Richey to Lead Reidland School

By Leigh Landini Wright, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

Mar. 31– — Robert Richey wanted a change of pace five years ago when his daughter was born.

Time with his family was limited because of running University Tire in Murray, owning an insurance agency in Nicholasville and co-owning a gift shop in Madisonville with his mother. In his spare time, he coached football as a paraprofessional at Murray High School.

His wife, Tina, is an eighth-grade English teacher at Murray Middle School.

In 2002, he sold the University Tire property to Murray State University and sold his insurance agency to his cousin. He and his mother closed the gift shop in 2003. Richey returned to college through an alternative certification program and began teaching special education in 2002 at Murray High School.

On Friday, Richey, 42, walked through the hallways of Reidland High School as he was introduced to students and teachers as the new principal. Richey worked as a special education teacher at Murray High for three years before becoming assistant principal at Caldwell County High School for the past two years. He doesn’t seem to be wasting any time preparing for his new challenge at Reidland.

"The first thing to do here is to establish a positive attitude," Richey said. "That will start on the first day that the teachers are back. They will notice some things throughout the building with positive influences for the students and faculty. Attitude is a choice. You can choose when you get out of bed in the morning if you’ll be positive or negative."

Reidland has been plagued by controversy for several years — struggling with scores on the Commonwealth Accountability Testing System, suspension of teacher Tericka Dye after it was discovered she had acted in adult films, and a lawsuit filed and later dismissed against former principal Glen Ringstaff last year by a mother of a student who was not allowed to bring a home-schooled student as her prom date.

Ringstaff was reassigned to the central office as an alternative education director in January, and retired Trigg County High School principal Sharon Knight was tapped as the interim principal. She will continue that role through the end of the school year. Richey’s contract will begin July 1.

Site-based council member Terri Kirk, the school librarian, said she was impressed with Richey during his interview. "It was almost like he had our questions in advance," she said. "What he brings here is a really positive attitude. He sees the positive side of every issue. I think we need somebody like that."

Richey plans to have positive reinforcement for teachers and to celebrate the successes of both students and teachers. Parents and the community will be invited into the school, and he plans to focus on classroom management, discipline and behavior along with the academics. Students will participate in a regular monthly test preparation program to boost scores on the CATS test.

"I come from a school with high behavioral expectations," he said. "We will maintain that here. … I also subscribe to the philosophy that education equals opportunity, so that more doors will open to students in the post-secondary world, be it college or work. We are the final phase of preparing them for life. Unfortunately, there are kids who don’t take that seriously."

Superintendent Tim Heller said he liked Richey’s business background combined with his special education experience and his caring attitude toward students. "With him on board, we see leadership that will help move (Reidland) in the direction of academic achievement," he said. "I think he’s a good listener. I think he’s going to pick up where Sharon Knight will leave off."

A 1982 graduate of Christian County High School, Richey holds a bachelor of science degree in marketing from Western Kentucky University, a master of arts in education (special education) from Murray State University and has his Rank I certification as a principal and supervisor of instruction from Murray State University.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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