CRAIG COUNTY – After two years of being “a small part of many good things” that have happened at Craig County High School, Principal Matt Coe is leaving his position the end of June in order to be able to spend more time with his young family.
“This position requires a tremendous amount of time,” Coe said. He explained that it takes 60-70 hours a week in order to do the job right, “and I feel like I have been neglecting my family and missing out on watching my kids grow up.”
Craig County High School Principal Matt Coe says he will always be a Rocket, but he’s leaving because “…it’s time for me to get back to being a dad.” Photo by Gwen Johnson
Coe and his wife Tracy have three children: Ryan, 6; Emory, 4, and Tyler, who is only 21 months. Tracy teaches geography at Northside High School where she has also coached the girls’ basketball team for the past 12 years.
“I came to Craig County High School Aug. 1, 2011, to be Principal Dan Bowman’s assistant principal and athletic director,” Coe said, “and Tyler was born two weeks later. “I had a heavy schedule and wasn’t able to be of much help to my family at that time.”
When Bowman became ill with devastating health issues, Coe quickly moved up to acting principal and then principal, a position he has held for the past two years.
“I have always been one who believes family should come first, and I haven’t been able to live up to that expectation because of the amount of time my job here requires,” said Coe, who mentioned he missed a lot of things his children and family have done including T-ball practice this year.
“The decision to leave my position here was a very tough one,” Coe added. “However I thought about it and prayed about it and decided I had to do what was best for my family, and I wanted to be with my kids.
Prior to coming to Craig County Coe taught Social Studies for seven years at Northside High School and three years at Lord Botetourt High School. He was assistant football coach at both schools.
Coe said he will return to the classroom in the fall at William Byrd High School in Vinton where he will be teaching geography and world history.
In the past two years at Craig County High School, Coe said he has been proud to be a small part of so many great things going on at the school.
One of the things he has seen come to fruition is Virginia Western Community College’s Community College Access Program that allows graduating seniors to attend two years of college tuition free if they qualify. If students keep their grades up to standard during that time they are guaranteed a place in any number of colleges that might not have otherwise been possible without CCAP, Coe said. June’s graduating class at Craig County High School had 17 students that will be taking advantage of the CCAP program this fall.
Coe is also proud that this year Craig County High School was ranked No. 46 out of 313 high schools in the state of Virginia, and on Standard of Learning scores the sophomore and junior classes ranked 28th in the nation in the field of Financial Literacy.
With Coe’s help, the Rachel’s Challenge Program was established Craig County Middle School and CCHS, as well as another positive behavior program, Rocket Fuel, for middle school students. The number of students attending the program at Botetourt Technical increased, Coe said.
He gives a lot of credit for the good things that have happened in the past couple of years to former superintendents and acting superintendents, Ron Gordon and “Chip” Hampton Gray, and now Superintendent Kelly Wilmore.
“These superintendents have done a tremendous job and really care about the kids.” Coe said, adding, “And I know Mr. Wilmore will continue to do great things here.”
“I also think we have the best students and best teachers around,” Coe said, “and I would like nothing more than to see the kids here I have gotten to know graduate and go on to do great things,” he added. “I will always be a Rocket and a No. 1 supporter, but it’s time for me to get back to being a dad. If you are going to talk the talk of putting family first then you have to walk the walk,” Coe said.
“We will sincerely miss him,” said Superintendent Wilmore. “He’s done a good job for us and really does care for the kids and put them first. However, I fully understand his family situation. The job of principal requires a lot of time and we appreciate the sacrifice he’s made of his time the past few years for us.”