‘Best teacher I ever had’: Hidden Valley educator leaves a legacy beyond the classroom
On bright, warm days, Brenda Hoover would hear children shout her name as she watched her husband George Hoover barbecue outside their home on Hidden Forest Drive in the 1980s.
“You would hear them all the way on Georgetown Drive,” Hoover laughed. “We couldn’t go out in the yard without hearing someone.”
Those kids are now adults who still share their memories of how Hoover impacted their life.
Hoover is a retired educator who represented the professional diversity in Hidden Valley throughout the 1970s. In her two decades as a Hidden Valley Elementary teacher she became a pillar of the neighborhood and left an indelible impact on her students who still sing her praises today, residents say.
“She was a professional teacher that really cared,” said Odell Witherspoon, whose son was taught by Hoover . “That commitment to her students made her the kind of teacher we loved in the old days.”
It’s commitment she learned from being raised by a family of educators, Hoover said. She split her childhood between Charleston and Honea Path in South Carolina, watching her mother dedicate her life to the profession. Hoover grew up one of ten siblings; by high school knew she would follow her mother’s footsteps.
“I was just around so many people in the teaching business,” Hoover said. “My aunts, my uncle, there were just so many of us in the field. It was what I knew.”
Hoover moved to Hidden Valley in 1970, hers being the first Black family on Hidden Forest Drive. She still lives in the same house. In the mid-1970s she started teaching sixth grade at Hidden Valley Elementary. She taught a variety of subjects, but loved teaching language arts. She spent most of her career at the school until she retired in the early 2000s.
“Folks either knew her personally or knew of her,” Witherspoon said. “I think it was just her tenure and how virtuous it was.”
Hoover said living in the neighborhood made her relationship with her students and parents stronger. She struck a careful balance between being a shoulder for support and a stern figure as an educator, she said.
Amid the backdrop of racialintegration and white flight in the neighborhood she was a steady presence for her students.
“I still call her the best teacher I ever had,” said Svenya Nimmons, a Hidden Valley resident.
Nimmons, who is biracial, said her mother was one of the few white residents to remain in the Valley as it became predominantly Black. She still remembers when Hoover handed her a photography book filled with beautiful, Black women in Church hats in sixth grade.
“She really opened my eyes to the Black culture that at times I wasn’t exposed to,” she said.
It was these endearing interactions that students remember, Nimmons said. For many students she wasn’t just a teacher, Hoover was a familiar and reassuring face in the neighborhood. The beloved teacher also challenged her students academically.
“All of our teachers were good, but you especially didn’t want to disappoint her,” Nimmons said. “She truly believed in you as a student and as a kid.”
‘We loved what we were doing’
Hoover attended Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina where she met her husband George Hoover. He worked at the college to pay for his own education at North Carolina A&T.
George Hoover says when they moved to Hidden Valley it was important to them to be involved . He would go on to lead the Hidden Valley Community Association in the late 1980s. He also taught industrial arts at Cochrane Junior High.
George Hoover said it’s amazing kids he and his wife taught over 40 years ago and still share memories of things they learned as kids.
“We loved what we were doing,” he said. “You have to love it in that profession.”
His wife’s reputation beyond the classroom showed her dedication and passion. Treating kids fairly with love was the mark of a good teacher, he said. Positive criticism also helped to push students to achieve their potential.
“I tried to teach students how I would like to be taught,” she said, adding she always led with respect.
Awards adorn the couple’s home, demonstrating her passion and dedication. In 1988, she won Hidden Valley Elementary teacher of the year. Plaques from her students thanking her also adorn her living room wall.
Ingrid Hoover, their daughter, said it was common for people to know her mother. She was still shocked to see how widespread the love was for her. While attending a recent cooking class with her mother at Sugar Creek Recreational Center, the instructor was overjoyed when she saw the woman who taught her as a kid, Ingrid Hoover said.
“There’s not a month that goes by where people don’t stop and tell me my mother was their favorite teacher,” Ingrid Hoover said.
It was a warm feeling to see students and families who remembered her, Hoover said.
“You feel like you contributed to the growth of somebody’s child,” she said. “That’s what you always hope for.”
Nimmons said when her mom died in 2020, Hoover was one of the first people to stop by, console her and help her receive guests in her mother’s house. Hoover’s gracious character extended beyond the classroom and set the standard for what community means in the Valley, she said.
“Its not just owning a home and waving to your neighbors, it’s supporting one another,” she said.
This story was originally published February 27, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
