When Valli Robinson started teaching at Alexander High School in 1997, she didn’t know it at the time, but she was starting a trend.
Robinson, who graduated from AHS in 1991, was the first alumnus from the school that opened in 1986 to return as a member of the faculty.
This year, there are a total of 31 Alexander alums on the staff, the most ever in school history, Robinson said.
“I came back to Alexander to teach because I loved and admired so many of my teachers,” said Robinson, who serves as Alexander’s AP and Magnet Coordinator and Library Media Specialist. “They had made learning so much fun and had really cared about me, and I wanted to be a part of that. I remembered going to football games and all of the faculty sitting together. The faculty did a program with songs and skits before Christmas break. I knew they loved AHS, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
Robinson arranged for a group photo of this year’s AHS alumni on staff before the homecoming football game last month.
The graduation years of the 31 alumni span from 1989 (media clerk Suzie Townsend) to 2020 (English teacher Caitlyn Hackney and physical education teacher Austin Slate).
Principal Lora McAdams is an AHS alum, as are Assistant Principal Ivy Cann, Assistant Administrator Andy Daniel and 2024-2025 District Teacher of the Year Brooke Morris.
McAdams graduated in 2002, started teaching in 2009 and became principal of the school in 2023. She said her senior class voted her “Miss AHS,” joking that “they knew my future before I did.”
“AHS is the house that built me, and I wanted to come back in hopes that I could make it the place that builds someone else, too,” she said.
Hackney said returning to AHS to teach was an easy decision. The school has “always felt like home,” she said.
“As a student, I was surrounded by teachers and staff who were dedicated to fostering both academic and personal growth,” she said. “Their unwavering support and commitment to excellence left a lasting impression and inspired me to pursue a career in education.”
Slate said he came back because of the relationships he built with classmates, teammates and coaches, adding that it also gave him the opportunity to work alongside his father, Jason Slate.
“Alexander High School gave me an opportunity to grow into the person I am today, and I want to give that back to my students and players,” he said.
Robinson said Alexander has maintained a lot of its small-town feel even as the county has more than doubled in size since the school opened nearly 40 years ago.
And the faculty traditions from back then that drew her back continue on. A lot of the faculty sit together at football games, she said. Many congregate in the end zone to watch the little future Cougars play together. There are also faculty tailgates and luncheons, and even a chili cook-off.
Asked what makes AHS alums gravitate back, Robinson said it’s the sense of family that is a big part of Alexander’s culture.
“We talk constantly as a staff about being a family and being there for students, and I think alumni who go into education remember that and want to be a part of it,” Robinson said. “Through the years, Alexander has had a number of spouses work together; we've had our children all go through here. But it's not cliquish — we just adopt ‘outsiders’ into our family. But we've been lucky to be able to hire people who want to be part of a family, and the tradition just grows.”