John Courtney, Principal at Hudson High School
Ramsay Campbell
Hudson High School has been truly blessed with amazing staff members and administrative team. Mr. Courtney has been a principal for four years and has worked hard to make Hudson High School succeed, and he has accomplished that.
Mr. Courtney attended high school at Crosby High School, then went to college at Angelina College and Stephen F. Austin State University, graduating with a principal's certification. He has been an employee of Hudson ISD for the past 16 years, first as a health and physical education teacher and as a coach. He worked his way into an assistant principal position where he stayed for seven years. He then became head principal of Hudson High School and has been in that position for four years.
Mr. Courtney describes his duties of High School Principal as, “More staff related, a lot of the decisions I make of course affect the students, but the staff is who I deal with more.” Though his job is more related to staff, he has not forgot the students.
When asked why he is a principal he says, “The kids. That is the only reason I’m a principal. I love the kids, I love the interaction with kids and I have to make myself get out of this office sometimes because you can easily drive yourself crazy. That’s the reason I do this, for kids.” His job ranges from planning next year’s calendar to complying with important new laws on truancy, so he is often trapped in his office with the paperwork that allows our school to function. Despite long hours in an office, he also said that he hopes he can be a role model for students, because he has been in some of the same situations and knows how to get through them.
He says, “Safety to me is the number one thing, period. I am responsible for about 75 staff members and 803 students.” He also spoke about his passion for making relationships with the students and staff, “And right behind that (safety) is relationships. That is what I feel is so important, because if the students and staff don’t feel like they are loved and cared for, I’m not going to be able to make some pushes on things I feel like are great things for our campus.”
He ended the interview by saying, “What kids need to know is that we value all of our kids. What matters is, that kid belongs to us and comes on our campus and we have to find a way to make them grow: emotionally, academically, socially, etc. That’s what I feel like our job is. I want kids to know that every moment with a kid, no matter if I think they are happy or sad, or whatever is going on, is important to me. I value our kids, because I want them to value others when they leave us.”
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