Among the changes that Blanco High School students will see this school year will be a new face at the helm.

Patrick Hinson, who has been in education for 18 years, is ready to get started, even with COVID-19 and its myriad of unknowns lurking in the background.

His first day on the job was July 6.

“We’ve started making some plans, and we’re going to follow the guidelines released by the Texas Education Agency by offering online and in-person options,” Hinson said.

Parents soon can expect to see a survey from the district.

“The parent survey will tell us a lot and will help us plan, including to give us an idea of how many kids to expect on campus.”

The TEA, which oversees education in the Lone Star State, released its guidelines on July 7.

“We’re going to have to be flexible and roll with it,” he said. “We hope that we won’t have to go to 100 percent online this school year, but we know to plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

Hinson said he’s looking forward to the new school year.

“I would have been nervous being a first-year principal regardless, but because of COVID-19 it’ll be a year I’ll never forget,” Hinson said. “It’ll be a good year but there might be a few bumps along the way. We’re going to make it work.”

A career in education

Blanco High School is Hinson’s first principalship. The majority of his years in education have been as a science teacher and coach. He’s been at Lake Travis ISD for the last seven years, most recently as an associate principal.

He was the head coach of the girls basketball team there, also.

“It keeps me young,” Hinson said of his career in education. “Just being around these kids gives me energy and that’s what I’ve missed the most since COVID-19…just seeing their smiles and hearing their laughs; watching them learn and grow.”

Hinson does his best to keep up with students he’s taught in the past.

“It’s nice to know that I may have had a little hand in their trajectory, or influencing them,” he said.

Like everyone, he still remembers the teachers who inspired him many years ago.

“My fourth-grade teacher is why I got into education, and my science teacher is the reason I got interested in biology,” Hinson said.

Despite finding success at Pflugerville and Lake Travis ISDs, Hinson knew he wanted to work in a smaller school district.

“When you have 3,500 kids, your impact will be smaller, because you can’t get to every single kid, but here, with 350 kids, I’ll know every single one of them.”

Being in a smaller school district also feels like home for the new principal.

“I grew up in a small town in Tennessee, and loved my small school,” he said.

He’s also glad that he doesn’t have to relocate from Spicewood, where he, his wife, who works at Lake Travis ISD; his son who is going to be a sophomore; and some goats have made their home.

“The goats are more pets than anything,” Hinson said with a chuckle. “My son says they’re just dogs with hooves. We just got a donkey to add the mix, so now it’s one big happy family. I definitely feel blessed.”

Hinson feels positive about the future at Blanco High School.

“Once I get a chance to talk with more faculty members, kids and parents then I’ll have a better idea of what changes might need to be made, or things to make a little bit better,” he said. “You never want to be stagnant; if you’re not growing, you’re regressing.”