V OLUME 56 , ISSUE 6

M

ARCH 2017

By Ryan Israel Chieftain Staff

Most students at Brother Rice remember that Mr . John Birney served as President from 2007-16 . What many do not know is that Birney served as Principal from 2004-06 , before transitioning to the newly created position of President . While Birney served as both Principal and President , Mr . Tom Reidy will now attempt to do both at the same time .

Reidy was named President of Brother Rice in May 2016 , and soon after it was announced that his right-hand woman at Tampa Catholic , Ms . Therese Jackson , would be assuming the role of Principal . However , Jackson ’ s first year as Principal was cut short when she announced her resignation to Reidy in February .

After deliberations , the Board of Directors decided that , for the sake of continuity , Reidy would assume the role of Principal while continuing his duties as President . President / Principal was the same title that Reidy held at Tampa Catholic , a co-ed school with over 750 students , over 100 more than Brother Rice .

The new administrative alignment was announced in an email Reidy sent to families on Feb . 15 . The following day , the Brother Rice all-school Mass concluded with a speech from Reidy to the students .

At the Mass , Reidy called on the student body to respect the privacy and

Mr . Reidy has addressed both parents and students about the recent changes

dignity of Ms . Jackson after her resignation . He then announced his assumption of the role of Principal and elaborated on his new role .

Reidy mentioned that most students would likely not notice a change , adding that he was looking forward to spending more time in the halls getting to know the students , something he had not had the chance to do while he was only President . Reidy concluded his speech by listing

a few of his characteristics as Principal , including a strong support of the dress code . In the spirit of transparency and openness , Reidy also held open-forum meetings for Brother Rice parents on Feb . 16 and Feb . 23 .

That was over a month ago . As of today , Mr . Reidy has held the title of President / Principal for about 30 days , and he has made his presence known throughout the school . He has spent time stopping into classrooms to observe learning , eaten lunch with upperclassmen , and handed out Girl Scout cookies in the parking lot after school . Reidy also organized a meeting with a group of leaders from the Senior class to hear what they had to say about the current state of Brother Rice .

“ To walk the halls and be in the classrooms has been the best part because I was hesitant as the President to do those things ,” Reidy said in an exclusive interview with the Chieftain . “ But now as President / Principal I ’ m free to do those things . See PRINCIPAL on Page 2

The results of the Chieftain ’ s follow-up poll on the iPads

See Page 4

BROTHER RICE HIGH SCHOOL CHIEFTAIN PAGE 1 MARCH 2017