Jonathan Ray, a 1991 graduate of Poplarville High School, is in his second year as Principal at Poplarville High School where he has been an educator for the last 24 years. Coach Ray, as he is known to all, started his career in education at Sumrall Attendance Center in 1996 where he taught Biology and coached football and baseball as an assistant. Coach Ray got the opportunity to return to his alma mater as the Head Baseball Coach in 1999 also teaching Biology among other sciences. Eventually moving into Softball in 2001, Coach Ray found his niche winning 15 region championships and a State Championship in 2009. In 20 years of coaching Slow-pitch and Fast-pitch Softball, Coach Ray finished in 2020 with 519 wins and 224 losses. Coach Ray cherishes the opportunities coaching gave him to mentor and minister to student-athletes and takes pride in the 43 student-athletes that earned opportunities to play at the collegiate level after leaving the programs he coached.
Coach Ray’s Career turned to administration in 2013 when he took on the role of Athletic Director at PHS as he continued coaching and teaching. In 2020, Coach Ray moved from AD to Assistant Principal finally ending his teaching and coaching after 25 years. In 2021, Coach Ray accepted the Principal position at PHS. In his first year as Principal, Poplarville High School scored 808 in school accountability ranking PHS 8th overall in the state of Mississippi. Within the successful accountability rank, PHS garnered the top Math proficiency in the state with 96% in Algebra 1, the 2nd highest Biology score in the state at 89%, and a PHS best of 83% proficiency in US History. Coach Ray attributes this success to the teachers, the students, and a prior foundation established of work ethic and positive culture both within the school district and the community of Poplarville. Coach Ray believes, “My part is simply to coach and invest in these stakeholders and always give God the glory!” Coach Ray has been married for 29 years to Julie Ray and has raised 3 sons, Chandler, Camden, and Canaan. His 3 sons all graduated from PHS where they excelled in sports and academics all earning scholarships.
Congratulations Jonathan Ray on being awarded the Administrator of the Year for the 2022-2023 School Year!