Ragland Principal Roger Wilkinson checks over his busy schedule for the week.

Roger Wilkinson took over as principal of Ragland School this year following the retirement of former principal Jeff Hardy.

Throughout his 17-year career, Wilkinson has spent the vast majority of his time in administration in Etowah County schools. Between serving Gaston School in Gadsden, Ala., and Etowah High School in Attalla, Ala., Wilkinson served as principal for the Department of Youth Services, which operates detention centers for incarcerated young men. Still, he hoped to serve as principal of a rural, K-12 school once more.

He found the opportunity when someone suggested him for the Ragland position.

 “I got really lucky, and I’m very fortunate to be here,” Wilkinson said. “To have a great position like this kind of fall in your lap is just wonderful.”

Since the school year started, Wilkinson has noted that the students have exhibited extremely good attitudes, and the parents and faculty have also been very supportive in his new position, making him feel warm quickly in his new position.

 “It’s probably been the best reception I’ve ever had.”

The reception also came with finding out how to best balance different schedules for three grade levels, extracurricular activities, and testing for more than 660 students in the district.

“Anything, basically, that can be done to a public school kid, we have to do it here. So that’s just kind of a monster in itself … it’s a lot to keep up with,” he said.

Still, Wilkinson is well on his way to being acclimated to the new position.

“I reached my first goal, and that’s that I’ve learned the faculty,” Wilkinson said. “So now, my second goal is I’m trying to learn my students, because they’re the reason I’m here. I’m making some headway, but I have 660-plus new faces that I’m trying to get acquainted with, so that’s going to take me awhile.”

He’s also currently developing a new schedule for the high school, including building time into the daily schedule for club meetings, physical education and remediation that may be hard to fit in currently. But all of the work is toward a worthwhile goal: making Ragland schools the best they can be.

“I want to have the best test scores in the state. I’d love to have the best 1A high school in the state, academically and athletically. How we get there and what it’s going to look like, I don’t know.”