When Opp High School students grace the halls Monday, there will be a new face in the principal’s chair.

Over the summer, the Opp Board of Education hired 25-year education veteran Ron Snell as the replacement for retiring principal Clayton Norris.

Snell, who has served previously as an assistant principal for the Geneva County School system, and for the past eight years as the principal at Dothan’s Northview High School, said he couldn’t be more excited about what the year holds.

“I’m starting my 15th year as an administrator and my ninth year as a principal,” he said. “At no time am I more excited about the possibilities. It’s a combination of the faculty, staff, kids and community – there’s just so much potential.”

Snell called the summer “busy and exciting.”

“I am most pleased with our summer meeting we had with our parents and our seniors,” he said. “We had 91-out-of 100 who showed up with their parents. That’s a great turnout. It shows how much parents support their children in this community.

“While there, we went over their transcripts to see where they were in the classes they needed and where they want to be in the next four years. We gave everyone a road map to success.”

Seniors aren’t Snell’s only focus.

“The short and sweet of it is that our focus is that we arrange the way we do school so that every kid gets to be college or career ready,” he said. “We want 100 percent to walk across the stage. If they choose not to go to college, that’s their choice, but I want them to have the skills to do so. It won’t be because we don’t get them ready.”

Snell said he and teachers have been working behind the scenes instructionally.

“We’ve brought back some AP classes,” he said. “We’ve done away with algebra A and B classes, and are raising the levels. We are stepping up and taking the challenge. You can’t offer remedial courses and expect kids to get college ready.

“There’s just a lot of excitement going on here,” he said. “One of our mission statements at Opp is ‘four great years to graduate.’ We want them to be great. We want them to enjoy football, pep rallies, extracurricular activities, even though we are focused on academics.”

Snell is married to Kim, and they have five children.