The biggest difference between being a coach and an administrator is the amount of people one can affect. For Chad Pitts, making the switch meant impacting an entire school rather than 30 or so kids.
“I enjoy leading people,” Pitts said. “As coach, it was leading kids and leading players. I enjoy getting people to work together for a bigger goal and work for something bigger than themselves.
“I just enjoy leading, so when this position came open to be the leader of the school, it was something I was drawn to.”
Pitts, who has served as assistant principal for Benton Junior High School, was promoted to principal after the former principal, Lori Kellogg, retired at the end of the school year in 2018.
“I think we have a great staff here; they just need a vision and someone to show them what this school can become,” Pitts said.
Pitts began his education career in June 2010, when he was hired by the school district to be an assistant coach for football and basketball at the junior high and the head coach for golf at the high school. He also taught physical education for the elementary school.
In 2013, he was hired by Glen Rose High School, where he was the head boys basketball coach for two years. He taught eighth-grade science for those two years, and each year, he was named Teacher of the Year for Hot Spring County.
From there, he was hired by the Bauxite School District to be an assistant football and basketball coach. He had the opportunity to coach with longtime friends and mentors in Andy Brakebill and Mark Smith.
“I wanted the opportunity to coach with those two,” Pitts said.
Pitts played basketball under Smith at Bryant High School and graduated in 2005. Pitts was named all-conference his senior year, and Smith said, by Pitts’ senior year, he was by far the best offensive player Bauxite had.
“As a coach, he was very knowledgeable of the game, just like he was as a player,” Smith said. “He worked hard at it. … He worked hard at learning the game and took on a coaching role like he did as a player.
“He was a good coach. I hated to see him get out of coaching, but he had the chance to move up in his career, and that’s what he did. I’m glad for him.”
Pitts returned to the Benton School District in 2016 as an assistant principal under Kellogg.
“We are so excited to have Chad and his family in the Benton School District,” Benton Superintendent Mike Skelton said in a statement. “He is a strong family man and has shown exceptional leadership ability in all capacities as an educator.
“Chad has an outstanding work ethic and prides himself in establishing positive relationships with all stakeholders. He is very knowledgeable and strives to further develop his leadership capabilities for the continued improvement and growth of his students and staff.”
“We have some really good people working in this building,” Pitts said. “Our staff is awesome, and I think they deserve some stability. I would like to provide that for them.”
Pitts earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2010 and received his master’s degree in educational leadership from Arkansas State University in 2015. He is currently working on a specialist degree in superintendency.
“I think, on down the road, I would like to become a superintendent, but I don’t know how quickly I will use that or achieve that goal,” Pitts said. “I see myself being in this position for several years.”
Chris Nail, who is now the superintendent for the Beebe School District, was the head boys basketball coach at Benton High School when Pitts was hired.
“Chad was always a very conscious person,” Nail said. “He had a ton of energy and was very organized, and that was the thing I liked about him.
“He had high expectations, and the kids liked him. I was just really impressed with him.”
Nail said making the transition from a coach to an administrator role is usually smooth because they are both leadership positions.
“We are committed to getting the best out of people,” Nail said. “The biggest challenges for coaches when they make the switch is understanding the curriculum, and Chad has worked hard on that already ….
“… He was just a person that I could always count on. I knew when I gave him a task, he would do it to the best of his ability.
“I knew he would do a good job with it.”
“[Chad] is very knowledgeable and very levelheaded,” Smith said. “He is an easygoing guy and fun to be around.
“I enjoyed working with him as a person, on and off the court.”
Pitts said he loves being around kids, and he said education was a game-changer in his life.
“It was something that helped me turn a corner in my life, as far as being able to accomplish more than I was supposed to,” Pitts said. “I want to influence kids in a positive direction. I have a passion for kids who are less fortunate than others, and I wanted to help those specific kids, make the right decisions.”
He said going to college was never something that was forced upon him, but once he graduated, he saw how new opportunities opened up for him.
“My first job, I got to work with people (Chris Nail and Scott Neathery) who shaped me into being successful,” Pitts said. “They taught me how to bring the same energy every day.”
Pitts said that as principal, he has three goals in mind. He wants to focus on relationships between students and staff, and also teamwork among the staff, and “I want us to wake up every day to get better,” he said.
“This is no island,” Pitts said. “We have a great staff here, and we all need to be able to lean on each other.”
Replacing Pitts as assistant principal is Melissa White, who was a teacher at Benton High School for 17 years. The other assistant principal on staff is Charlie Reynolds. Pitts said Reynolds has been there a number of years and played a big role in helping Pitts adjust to an administrator role.
“I’m excited,” Pitts said. “I have two really good assistant principals. If I didn’t have them by my side, I think I would be nervous or anxious.
“But knowing they are there, working as a team, makes me excited more than anything.”
Pitts has been married to Allyson Pitts for eight years. She is a high school counselor for the Benton School District. Together, they have two children: a 5-year-old girl, Taylor Ann, and a 2-year-old boy, Eli. Chad Pitts said if someone had asked him 10 years ago if he would have three degrees and be a principal, he would have said they were crazy.
“If it wasn’t for Allyson constantly pushing me to make me better, I don’t know where I would be,” Pitts said. “She has pushed me to get better.”
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.