Hello, Dolores, Colorado!
My name is Reece Blincoe and I will be serving as your interim superintendent for the 2021-22 school
year. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and give you a little background information, both
professional and personal.
Most recently, I moved from Georgetown, Texas, where I had semi-retired from education. I had worked
in public education in Texas for 34 years, where I started as an agriculture science teacher, progressed to a
career and technology education director/campus administrator, then to a school superintendent, and
finally a professor of school administration. In total I served as an administrator for over 20 years and a
superintendent for 11 of that.
As a superintendent, I had a number of accomplishments that I was really proud of. We were the first
school district in Texas to implement a chess curriculum to all 2nd and 3rd grades and we were featured
in a major education magazine for our accomplishments. We were also one of the first school districts in
Texas to offer a full 1:1 Apple computer use for students in grades 9-12 and eventually grades 6-12 with
3rd through 5th graders using i-pad devices. As we continued our academic gains our high school was
the recipient of the prestigious National Blue-Ribbon Schools award and we were nominated in the top 3
best small school districts in Texas, two years in a row.
As a professor, I was the director and instructor in graduate programs for education administration. In
essence, I taught classes to help school teachers become administrators and earn a masters degree along
the way. I taught this program for two years in Texas and the two more years in New Mexico.
I began visiting Southwest Colorado over two decades ago when I was invited on an elk hunting trip. We
hunted around the Pagosa Springs area for a few years and then eventually up from Dolores, behind Priest
Gulch. I was never able to bag an elk, so let’s just say I’m not very good at elk hunting, but along the way
I began fly-fishing and just enjoying the beauty of this region. When this job opened up, I felt I would be
a natural fit for the area, so I applied.
Currently I am here with just myself and my dog, Bernie. You might see us on the river trail in the
morning or at the farmers market on Wednesday’s (he’s the fluffy black and white dog, I’m the guy on
the other end of the leash). Back in Texas I have two daughters and a granddaughter that I am very proud
of. My daughters are both college graduates and my youngest, hopefully, is off to dental school in the
Summer of 2022. My oldest is in property management and is mom to a beautiful four year old girl.
I was officially hired on Friday, July 23, and began work the next Monday. I have spent this week getting
to know the Board, staff and community. You are so fortunate to have a School Board that is dedicated to
the students and community. They truly want to grow the district to be the best and I want to help them in
that quest. I am overwhelmed at the kindness and dedication of the staff. Everyone has been so helpful in
my transition to be your superintendent and I look forward to working with everyone this school year. I
am fully aware that it will not be all smooth sailing this year. We are dealing with a resurgence of the
COVID virus and trying to put procedures in place to keep all of our staff and students safe as everyone
returns to school. Our goal is to go the full year with face-to-face/in school instruction. We are
monitoring information from the CDC, CDE, local health authorities, and surrounding school districts. In
all we do we want to make sure that we are keeping everyone safe and learning. We are also
implementing the new 4-day school week calendar and are preparing for the changes that it will bring.
We will be visiting with our principals and other staff members to see what activities we will be offering
for students and families on our Friday’s off, more information will be coming soon.
With all that said, I am honored to be serving as your school superintendent this year and I look forward
to meeting as many of you as possible. If you see Bernie and I out and about, please come say “Hi.”
Yours in education,
J. Reece Blincoe