News
Hopewell High principal resigns
By Ken Munson
May 2, 2008, 10:32

Just one short year after accepting the position, Dr. Rudy Ford has announced that he will be stepping down as principal of Hopewell High School.
Ford's last day is June 30, after which he will venture into starting his own business, an educational consultancy that he will co-found with two other educators with doctorates.
"This enterprise is something that I've been planning for some time," said Ford.
The reason that pushed him to leave, said Ford, was the need to spend more time with his family. Despite initially saying that the Hopewell school system was a "destination assignment" at the start of the school year, he now says that the difficulty of maintaining a family while holding the demanding principalship eventually convinced him that he needed a new line of work.
"I'm trying to re-prioritize my life," said Ford. "The first priority is God, the second priority is my family, and work needs to be my third priority. I have three young boys, ages 11, 7 and 2. My seven-year-old has a birthday party coming up, and I want to be able to plan and organize that party."
Despite his brief tenure at HHS, Ford says he is proud of his accomplishments as principal.
"We have reduced overall disciplinary referrals by 27 percent," said Ford. "I hold this up as an amazing achievement. We've reduced all major categories by scores of incidents, and I'm most proud of that because that means less stress, less trouble."
Ford also says he expects to see a dramatic improvement in SOL scores when they come in later this year.
"We have always performed well," said Ford. "At least for the last few years, we've performed above expectations. But I think our academic performance will soar."
Another thing Ford is proud of is his S.O.A.R. program, a set of principles that he will be bringing with him to his new company.
"I invented and own the acronym S.O.A.R.," said Ford about his program, which stands for Succeed Over All Requirements. "We will incorporate it into [the company's] name, and what we'll be doing is helping schools change their school culture to a positive school culture, and we'll be helping individuals with personal plans to have success in their education. Hopefully by doing this I'll have more time to pursue my hobbies."
The school board wishes Ford the best.
"Insofar as he's made a significant difference relative to the changes he's tried to implement, we wish him well," said Superintendent Winston Odom. "With any opportunity for anybody to move on to another level, we support that."
According to Odom, the school system has already begun advertising for a new principal and plans to have a replacement by July 1.

© Hopewell News 2007