Shouts of “It’s Mugshot Monday!” ringing through upstairs E-Hall on the first day of school signaled that McKinney High School’s prodigal son, AP World and European History teacher Mr. Richard McGowan, had returned.
Mr. McGowan, a four time recipient of the McKinney ISD Inspirational Teacher Award, first taught at MHS from 2000 to 2006, when he left to teach at the then new McKinney Boyd High School.
“I wanted to see what it was like opening a school,” Mr. McGowan said. “I had that opportunity, and I had the opportunity to be the social studies department head. It was a great experience, I’m glad I did it.”
While at Boyd, Mr. McGowan took jabs at MHS. He didn’t hold any grudges, but he wanted to help promote a sense of rivalry at newly opened Boyd, a school that didn’t have any seniors until its third year in operation.
“I encouraged a rivalry at every chance, definitely,” Mr. McGowan said. “I always came to the Cross-Town Showdown games, but Boyd needed that. Boyd needed a culture of rivalry. I’m sure I’ll do the same thing now.”
After spending six years teaching at Boyd, administration changes at MHS and the need for a change of scenery brought Mr. McGowan back.
“One of them [the reasons I came back] was Dr. Faris,” Mr. McGowan said. “I knew him as an assistant principal at Boyd, and I like the way he does things. I was also ready for a change. I think that’s helped me, moving around every couple of years.”
Mr. McGowan’s son transferring to MHS, even though he was zoned for Boyd, also influenced Mr. McGowan’s school transfer.
“My son’s a ninth grader here, and I transferred him here because he wanted to come here,” Mr. McGowan said. “We live in the historic district, maybe two blocks away, and we’re zoned for Boyd.”
Friend and fellow social studies teacher Mr. Mark Bayer also played a role in Mr. McGowan’s return.
“I also came to be closer to my dear friend Mark Bayer,” Mr. McGowan said with a laugh. “It wouldn’t be a news story at MHS without Mark Bayer, would it?”
When he first taught at MHS, Mr. McGowan enjoyed the atmosphere of the social studies department. Six years later, Mr. McGowan notes that the atmosphere hasn’t changed.
“I liked the camaraderie in the social studies department back then and it hasn’t really changed, even though it’s almost, with the exception of Mr. Bruck, completely different people,” Mr. McGowan said. “I guess you could call in the culture that hasn’t changed.”
While the culture of the social studies department is a definite plus for Mr. McGowan, he appreciates and enjoys the overall culture of the school, a culture, he says, is unique to MHS.
“MHS has always sort of portrayed the culture of tradition and a culture of almost a superior sense of MISD,” Mr. McGowan said. “It’s like the old Ivy Leagues. There’s just a sense of camaraderie amongst MHS students and graduates that you just don’t see in the other schools, partially because of the timelines of the schools. The first year I was here [in MISD] McKinney North opened…and they developed a different culture, not a bad culture at all, but a different one. When Boyd opened, they developed a culture, too. But nobody adopted a culture like MHS.”
Though much has changed since he’s been gone, the attributes that make MHS unique, according to Mr. McGowan, have stayed the same.
“MHS has changed a lot in the past seven years, but what makes it good has remained constant,” Mr. McGowan said. “I’ve taught at a lot of high schools over the past 22 years, and MHS has something the others don’t. The traditions, the camaraderie among the faculty, there is a different attitude here among the students. I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but I think the best way to put it is that the students here know what they have is different, and they appreciate that.”
by Ben Johnson
