Michael Byrd, the new assistant superintendent for the Cabot School District, looks back fondly to a principal who impacted Byrd’s life when he was in the sixth grade.
Byrd graduated from Lufkin (Texas) High School in 1993. However, in the fall of 1986, when he was in the sixth grade, he moved from Tyler, Texas, to Brookhollow Elementary School in Lufkin.
“It was tough, coming into a new school and being the new kid,” Byrd said. “I had my struggles. Herbert Cross was my principal. He was an African-American gentleman at Brookhollow Elementary. He really saw fit to take me under his wing and kind of help me navigate those difficult waters. That always stuck with me. What a good man he was, and how well-respected he was. He helped me with what was, for a sixth-grade boy, a pretty difficult time.
“I just always appreciated and looked up to him. If I had the opportunity to make an impact like that, that is what I wanted to do. I wanted to be that person for somebody else.”
Byrd, who started teaching at Cabot Junior High South in December 1999, worked his way up through the ranks from teacher to coach, then into administration. He was hired as an assistant superintendent in the spring. He went on contract July 1, replacing Tammy Tucker, who moved for a position as associate superintendent for the Fayetteville Public Schools.
“I think about what Mr. Cross would do a lot,” Byrd said. “I had struggles just like a lot of kids do. Whenever I’m working with a family and I’ve got a kiddo who has stuff they are trying to work through and work on, I can relate very easily to a lot of situations. I think back to the people who invested in me and put that time in on me. I want to be that for somebody else. I like paying it forward.”
After graduation from Lufkin, Byrd moved to Searcy and attended Harding University. He became interested in Harding because of his church youth group going to Harding during the summer.
“Through going to youth events through the summer and coming up for the Spring Sing, Harding was the kind of place I fell in love with,” Byrd said. “Once I hit high school, I knew I wanted to go to school there. I thought to myself, ‘I’d like to play football there,’ so I walked on at Harding and was able to play ball there.”
Byrd was on the Bisons football team for five years. He earned a partial scholarship before the start of his first season.
During his time on the football team, Byrd played defensive tackle, linebacker and defensive end. His head coaches were Larry Richmond and Randy Tribble, who is now the head coach at Greenbrier High School. Ronnie Huckaba, who retired a few years ago and after whom Harding’s new $5.2 million indoor practice facility is named, was Byrd’s defensive-position coach. Byrd was also teammates with current Harding head coach Paul Simmons.
Byrd earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1998 and a master’s degree in education in 2001, both from Harding.
He was hired at Cabot Junior High School South by principal Brooks Nash in December 1999 to teach seventh-grade life science. At the same time, Byrd visited with Cabot Panthers football coach Mike Malham early one morning about helping as a volunteer assistant coach at South.
“I was lucky enough to get a teaching position, and I always knew I wanted to coach football just because of the impact some coaches had on me,” Byrd said. “Coach Malham told me that if I was going to do this, I had to be there every day and better not miss a day.”
Byrd was a volunteer assistant at South from fall 2000 through spring 2003.
“What I did, I took my plan period and went out to eighth-grade football during fourth period; then I would run back inside and teach my classes the rest of the day. Then I’d go back after school and help with ninth grade,” Byrd said.
In August 2003, Byrd moved to the high school to teach biology under Principal Tony Thurman, who is now Cabot’s superintendent. Byrd was also an assistant coach at Cabot Junior High School North under head coach Danny Spencer.
In June 2007, Byrd was hired as an assistant high school principal and would stay in that position until spring 2014, when he was hired as the head principal at Cabot Junior High North. He stayed in that job one year before becoming director of Student Services for the district. He dealt with student enrollment and worked with students and discipline issues, helping principals navigate those waters.
“It was great. … I loved it,” Byrd said. “I tell people all the time that I see some people on their worst days. It’s nice to be able to help people and try to find a solution when things are not always great.”
Byrd was hired in the spring to move into the assistant superintendent’s role.
“I’m just very blessed,” Byrd said. “I work with great people. I live in a great community. Cabot has been a real blessing to me and my family. It’s an honor, honestly, to be able to have worked in such a great place. I pray every night for the wisdom to be able to make good choices and help the district in any way I can.”
Thurman said he’s confident that Byrd will do well in his new role with the school.
“It’s been obvious, observing Mr. Byrd’s career over the years, that leadership at the highest levels would certainly be attainable,” Thurman said. “He has an ability to relate to people in a very professional and sincere way. He has always had a strong work ethic, and that is essential in his new role as assistant superintendent, since our jobs are not five days a week for eight hours.”
Thurman said Byrd has adapted to the changes quickly.
“I believe we’re only seeing the beginning in regard to what he will accomplish,” Thurman said.
Byrd said he really didn’t have any aspirations to become an administrator, especially when he was younger.
“When I started teaching, I just wanted to teach science and coach football and impact kids that way,” he said. “To me, that was fun and what I looked forward to.”
Byrd said that now he realizes that getting into administration will give him more chances to help students.
“I saw opportunities to have an impact in a different way,” he said. “I continued through education and saw some opportunities, and some doors were opened.”
Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.