelong resident of Vestavia Hills and graduated from Vestavia Hills High School. She attended Auburn University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education. She then taught English at VHHS before becoming involved in the community by serving as vice president of the Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation, president of the Vestavia Hills PTA and PTO Councils, board member of Leadership Vestavia Hills, and co-chairman of Youth Leadership Vestavia Hills.

She said serving on the board has increased her understanding of a variety of issues in education.

“I have learned patience beyond what my own children taught me — a patience to truly listen and consider issues from many perspectives but always for the greater good of our students,” she said.

She notes that social media has transformed school communications and that she’s realized it is possible for tradition to stay alive while progress is being made.

“I have learned that the tough decisions are easy when we make them based on what is right for children,” she said. “I learned that it really does take five years to figure out this job and that five years feels like five minutes.”  

She is thankful for the opportunity to work alongside her fellow board members: Nat Robin, Mark Hogewood, Nancy Corona, Jerry Dent, Kim Benos, David Walker and Jim Pounds.  

“Much of what I learned is a result of working with board members who come from completely different life experiences, professions and perspectives but whose common ground is having no agenda other than furthering the Vestavia Hills City School system,” she said.

When asked what makes Vestavia Hills unique, Prewitt said it is a shared sense of belonging and a strong value that is placed on relationships.

 “Vestavia Hills is a place where citizens feel a connectedness and an ownership to a community in which their voices matter,” she said. “Simply put: We care about each other.”

Out of all years, Prewitt has been involved with the system she sees now as a pivotal moment for the school system. 

“I have been associated in one way or another with this school system since 1971,” she said. “I have always believed in it and have been proud of it, but never before in all these years have I felt as encouraged as I do at this moment about the pace and the direction in which we are moving.”