October 12, 2016
By KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT
Rutherford County Schools
Ask anyone in and around Murfreesboro what distinguishes Riverdale High School from other schools in Rutherford County and you’re likely to get one of two not-so-surprising replies.
Football.
Pride.
Some folks might refer to pride as school spirit or, more specifically, Riverdale spirit.
However, a surprising answer, especially for those who live on the other side of town, is that Riverdale is the only school in the district that has a fully operational, self-sufficient farm.
One that is complete with animals that will soon grow more diverse.
They’ve already had chickens and every morning students in the agriculture program collect eggs. More recently some of those same students along with ag instructor Michael Shirley purchased eight pigs, and when they finish welding the pens together in the next couple of weeks, those pigs will be on the farm as well.
This spring they’re planning to add sheep.
Until now the Riverdale farm has gone largely unnoticed for anyone who hasn’t been to the 44-year-old high school that opened its doors in August 1972.
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For many in the Murfreesboro community, Riverdale has been defined publicly by the success of its football program – the Warriors won state titles in 1994, 1997, 2001 and again 2004 – but, for its more than 2,100 students currently attending the school, Riverdale is more than a football school.
“Oh, it’s so much more than that,” agreed Nolan. “We’re good at everything. We really are. Our academic programs are amazing. Our test scores are great. Our graduation rate was amazing. It’s (nearly) 98 percent. We’ve had an increase on ACT scores. We’ve got a lot of good things going on.
“Believe it or not, football is a little bit down. They’re in a rebuilding phase right now, but they’re going to get there.”
Automotive and agriculture are among the exceptional programs namechecked by Nolan — who recently announced his pending retirement after 24 years in administration at Riverdale and 36 overall as a Warrior.
Mike Shew was a longtime ag instructor and built the Riverdale program before retiring.
Lucas Holman took over as an agricultural science education instructor a few years ago and Shirley joined him 20 months ago. Kinsey Emery is also part of the department, which has more than 300 students and continues to grow in popularity.
Shirley, an Oakland alum, and Emery, who graduated from Eagleville, are both products of strong FFA programs within Rutherford County Schools. In fact, former Oakland ag teacher Blain Keysaer inspired Shirley to pursue the Riverdale position.
“4H started me in the right direction,” Shirley said, “FFA and high school strengthened that and then when I got to college and was involved in agricultural studies there, it really shaped my life.”
“We went from one agriculture teacher to three,” Nolan said, “and those programs are still growing.”
Students like junior Spencer Perry are drawn to the idea that ag students “get to do so many more things than just sit in a classroom.”
For the second year, students in the ag program have the opportunity to participate in what Shirley affectionately referred to as “The Pig Project.”
Several students and Shirley purchased eight pigs during fall break from a breeder in McMinnville. The pigs are currently about 75 pounds and the students, who have committed to come in an hour or so before school and again after dinner, will raise the pigs to about 300 pounds between now and late January when they will show them at the Tennessee Junior Market Hog Show.
Shirley, who in addition to Holman also enlisted longtime English teacher Edie Urness-Pondillo as a teaching mentor, called The Pig Project a hands-on experience that goes well beyond a simple Power Point presentation.
In addition to raising the pigs for the next four months, which includes feeding and tending to their general wellbeing, the students – Luke Love, Tristian Shirley, Lilly Slipher, Bailey Lugo, Dakota DeVerse, Casey Engholm, Jackson Latham, Will Priddy and Perry – will train their pigs to compete.
Perry intends to pursue a career in agriculture.
“This is constant homework,” said Perry, who will also take part in processing the pigs, smoking the meat and competing at the Tennessee State Fair next fall.
“They’ll be able to learn firsthand,” said Shirley, who developed the project as a means of teaching responsibility and working within a team.
The Pig Project has involved other CTE programs at the school.
After buying a small livestock trailer that was in desperate need of some work, students in the ag shop helped to put in a new floor and weld the fencing together to divide the trailer into two pens. Those same students are also building the holding pens for the pigs at the Riverdale farm, which is located next to the greenhouse where Holman’s ag science class will work on growing food for the pigs.
Nolan credits the leadership skills of Holman, Shirley and Emery for the success and popularity of the ag department.
“It’s the same thing with our auto classes,” Nolan continued. “We’re up to two auto teachers now and two auto shops. They’re amazing. They can fix anything.”
Bryan Staats and Mark Everett are the instructors in charge of the auto classes. Earlier this year, they won several nationally acclaimed awards while competing at SkillsUSA in Louisville, Kentucky.
The skills Riverdale students are learning through an array of CTE classes transcend the classrooms.
Staats and his students in the auto shop worked to get the left and right turning signals working properly on the livestock trailer so that Shirley and his students could haul their pigs from McMinnville to Murfreesboro.
“The way to build programs in high school are the people you put in there to lead them,” said Nolan.
“One of the biggest programs that’s really grown around here is our DECA program,” Nolan said, referring to the association of marketing students. “Those kids do a really great job and they’re competitive and it’s one of the biggest chapters in the state.”
Riverdale’s DECA program is led by Emily Colbert and Tiffany Cain.
Nolan is also proud of the school’s Student Council.
With one of the highest populations of homeless students among the 10 high schools in Rutherford County, the Student Council continues to work with local charities to provide supplies ranging from binders, paper and pencils to tooth brushes and toothpaste along with warm clothes and jackets in the winter months.
