Kim Kiel wasn’t expecting the call.
“When I received the call, I was humbled and completely honored. It almost felt surreal,” she said.
After more than 25 years of service, the Pelham City Schools assistant superintendent and current Samford University Orlean Beeson School of Education graduate student has been named to the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
The recognition reflects a career that began on the basketball court but has grown into systemwide leadership.
Kiel joined Pelham High School in 1999 as head coach of the girls’ basketball team. Since then, she has served as athletic director, assistant principal, principal and now assistant superintendent.
Each role has expanded her reach.
“As an athletic director, I served student-athletes and their families. As a principal, I served all students and families. Now at the central office level, that responsibility extends even further,” she said.
For Kiel, lessons learned through athletics have always extended beyond the game. “Everyone can’t be the star, but everyone’s role in the team is just as important,” she said.
She credits sports with teaching discipline, teamwork and resilience—skills that now shape how she leads. “You serve each other to try to get to an end goal, and you can’t accomplish that goal by yourself,” Kiel said.
Even with a Hall of Fame honor, Kiel is focused on what’s ahead.
She is currently completing the Educational Specialist in Instructional Leadership (EdS) program and will begin her Doctor of Educational and Organizational Leadership (EdD) this fall.
“If I’m the best me, then I can turn around and serve everybody around me,” she said.
Kiel credits Samford’s faculty and learning environment for supporting that growth. “My professors have been so supportive and genuine. It’s not just about a teacher and a student. They really care about each of us,” she said.
She also emphasized the impact of learning alongside fellow educators. “The more we learn and the more we know, the better our school system will be for our kids,” she said.
At the center of Kiel’s leadership is a commitment to serving others.
“I believe our job as educators is to remove barriers so that everyone else can do whatever it is that they need to do so that our students can learn and thrive,” she said.
