Coy Pilson is the Best Principal I’ve Ever Seen

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It was the painting that did it for me.

My daughter graduated Rutherford High School in June 2018. We were at senior night in the old “Ram House” gym, where I witnessed one of the most caring and thoughtful acts I’ve ever seen from an educator.

Rutherford’s principal, Coy Pilson, called a young man to the stage. The boy had struggled through school, academically and, my guess is, socially.

As the student approached, Mr. Pilson spoke of how encouraging the boy had been throughout his four years at “Rudd,” not only exhorting fellow students, but the principal too. Mr. Pilson thanked the boy for his positive outlook, his work ethic and kind words, and for persevering to graduate.

Then the principal reached under the lectern and presented the student a gift.

“I want to give this to you to show my personal appreciation for all you have done for us, and for me.” Mr. Pilson said.

It was a painting. Not a plaque or medal or honor cord. An original canvas painting … created by Mr. Pilson himself, just for that kid.

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When my daughter was at Rutherford and kids came up in conversation, it typically went like this:

Them: “What grade is your daughter in?”

Me: “She’s in high school.”

Them: “Cool, does she go to Mosley?”

Me: “No, Rutherford.”

Them: “Oh [awkward pause]. Is she in the IB program?”

I know what they meant. Why on Earth would I, a white bread suburban dad, send my daughter to Rutherford, if not for an elite academic program not offered elsewhere? There couldn’t be another reason, surely. Rutherford is in Springfield, for cripes’ sake!

No, my child was in general population with the rest of the riff raff.

Rutherford has the highest percentage of non-white students among Bay County high schools – nearly 55% (~33% black) in a county where less than 18% of residents are non-white.

My daughter enjoyed a truly diverse high school experience. Seems to me that, as America gets less white and the economy more global, one goal of public education should be to expose children to people who do not look or live like they do.

Rutherford was a gift.

Mr. Pilson celebrates all his sundry students in every aspect – academics, sports, extra-curriculars, personal achievements, everything. He celebrates them as people – a group of people in a stage of life where self-esteem teeters constantly and sometimes the only savior of self-worth is an encouraging word from a respected adult.

He notices them.

One of my favorite things Mr. Pilson does is greet his students each morning. And not just on TV during the announcements. He stands in front of the school where parents drop off their kids and personally greets them as his kids, welcoming them to another great day as a Ram.

He also plays with them, dances with them, makes goofy TikTok videos for them, cherishes them.

And he role models for them.

Mr. Pilson has an astonishingly beautiful family. His wife Donna is a retired Air Force colonel who is now the executive director of Rebuild Bay County. His daughter and son both graduated Rutherford and college, one from the University of Virginia and the other from Duke. They have since launched their careers.

This is, tragically, not the normal family story for many Rutherford students.

Only 40% of African-American minors in the U.S. live with both their parents. The inordinate majority live with their mothers only, women who battle on to raise their kids alone, but will tell you they are outgunned.

Those numbers have crippling implications in the black community for everything from graduation rates to income level to the chances of incarceration. Much of Rutherford’s student body is simply starting high school from a different place than kids at other schools, with many more hurdles to jump.

Mr. Pilson is not only an example to his students of a doting educator; he provides a vision of how successful a black man’s life can be, a vision many of those students cannot find in their neighborhoods.

Now that Mr. Pilson’s children are grown, he has no family connection to Rutherford. It is understandable that he would stay at the school despite its challenges to be part of his kids’ high school years. However, he has other options now and is in a different phase of life. Why keep on when he doesn’t have to?

A clue can be found in one of his Monday Reflections, articles the principal writes to encourage those he leads. In a post titled “I Am Here for a Minute,” he answers a question he gets a lot – “Are you leaving?”

The post was written as the second of his two children was nearing graduation at Rutherford. The question is even more obvious given that, at the time, Mr. Pilson’s wife was still active duty and stationed elsewhere. The Pilsons chose to live apart for a time so their kids could finish high school together, at Rutherford.

Mr. Pilson’s answer was no, he was staying put. He loved his job, he loved his Rams. And he had not achieved his personal goal of seeing Rutherford become an “A” school.

“I still believe it can happen and I want to be here when it does,” he wrote.

That post was written May 29, 2017, a year and a half before Hurricane Michael. Since then, Mr. Pilson has had to lead Rutherford through the carnage of the storm, which turned Rudd from a high school into a 6-12 grade center (The school system announced the new principal of Rutherford Middle School on Oct 29, 2021).

Also COVID.

Did Mr. Pilson mean it that he was committed to Rutherford? Sure would have been easy to move on.

I follow Mr. Pilson’s “Ram 1” Facebook page. It is mostly filled with happy celebrations of his students’ achievements. But it also includes messages to parents about bathroom fires, weapons confiscated on campus, threats of violence toward the school, and vandalism of student-made art. He has one of the hardest of hard jobs.

Yet there he is, smiling.

The word “hero” is thrown around a lot. I do not believe in heroes, but I do believe in people doing their best when they don’t have to.

Mr. Pilson doesn’t have to do any of this.

So Ram 1, the most encouraging man in Bay County, let me encourage you. I am so proud of you. I’m proud my daughter had her high school experience under your leadership. I see the hard work you have done for my alma mater and our community. You have made a true and lasting difference.

Your work and your name should mark our local history like Mowat, Mosley, Oliver, Rosenwald … and Rutherford.

I thought you should know.

And as always …

Kevin