Virdie Montgomery, principal of Wylie High School, announced his retirement this afternoon.

Montgomery posted the following on his Facebook page this afternoon:

“I have let my bosses know today that I am going to retire. I have played with the idea off and on all year but could never pull the trigger because I just could not picture myself not being here next year. I will admit that the last week or so was the deciding factor. I hate to lose but I am a whipped dog right now. I am sorry I don’t have the strength to fight more. There is no one I blame….it is the times we live in. In my heart I know that I have done nothing wrong. I love kids. I love all things Wylie High School I searched my whole career and even tried to create everywhere I have been this thing we call AHMO. I will always cherish this time. I think I did ok here.

I want to thank everyone who supported our mission. You all have been just the best. This is going to be a new adventure for me but is was not the adventure I was looking for. I will find where God wants me to be. I have no idea for the first time in my life….there is a void. This place…..this place…..is special. Thank you for the opportunity to love your kids. It was a joy and the ultimate honor to get to be the Principal of Wylie High School This school board and this central office leadership under Dr. Vinson cannot be topped. Thank you all.

I am not able to talk right now with extraordinary raw emotion that comes forth. Writing comes easier through the stream of tears I have. I gave you all the best I have to give….sometimes it was not good enough but it was all I have. I cared about this place and I mean no one any ill or harm. Please continue to support your kids, our staff, and all things Wylie High School. It is a great place. I have no plans…don’t even know what I will do tomorrow. I just know that I have left my heart inside that school and it is hard to go around without a heart. I am certain that God will find my spot. I trust Him with all I have. Of course this is long…I will leave it here for a while but likely tomorrow I will delete all forms of social media. I am tired and I would hope that now….people would just leave me alone.

Thank you all who have loved and supported me….you have gotten me through it.”

Since taking the lead job at Wylie High, Montgomery has brought his own brand of leadership to the school.

His goal was to make high school years more meaningful for WHS students.

He created memories by dressing in full pirate regalia for special occasions, such as Talk Like a Pirate Day, and could be found perched on the message sign in front of the school while dressed as an elf, as in Elf on a Shelf.

Prior to the COVID shutdown he would deliver announcements every morning at WHS.

When coronavirus disrupted traditional classes, he filmed those announcements, dubbed the Corona Chronicles, at various locations and aired them on his Facebook page, which amounted to more than 30 installments.

Montgomery also made, not only local, but national news when he started personally visiting each of WHS’ 2020 seniors last month.

Most days Montgomery averaged visiting 30-50 students and had a record day with 91 visits.

He admitted that he thought it would take only a couple of days to complete the visits, but quickly learned it was a bigger project.

On arrival at each address, the principal would ring the doorbell, greet the senior, ask if there was anything they needed, take a picture and give them a Snickers candy bar along with a pun.

“Things are going bad, but one day we are going to snicker about this,” he repeated at stops.

For more updates about Montgomery’s retirement, continue to read The Wylie News both in print and online.

From Staff Reports. [email protected]