Last year, students raised more than $20,000 for Childhood Cancer Research. This year, according to Student Council President Tyler Redmon, the goal is a lofty $30,000.
The hiring of a graduation coach — Nolan said that it’s “another set of eyes” focused specifically on academic success — has also made a huge impact at Riverdale.
Melissa Palmer’s position is in addition to the four guidance counselors – Meredith VanArman, Debbie Gainer, Anna Grace Gerhart and Bentley Shofner – the students are divided among.
Pride in the classroom as well as the playing field is all part of the cultural climate at the school. According to Nolan, that climate is different from other places. He likened it to a family-like atmosphere and said his entire staff works to make coming to school fun and enjoyable.
It’s a culture known as “Riverdale spirit,” he said.
“That’s the key,” said Nolan, who has made it a point over the years to make student-oriented hires when it comes to administrators, faculty and support staff.
He added, “There’s something else weird about us. Every kid in the school knows the alma mater.”
On a hill beside Stones River / always proud and bold / stands our cherished alma mater's / flag of red and gold / Warriors ever brave and loyal / making right prevail / we will honor thee forever / Riverdale, all hail!
O Great Spirit of our nation / watching over all / guide us by thy light eternal / lest we faint and fall / Warriors ever brave and loyal / making right prevail / we will honor Thee forever / Riverdale, all hail!
“I couldn’t tell you mine,” said Nolan, who graduated from McGavock High School in Nashville. I couldn’t start it. I couldn’t even tell you the first word of it, but every one of these kids know it.
“That’s kind of unique.”
Knowing their alma mater was something that first defined Riverdale back when Murfreesboro was what Nolan called “a divided city.” You were either a Warrior or you weren’t.
Nowadays it’s Riverdale, Oakland and then there’s Blackman, Siegel and to some extent Central high schools.
“It’s gotten so split up and splintered,” Nolan said of Riverdale’s longstanding rivalry with Oakland. “Somebody asked me the other day who our rivals are. I said, ‘Well, it’s everybody,’ but we still have that Riverdale community feel.”
Nothing showcases that communal spirit like a pep rally. Nolan described their pep rallies as “ridiculous.”
While the freshmen faculty prepare each incoming class for their first experience, Student Council President Redmon explained freshmen inherently know to follow the lead of the sophomores and that ultimately each class will take its lead from the seniors.
Each year, a select group of seniors are chosen to lead the cheers.
“What I do now, as a senior, are many of the things seniors did when I was a freshman,” said Redmon, who is among this year’s selection. “They passed it down.”
Warriors past and present refer to the infamous rallies as “a legacy,” Redmon said.
Successful sports programs have certainly helped to heighten school pride. In addition to four state football titles, the girl’s basketball team has won five state titles, and in 2013, they were ranked No. 1 nationally by ESPN.
Nolan said the team is so good they might not lose a game for the next two years.
He wasn’t joking.
The softball team and the wrestlers have also won state titles.
And, of course, shortly after he announced his pending retirement, the booster club and students announced they will name the field at Tomahawk Stadium after Nolan.
Riverdale spirit goes beyond the football field and the campus in general.
For example, when Shirley first stopped to look over a well-used livestock trailer he saw for sale on the side of the road near the intersection of Joe B. Jackson Parkway and Church Street, the conversation that followed unearthed the fact that the seller was a Riverdale alum, and more importantly, a former FFA student.
The man gave Shirley, who paid for the trailer with his own money, an additional $200 off the purchase price when he found out it was going to be used by the ag department.
“That’s what it means to be a Warrior,” Shirley said.
“As spirited as Riverdale is,” Redmon added, “I don’t think that spirit will fall without Nolan. Tom Nolan is an amazing principal. He’s the best one in any school that I know of. He’s an amazing man. I’ve gotten to know him personally and he’s just a great guy overall, but I think (the Riverdale spirit) is going to last because of that passing down through the generations.”
Redmon added, “As long as the collective spirit doesn’t go away, the spirit of Riverdale won’t go away.”
That said, yes, every day is different just as every school year is different.
But the kids have remained unchanged.
Nolan said that in spite of the demands being greater.
“Kids are kids. … and they’ll do what you let them do,” he said.
The longtime administrator said he knew the first day he walked into Riverdale he would be there for years to come. That feeling had everything to do with the kids. But next fall it will be time for someone else to carry on the Warrior spirit that bridges the school’s future with its much-talked-about past.
“Am I going to miss it?” asked Nolan. “Of course I’m going to have withdrawals bad. I already know that. This is maybe one of the toughest years I’ve had and it seems like it’s flying by already.
“The kids – the juniors – they’re all coming up and saying, ‘Can you stay one more year?’ And then ninth graders are, ‘Can you stay three more years?’ It’s never-ending, but it just has to end sooner or later.”
PHOTOS / KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT
(Top) Agriculture instructor Michael Shirley oversees Riverdale junior Spencer Perry as he welds fencing used to create a pair of pens in the back of livestock trailer used by students to haul their pigs. (Middle and Bottom) Shirley and Perry watch as their newly purchased pigs are loaded up for the trip from nearby McMinnville back to the Riverdale farm in Murfreesboro.