Blue Ridge School announces its new headmaster

Contributed article
Published: December 3, 2008

Blue Ridge School has announced the appointment of a new headmaster.
Dr. John O’Reilly, current assistant headmaster for academics and administration, will take over leadership of the school when Dr. Dave Bouton steps down at the end of this school year.
According to a press release issued last week, O’Reilly has held his current position for four years.  Before coming to Blue Ridge School he was upper school head at Fort Worth Country Day School, and before that was athletic liaison to the admissions office at Penn State University. 
“Dr. Bouton has done a superb job during his tenure at Blue Ridge,“ says Michael G. Boswell, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “We owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for his tireless work on behalf of the school. Blue Ridge is a much better place as a result of his stewardship.“
School officials say Bouton, who has been Blue Ridge headmaster for nine years, is leaving because “he wants to do more writing.“
During his time at Blue Ridge, among other accomplishments, Bouton: secured a $3 million gift and doubled the School’s endowment; brought the school up to sustained full enrollment; and, facilitated more than $8 million in renovations, according to the press release.
Bouton will continue to be a part of the Blue Ridge community through his acceptance of a privately funded grant, which he will use to showcase the importance and success of the Blue Ridge Learning Model. “Blue Ridge is a very special place and I have been honored to serve as Headmaster for the past nine years,“ says Bouton.
O’Reilly holds a doctorate in education from Penn State University, and a master’s degree from Columbia University.  O’Reilly’s wife Cyndy is an executive with Hertz. They have two grown children.