WOODSTOCK — Quaron Pinckney’s commute shortened considerably the day he started work as Burlington High School’s new athletic director.
Pinckney officially went on the job on Aug. 3, leaving Woodstock Union High School as its AD after two years. In a recent phone interview, Pinckney said the opportunity wasn’t one he saw coming but one he wanted to take.
“Everybody knows I was living in Winooski and making the commute to Woodstock daily,” the 30-year-old St. Michael’s College graduate said. “My commitment was really a commitment to remain in Chittenden County, and this opportunity was unexpected. It actually opened up after graduation. My plan was to be at Woodstock for year No. 3, and it turned out to be an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”
A Bronx, N.Y., native, Pinckney settled in Vermont after four years of basketball at St. Mike’s under Danny Hurley, the brother of former Duke and NBA guard Bobby Hurley. An early ski industry job didn’t appeal to him, so Pinckney pursued a master’s in athletic leadership and administration, completing his coursework in time to accept the Woodstock job two years ago.
Where Woodstock required him to oversee middle school and high school sports over six grades, Pinckney sees the Burlington job as one that can touch all grade levels. It’s a district-wide position encompassing Burlington High School and two middle schools that, unlike Woodstock, aren’t all in one location.
Once he gets comfortable, Pinckney sees himself trying to implement programs at the elementary school level as well. And there’s the size element, too: Woodstock’s grades 7-12 population runs around 500 students, barely half the size of the BHS student body alone and about one-eighth that of the entire Burlington district he’ll oversee.
Pinckney graduated with a degree in media studies, journalism and digital arts from St. Mike’s in 2012, but none of those areas stirred his interests when he entered the working world. After a stint in marketing, Pinckney returned to school and got a master’s in athletic administration from Castleton University. He was finishing coursework toward that degree when he accepted the Woodstock position two years ago.
“I had gotten into coaching after I graduated, and I realized I wanted to impact a larger number of students in a positive way,” Pinckney said. “That quickly led me to my decision to become an athletic director.”
Like Woodstock, Burlington will be offering a hybrid learning model — two days in-school, three days remote — to start the new school year. Pinckney’s biggest challenge: “How do we continue to connect with our students who have missed all this?”
Pinckney — who is also helping Woodstock organize fall sports until a successor is hired — expects BHS will be active in hosting Vermont Principals Association state championships, especially given the unlikelihood that the University of Vermont will make its facilities available in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and a closed college campus.
He’ll also be united with another former Woodstock teacher, Michael Jabour, now the athletic director at South Burlington High. The rival schools share a co-op football program.
“Woodstock was a great opportunity for both of us,” Pinckney said. “Both our families are up here in the Chittenden County area. While we’re passionate about our work no matter what great colleagues and students we’ve worked with, our hearts are in Chittenden County. We have to do what’s best for our families.”
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.