Hoover City Schools announced Emily Dunleavy as the next principal of Brock’s Gap Intermediate School and Chris Blight as the new athletic director at Hoover High School.
With 15 years of experience in education, Dunleavy brings a strong background in instructional leadership, school culture, and student support. She has served the past three years as assistant principal at BGIS, where she helped support a collaborative environment focused on character development and academic growth. During her time at BGIS, the school was recognized as a National School of Character and earned Top 25 recognition through Alabama’s Legislative School Performance Recognition Program, honoring BGIS as one of the top-performing schools in the state for academic achievement. She is also a graduate of the Shelby County Assistant Principal Leadership Academy, was recognized as the AAESA Alabama Assistant Principal of the Year Nominee for District IV in 2025, and serves as an Alabama Technology Integration Coach and Certified Google Trainer.
Coach Blight joins HHS from Oak Mountain High School, where he served as athletic director, director of football operations, and varsity girls soccer coach. During his time as athletic director, Oak Mountain athletics produced more than 20 playoff appearances and five state championship appearances across multiple sports programs. In addition to his leadership as athletic director, Blight recently guided Oak Mountain to the Class 7A Girls Soccer State Championship match, finishing as state runner-up last season, and was named the 2020 Large School Regional Coach of the Year. Originally from England, he came to the United States to play collegiate soccer at Huntingdon College and has also coached at Auburn High School, Auburn University at Montgomery, and with the Birmingham Hammers, now the Birmingham Legion FC.