A Hometown Hero Returns

MCPHERSON, Kan. — Cody Rierson, the incoming superintendent of McPherson USD 418, plans to visit one or two of the district's five school buildings every day, and to be inside all five each week. The Moundridge schools chief, who takes over July 1, told Citizen Journal that hands-on time in the schools will be his top daily priority.

"I want to be in the schools. And I want to see the kids, 'cause that's what I like most about the job," Rierson said. Lunch duty, greeting students at the door, recess, even substituting in classrooms — he said all of it falls under what he considers the central priority of the role. "I don't always enjoy the adult aspect of it, but I always enjoy working with kids."

The commitment is rooted in a longer story. Rierson has been walking those hallways, on and off, since he was a kid. He grew up in McPherson, attended Lincoln Elementary as a Lincoln Lion before Eisenhower was built, then McPherson Middle School and McPherson High School. "I rode my bike all over town," he said. "I usually left the house when the sun came up and didn't get home 'til the sun was down." Much of his childhood was spent at the YMCA.

He also met his wife in McPherson — in middle school. Rierson said he asked Abbey out when she was 13. "She said no," he said. "I just kept asking, wouldn't leave her alone, so she finally gave up." Abbey is now chief of staff at McPherson College. The couple has four children: Harper, a high school sophomore; Vivi, an eighth-grader; Jolie, a sixth-grader; and John Rhodes, a second-grader.

After two years of basketball at Barton Community College, Rierson returned home to McPherson College, where he played for Roger Trimmell. "Before I went to college I was an athlete that went to school," he said. "When I went to college I became a student athlete because I was getting really good grades and focusing on school — because I was sitting the bench a little more."

The family returned to McPherson in 2008 when Abbey took a pharmaceutical sales job, and Rierson became a fourth-grade teacher at Eisenhower Elementary while earning his master's at Wichita State University.

After a two-year stretch as principal at Caldwell, with the family living in Wellington, Rierson returned to McPherson as principal of Lincoln Elementary — the same building he had attended as a child. He held that position for eight years.

During his Lincoln tenure, then-McPherson Superintendent Randy Watson supported Rierson's enrollment in Wichita State's doctoral program, which met Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. He earned the doctorate in educational leadership in 2018, then took the Moundridge superintendent role in 2021.

Under his leadership, Moundridge enrollment has grown about 23%, from roughly 400 students to 500. Rierson, characteristically humble, said the growth had little to do with him personally. "It's not because of me. It's because of the culture and environment that we created for the patrons and for the students," he said. "People want to be a part of this. We need to do the same thing over yonder."

In 2017, the Riersons bought a farm in McPherson — a deliberate decision, he said, to put down roots in his hometown regardless of where his career took him. "We kind of made the decision that we were gonna live in McPherson the rest of our lives," he said. "Even if I didn't work there."

Now the work is in McPherson again. Rierson succeeds Shiloh Vincent, who steps down June 30 to lead ESSDACK. He inherits an $89.5 million bond McPherson voters approved in March, and said his daily presence is partly about earning trust as the construction work begins.

To keep the community engaged with bond progress, Rierson said, he plans to release construction renderings publicly before they're finalized. Opening early drafts to public input, he said, could surface ideas the planning team would otherwise miss. He plans to use a "musts, needs and wants" framework to map out spending — what will be built for sure, what's hoped for if funds allow, and what's extra — along with a timeline showing which buildings come first.

Rierson, who described himself as a "growth mindset guy," said he plans to use FastBridge — a benchmark tool already in use in McPherson and Moundridge — to track student progress at both the individual and classroom level. He plans to use that data to show how individual students and full classrooms are advancing over the school year, alongside the district's existing performance metrics.

Leaving Moundridge will be bittersweet, Rierson said. He called the district "top notch" and said he "couldn't have asked for a better" place to lead. He said he hopes to build the same kind of trust with McPherson patrons.

Rierson begins his McPherson tenure July 1. "McPherson Public Schools are home to me," he said. "I'm excited to get to work."

Brought to you by

Found a mistake? Have a news tip or feedback to share? Contact our newsroom using the button below:

Contact Us