Business teacher and assistant baseball coach Bill Wright recently announced his retirement at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. Wright is excited for the coming changes in the near future. 

“I really am not old enough to ‘retire’ as that is still between 10 to 15 years away,” Wright said. “This is more of a career change. The KPERS system is set up so that educators can retire after obtaining 85 points of age and service. I have 31 years of teaching experience and by taking the KPERS retirement now it allows me the ability to go “double dip” where I will be collecting the KPERS retirement benefit on top of the full salary that I will be receiving at my new job, which is working as an accountant at Morrow and Company CPAs in Wichita.”

Over the 24 years Wright has taught, his favorite memories came from the classroom and the ball fields. 

“A lot of my favorite memories come from my time as an assistant football and baseball coach. When I first got here in 2000, the football program was coming off a 0-9 season. We turned around the program and were state contenders for a decade with a State Runner-up finish in 2004 and then the State Championship in 2011. On the baseball field, the talented group of baseball players that led us to three consecutive 3rd place finishes at the State Tournament from 2014-2016 will always be part of my favorite memories. In the classroom, the creation of the rocketathletics.com website has been my favorite memory because of the joy that it provides to our student-athletes and our community.”

Even though he’s saying goodbye, Wright is thankful for all the people and opportunities he has come across over the years. 

“Without a doubt, I will miss the students and staff of Rose Hill,” Wright said. “I have said multiple times that a person doesn’t stay in the same position for 24 years without really enjoying what they are doing. I still enjoy teaching and the kids, but after all of these years I am looking forward to a new challenge in a new career.”