Mr. Householder

In the halls of Hoover High School, a former HHS associate principal is now principal, replacing Mr. Eric Bornstine [who is now the NCCS Treasurer] for the 2025-26 school year. Hoover Principal Mr. Henry Householder began his new chapter, but that hasn’t been the only change. Householder told The Viking Views what to expect for the rest of the year — and some are significant.

“A big change coming Jan. 1 is the cell phone ban that’s going to go into place,” he said. “We’re just kind of waiting on what that looks like. We want to make sure that we have all our ducks in a row before we move forward with that.”

The person in charge of Hoover High School talked about his journey to administration.

“I had a teacher who really worked with me in Chicago, and she had a world impact on me,” Householder said. “I thought, man, I want to be able to help kids. Then, I had a science teacher in high school that went over and above for kids, and I still remember him.”

Taking inspiration from his former teachers, Householder’s job shaped him into what he is today.

“I was a special educator for my career,” he said. “I spent 14 years doing that and it was an opportunity for me to go to different schools so I got to have a greater impact on more kids than just the 12 to 15 I would have in my class.”

Becoming a principal wasn’t easy; Householder reflects on the brutal process of becoming an administrator.

“I knew I would eventually get to administration,” he said. “I didn’t get there right away. I probably had my license, and then interviewed for probably close to seven years before I landed my first job.”

When asked about the challenging aspects of his job, Householder responded the hardest parts were how it affected him personally.

“The struggles are ‘the time,’” he said. “[Administration] spends a lot of time after school. We spend a lot of time here and my kids were young when I started this, so it was time away from them; that’s one of the biggest struggles.”

Householder describes a “whole group type leadership.”

“I want to get other people’s opinions, not top-down driven,” he said. “I’m more about ‘we’re all in this together.’ Let’s make sure we make the right decision, and then we reflect on that decision and say, I couldn’t make it better.”

Mr. White

Although there have been administrative changes at Hoover High School, Associate Principal Mr. Robert White has kept his role for the 2025-2026 school year. White talked about what made him decide to move into administration, instead of continuing his role as a math teacher.

“As an administrator, I do not have the same level of interaction with students, but there’s an impact in this situation at Hoover of close to 1,500 students daily,” he said. “So that broader impact, even though the interactions aren’t as close as being a teacher in a classroom, having that broader impact is kind of the reason I wanted to move into administration.”

There are benefits and struggles to working in administration compared to working as a teacher, White explained.

“I would say from a benefit standpoint, I get to have that broader impact. There’s more ability to impact policy or what our practices are,” he said. “I get to interact with and know more people maybe not as well as I did before.”

As far as drawbacks to working in administration, White said that not having close relationships with students is “a struggle because [I] don’t get to have those deeper relationships with students.”

“I used to coach as well, and I always thought my team was like family, like that’s inner circle kind of stuff because you’re with them so much, you get to know them so well, they get to know you so well,” he said. “That circle as an administrator is much broader, much wider now, but I don’t know them as well as I knew the team, nor nearly as well as I would have known the classroom.”

White oversees the Career Tech program at Hoover, which involves other compact schools from Stark County. Although he wasn’t able to participate in Career Tech while he was in school, he offers insight into whether or not he would have taken the opportunity.

“If I had a Teaching Professions program, I might have,” he said. “Or business…those were my two interest areas going into college, and I kind of chose education because of the students’ aspect over business.”

Mr. Bluey

Due to an administrative shift at Hoover High School, Mr. Mike Bluey [previously the Digital Academy Director] has assumed the role of Associate Principal starting the 2025-2026 school year.

In 2018, Bluey started as the Digital Academy Director and oversaw the academy, which is housed in Hoover Library Media Center. He said he wasn’t expecting the role of Associate Principal, but he was ready for it.

“You show up everyday, you do your job to the best of your ability and things happen for a reason,” he said. “I was preparing without even knowing I was preparing.”

Bluey decided to go into administration around 15 years ago because he wanted to challenge himself personally and within his career. However, this meant that he was presented with new struggles, as well as benefits.

“The benefits are the amount of students and staff that you get to work with,” he said. “That is engaging and fun, but also that is what can create challenges, which are also unique.”

When it comes to handling these challenges, leadership is important. Bluey believes that his leadership style is an evolution.

“You know, you think you know what it is and who you are,” he said. “Education is different now, but I’m honest, I’m open, I’m direct.”

Another important aspect of his job is efficiently handling tasks. He explained the tactics he uses to accomplish this.

“I know what priority things I need to get done are, and then there are secondary items,” Bluey said. “I prioritize each day, and you try to get those things done in the morning because when you work in a building with 1,400+ kids and 175 staff members, one hiccup can cause a delay in getting to your list.”

Bluey’s decision to pursue a career in education was due to the opportunity to work with students.

“I like everything that school has to offer,” he said. “It’s not just the lessons you learn in each individual class, but just learning how to grow and mold young adults to be successful once they leave high school.”

In addition to connecting with students, Bluey explained how he connects with parents and the greater North Canton community.

“As our [varsity boys] basketball coach, that allows me to see a lot of parents, kindergarten through our senior class,” he said. “In my position, that’s something I certainly enjoy — being able to have those contacts in the community.”

Mrs. Duff

Turning to the next page this year, Mrs. Ashley Duff takes on a new role, going from associate principal at North Canton Middle School to associate principal at Hoover High School, following Mr. Householder’s transition to head principal and former Associate Principal Veronica Baca-Bernel’s retirement. Duff’s dedication to students and schooling gives valuable assets on what’s to come at Hoover High School.

Duff described the additional planning to prepare herself for her time-consuming position.

“Just like with any new job, it is a constant state of absorbing, listening, asking questions and reflecting, but in this case I am in the most desirable environment while doing it,” she said.

Finding a way to balance everything can be challenging; Duff told the benefits and struggles of working in administration.

“Gaining perspective for the greater good rather than focusing on my small bubble,” she said. “I enjoy making an impact on the building as a whole. With that, finding balance between supporting your building and being present in your home is an obstacle that all administrators are faced with.”

With all the difficulties of Duff’s new role as associate principal, tackling tasks takes planning and precision.

“A checklist and my lifeline: GOOGLE CALENDAR,” she said.

In addition to working inside the school, staying involved with the community is still a necessity. Duff shared what happens when she’s outside of school.

“Being present at events, introducing myself when possible, communicating with parents on a regular basis and taking time to address students outside of being on campus,” she said.

However, school is more than just rules and regulations. Duff gave the important elements and perspectives needed to work with students.

“They needed to know that not everyone’s story looked the same and I needed to be that representation for the students who aren’t always provided with the best support outside of the school,” she said. “Compassion and empathy is just as important in adulthood as academic content.”

Duff’s support and encouragement is what pushed her decision to go into her administrative position.

“Listening to respected adults and colleagues around me tell me that they feel I would be great representation and support for educators,” she said.