Whitefish grad Harris hired as Bulldog AD

Whitefish High School’s new activities director is a familiar face.

The school board unanimously approved the hire of Aric Harris, a 2002 graduate of Whitefish High School, at its June 11 meeting.

Harris has spent the past six years as a physical education teacher at Chadron High School in Nebraska. He also taught strength and conditioning and served as head wrestling coach and defensive coordinator for the school’s football team.

“It’s always been a goal to come home,” Harris said. “(My wife and I) love the Flathead Valley, we love Whitefish. We just have a really strong connection to the community and the school. Family was a big part of it.”

Harris will also oversee online courses like Virtual High School and Montana Digital Academy.

“Kind of a wide variety of courses that I’ll be overseeing for a couple periods a day,” he said. “It’s a little different from what I’ve been doing at Chadron. It’s going to be a new set of challenges and experiences.”

He will officially start on Aug. 12, but he’s already helped with the search for a new girls basketball coach through e-mail and phone conversations. He plans to arrive in Whitefish on Monday.

Harris played football and wrestled during his time at Whitefish High School and went on to play football at the University of Montana-Western. He received his master’s degree in school administration last year at Chadron State College.

“My wife and I are very excited to come back home,” Harris said. “It was a tough decision because Chadron’s been such a great place for us. I feel like I can take these experiences and utilize them in the Whitefish district.

“I think it’s all about student achievement and helping kids be successful.”