By Madison Watts and Jordan Gross, Pine Whispers

Tradition, involvement, diversity, art, athletics – all things that matter at Reynolds High School. These are also the things Pat Olsen stressed on Wednesday, one day after he was named Reynolds’ new principal.

“Reynolds has a great history,” Olsen said during a phone interview from Michigan. “I want to honor that history and tradition, and learn about it.”

Olsen replaces Art Paschal, who retired June 30. Officials with the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education planned to name a new principal in June, but a second round of interviews took place instead. Assistant Principal David Small has served as interim principal and will continue to do so until Olsen’s official start.

The school board voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Olsen to the post. Olsen said he is excited to begin at Reynolds as soon as possible — as early as Sept. 18, he said Friday — but he must finish at his former school first. Olsen had been principal of Richmond High School in the suburbs of Detroit. He and his wife traveled from Michigan to Winston-Salem for the Labor Day weekend and Olsen met members of the Reynolds faculty and a number of students Friday morning.

Olsen heard about the job opening on a website for North Carolina administrators that he’d been checking regularly throughout the spring.

“I love North Carolina,” Olsen said. “Two of my younger sisters live there with their husbands, and we visit a lot.”

Superintendent Don Martin said in an email Wednesday that Olsen’s previous address did not factor into the hiring equation.

“We’ve hired other principals from outside of North Carolina when they’ve been the best fit for a position,” Martin wrote. “Where someone is from is less important than how well we think he or she can do the job. What struck me most about Pat is that he has great people skills and is a talented relationship builder. He also is very talented at integrating technology into the classroom.”

When the opening at Reynolds was announced, Olsen said he couldn’t pass up the opportunities: an energizing and new set of challenges for him, a chance to attend college in North Carolina for his oldest daughter, and a shorter drive to the beach for his wife.

Patrick and Karen Olsen have three children: Tyler (20), Brianna (18), and Kari, who will be an eighth-grader getting used to a new school. Olsen admitted that it will take time to get used to the changes for his family and the students at Reynolds.

“It’s an adjustment on both sides,” Olsen said. “I have to get used to (the student body), and they have to get used to me.”

With 1,700 students, Reynolds is a much bigger school than Olsen’s current high school of about 660 students. That offers a lot of new opportunities and challenges.

“I love the diversity in the student population. We don’t have that as much (at Richmond),” Olsen said. “That’s exciting for me.”

Olsen also mentioned that he is eager to see the Arts Magnet program in action and watch how art is integrated into all the classes. As for sports, Olsen said he’ll have to check out lacrosse since his school in Michigan doesn’t have that. Olsen, who has served as principal of his school since 2001, will be shifting his athletics focus from the Richmond Blue Devils to Reynolds’ black and gold Demons.

“Reynolds has a lot of clubs and things to do outside athletics,” he said. “I like to do things, too, and I would like to get to know some of the student leaders (when I get on campus).”

Olsen described a pleasant conversation with “a young lady on our dance team” when he was walking around the campus during his interview for the position. Olsen will soon learn that he met a Dancing Boot. No doubt he will catch on fast to all of the lingo floating around a school with so much history.

As word of Olsen’s hiring spread Wednesday, many students expressed high expectations for Olsen.

“After I found out about our new principal from Pine Whispers’ tweet Tuesday night, I read his bio from his last school and was very impressed,” senior Hayley Boling said. “Mr. Olsen seems to be a very dedicated principal. I expect that he will be a wonderful fit at Reynolds and follow our tradition of excellent principals.”

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If you haven’t yet, read Olsen’s bio at http://olsen.richmondhigh.richmondcmty.schoolfusion.us/modules/tt/profile.phtml?profile_id=117157&sessionid=eeaa28ef100dfa08c11ee8fb10fc5834