Dr. Cody Blair is entering his 12th year as a school administrator and his seventh year as the principal of Rider.
The Rider Chronicle sat down with Blair to talk about Rider’s final year, enforcing school policies and preparing for the start of Legacy.
Q: How did you expect the first few school days to go for Rider’s last year? And did they go close to or as you had planned?
A: I expected it to go well. We expected it to go well, and it did. We had a great first three days of school, for the most part. We had a few hiccups here and there with little details, but in the big picture, we had a great first week.
Q: What are some things you’ve done to help prepare teachers and staff, or even the building itself, for Rider’s last year?
A: We worked hard this summer. The administration team and I took a lot of feedback from teachers, our students and our families and always looked to see how we could make the year better. Especially it being the last year of Rider. We worked hard this summer to plan out some adjustments we wanted to make and get everyone on board about how we’re going to do it. We do some training throughout August when the teachers come back before the students. So it’s a lot of communication. Keeping everyone on the same page, and making sure everyone knows the systems we use on campus, the expectations and us collectively stacking our hands and saying this is what we’re going to do this year. We’re going to have these systems in place for students, so students have safe and orderly ways to come and learn every day so they can be successful.
Q: What are some policies you’re enforcing and stressing for this year at Rider?
A: We’re trying to keep everything positive. We’re trying to communicate expectations to students on what the district’s policy is about cellphones, dress code, some things with tardies and being out in the hallways in class. So we started using E-Hallpass, and that’s with all three high schools that started using that to pilot it this year before we go to Memorial and Legacy, which we think will be a positive thing.
Q: And are you hoping to use the E-Hallpass at Memorial and Legacy as well?
A: That’s right. We’re going to pilot it this year. Our school was one of the ones that wanted to get it off the ground, so we’ve been leading the charge, trying to see how it’ll work, and we’ve gotten good feedback from our staff so far. There are just so many things throughout the day, and we just want to be sure we know where our students are and keep them safe during the day. (We’re) trying to tighten some things up before we go there so we can have a great year this year and another great year when we start the new schools.
Q: What are you most looking forward to about the last year of Rider?
A: So many things. The message I’ve given to our staff here is that we need to savor the moments, enjoy the year and have a lot of fun. Starting off, this is a really exciting week for the school spirit and events with the Rider/Old High week, so it’s going to be really fun to be a part of that and a pretty special thing. The hallways look great already. All our student groups did a great job decorating. I’m trying to enjoy that and be at as many things as possible. I’ve been at several events since the beginning of August, and (I) got to talk to a lot of our student groups. I’m just trying to enjoy being with our teachers, especially our students and watching them perform, compete and do all the things that they love. So, (I’m) Just trying to enjoy the year.
Q: Do you feel like there is a lot of pressure about being the first principal at Legacy?
A: I don’t feel as if it’s pressure. Now, there’s plenty to do. I’m just really honored to serve in that role. I’m excited about it, I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. This year’s going to be unique in the way of me being the last principal here and being a part of this last year. So we really want to enjoy that. I’m excited about beginning and starting a new school, putting a new team together and making it an exciting experience for everyone that’s involved. The students, the staff, the families, letting everyone be a part of making it great. There’s plenty to do, so I do feel overwhelmed at times, but not in a pressured way. You just never have enough time to get everything done that you want to. It’ll be a packed year, but it’ll be good.
Q: How are you handling prepping for Legacy and still focusing on being a principal at Rider?
A: I spent some time this summer trying to organize my time and make some good plans of how I can do that because they’re both full-time jobs, and I’m trying to balance both at one time. I think for the fall semester, I’ll probably spend one afternoon a week, as well as one morning a week probably off campus at another district office where I can just do a little bit more focus work on Legacy things. Some planning and getting some stuff done. So, that’s the plan for the fall semester. The spring might have an additional afternoon or morning just because the closer we get to the opening of the schools, the more time and demands there will be, but that part is exciting. I’ve had to push pause on that a little right now just because of the opening of school this year. August is a really busy time once the teachers and staff come back, but next week, I’ll be able to get back on schedule and get back to trying to balance and do both to the best of my ability.
Q: What are some things you’re looking forward to about being a principal at Legacy?
A: Several things. I’m so excited for everyone to just see it, to just walk into the building. The thing is, it’s just a building, but it’s an amazing building. It’s going to be an incredible facility that everyone will be proud of and excited about. It’s like when students go to the CEC, and the CEC’s been open for almost nine years now. People go in there, and you kind of act differently. You learn differently. It’s just really nice to be in a nice facility. It’ll be nice for every single one of our high school students to be able to experience that for all four years. But again, it’s just a building. It’s no different than this being a building (Rider). A school community is about the people and the culture, and it’s about what we value and how we live out our school values and culture every day. I’m excited to build that with everyone. I think it’s going to be a challenge, but I think it’ll be a lot of fun. We’re going to put our stamp on it, our brand on it, and we’re going to make it excellent. Every kid and every staff member walks through, so it’s just a really exciting time for Wichita Falls and the community.
Q: Do you feel like there’s going to be a different environment for the students? I’ve driven past both and they both look amazing so far.
A: They’re both on time. Memorial will be finished around February/March, and Legacy will be finished in April/May. They’re on schedule, and no delays are expected, which is great. We’ll do several things this year. This fall, we’ll probably meet with our seniors at least once, all the current juniors who will be seniors at the two new schools, and we’ll meet with them at least once and start getting their feedback. In the spring, we’ll start having some meetings with the underclassmen, the sophomores and the freshmen. And then hopefully next summer, that’s when we’ll start building dedication, open house. Then how we usually do freshmen corral for the ninth graders, do that but for all classes, starting with seniors, where they can walk it and experience it.
Q: What about homecoming week?
A: That’ll be another thing. With the input of seniors – the district already started a committee for some current students of each campus, some of their parents, and some staff members. They already started generating some ideas, but that’s what will be cool. All the incoming students will help us plan all these new traditions and create those things.
Q: Will the homecoming week be between Memorial and Legacy?
A: There are different ways to do it, and that’s where we’ll kind of get feedback from our new students and our community asking if we want to do a rivalry week and a more traditional homecoming week or something like that. We’ll just see what the input is.
