A change of the guard at Blue Ridge School

DYKE — The head of the Blue Ridge School will step down at the end of the school year, but don’t expect drawn-out national searches with committees, subcommittees and angst-steeped staff worrying about their future.

The boys’ boarding school, nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Greene County, has already named a replacement, promoting from within.

“When you change leadership in a residential boarding school like Blue Ridge, where staff often live on the grounds, people internalize it not only on a professional level but on a very personal level because this is where they live,” explained Dave Bouton, 68, the head of the Blue Ridge School. “When you promote from within, you not only get people ready to hit the ground running, but you provide a sense of security. We’re growing our own leaders.”

The school serves students from middle school to high school and includes boys from across the country and some international students.

John O’Reilly, 60, Blue Ridge’s assistant headmaster for academics and administration since arriving at the school four years ago, will replace Bouton. The move will create a domino effect as job descriptions are changed, promotions made and duties altered within the current school staff.

The changes are part of a succession plan put together by the school’s board and administrators to pick existing staff members for the right jobs.

“Hopefully, it will provide a great deal of continuity,” O’Reilly said. “It will help develop an opportunity for longevity where staff can see real opportunities for professional and personal growth.”

Much of that potential has grown out of Bouton’s tenure. Since he took over in 2000, the school has undergone refurbishment, reinvestment and reinvigoration. The school is now at capacity, about 200 students, with a waiting list. The historic buildings, many built in the early 1900s, have been remodeled and updated.

“We tried to do better with what we have rather than to make the school bigger,” Bouton said. “We didn’t really want to be bigger than we are, but we wanted to do the best with what we have.”

Among measures made to reach those goals are an association with Piedmont Virginia Community College that provides students with college credits for courses considered “advanced placement” and gives some school instructors adjunct professor status.

The school’s athletics program has been improved and expanded and a division of the National Honor Society founded.

Policies and procedures at the school were changed to encourage and reward students for their initiative and positive behavior, officials said. Recently, a student brought up the idea of a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps on campus.

“We want students and staff to know that their opinions and ideas are valued,” O’Reilly said. “You need that kind of input and new ideas to keep the institution moving forward and to make sure we don’t come to rest.”

Bouton will continue to work with the Blue Ridge School by working with other schools interested in adopting the Blue Ridge method of teaching. Bouton’s work will be funded by a private grant.

While Bouton brought the school forward, O’Reilly said he believes his job will be to keep it vital.

“I have a huge advantage in that we’re not taking on water anywhere along the bow line,” he said. “We are in a good position, but we are facing uncertain [economic] times and choppy waters ahead. We want Blue Ridge School to come out at the end of this — and there will be an end — in a strong position.”