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For a while, it looked like the Board of Commissioners would approve a plan to build an all-new school and abandon or even bulldoze the historic Stillwell classroom building and auditorium.

“A lot of the kids haven't gotten to experience HHS the way I wanted them to just because Covid messed ’em up.”Īnother challenge that Wilkins survived, and prevailed in, was the five-year political war over the new construction-renovation project. “I have to say it really bothers me that I'm going out with Covid,” he said. And Covid lockdowns smothered the spirit of a lot of HHS traditions. 11, any time a student has died - it happened four times during his principalship - has made for a tough experience to guide the kids through.

“That's been a pleasure.”Īlong with Sept. As principal, “I've been around for a lot of state championships,” he said. While he was a teacher, he coached three varsity teams to state championships- two in basketball and one in golf. “My first major experience at Hendersonville High School as principal,” he said, “was living through 9/11, making sure things were OK here, and they handled it very well.” Many state championshipsĪ 6-5 basketball star as a Bearcat before playing guard for four years on the varsity squad at UNC Asheville, Wilkins has always been a sports fan. Something terrible has happened to our country.” He recalls sitting in a principals’ meeting that morning when Superintendent Tom Burnham abruptly told everyone to “go back to your school. “The players that I loved when I was a little boy - Willie McCovey was number 44, Donnie Anderson for the Green Bay Packers - they were all 44. “My lucky number has always been 44,” he said in an interview Monday in front of the huge red HHS insignia at the new school’s entrance - there because he insisted it had to be. His last Move Up and “Hail to the Red & White” will be on June 9 before he officially retires June 30. Except for his time leading the middle school, he’s been at HHS his whole career. His heart was in Hendersonville High School then, and that’s where it’s stayed throughout his 44-year career as a teacher and principal. “I coached football, coached two basketballs and girls track that first year.”

“I ended up coaching four sports that year,” he said. He called the principal the next day and accepted. Wilkins told Wilson he’d like to think about it. “And I said, ‘Well, I'm going into computer science and I'm kind of looking forward to that.’ And he said, ‘I'll give you math, I know you’re a math man.’” “He called me like in March” and offered him a teaching job at his alma mater.