Fresh look: New York native aims for new beginnings at Argosy Charter High School
FALL RIVER — In June, Jonathan Murray welcomed into the world the birth of his third child — Maverick Murray.
The New York native was already a busy guy, handling the physical education duties at Argosy Collegiate Charter High School as well as being the assistant wrestling coach at Rhode Island College.
Now Murray, 32, adds another title — athletic director — to his already full plate.
"I was a PE teacher here for the last five years," he said. "One of the college professors at Rhode Island worked here. So I was able to get the (new) job. Since I'm here in the building I was able to do both. Our founder director is really supportive of me."
Murray was recently named the new AD at Argosy Collegiate Charter High School. He said he's ready to give the 275 eager students at Argosy Collegiate Charter High School an experience like no other school in the area.
"This is the first year they really bought in," Murray said. "Now the students are learning to be a part of this school community. I try to give them the best experience like fog and entrance music just like other schools. It is about making it all about them. Even when I make announcements, I highlight some of their stats."
Argosy Collegiate Charter High School was founded by director Kristen Pavao 10 years ago. Some of the sports offered at the high school are volleyball, basketball and track.
One of the more interesting activities Murray started was flag football. The school competes in a division against other charter schools in the state. Britland Park Soccer Field is where games are held. The Navigators head football coach is Cody Bergeron, who formerly worked at Diman and is the PE teacher at Argosy Collegiate Charter Middle School.
"This is the first year we did flag football," Murray said. "Our first game, we had a packed place. They’ve been doing good so far. This is the first time our girls volleyball team (under the direction of Aly Dion, who is a ELA teacher) has a winning record and they’re undefeated."
Murray said he dropped soccer this year because finding playing fields was difficult due to the renovation of Diman Regional Voactional Technical School, which uses either Britland Park or Swansea YMCA.
More: Meet Argosy Collegiate Charter School's Top 10 graduates of 2023
Murray was asked if he'd ever like co-op with other schools in the area.
"I would be more than 100 percent open after this season," he said. "(That) is something we like to grow into. The reason why they leave the school is because they want to do tackle football. That is like a bigger opportunity for the kids and they can grow into.
"Since this is my first year, I want to see where the interest is. As we grow, I certainly want to compete with the other smaller schools in the area."
Murray came to New England when he attended Rhode Island College in 2012 for his undergrad and to compete on their wrestling team. He graduated in 2016 and was the assistant wrestling coach at Wesleyan where he was heavily involved in recruiting and helped the Cardinals to one of the program's finest seasons.
Murray took home staff member of the year honors from the high school, winning the 'Galileo Award' for the 2021-2022 School Year.
He resides in Seekonk with his wife Jessica Murray and their three children — Savannah Murray (4), Skylar Murray (2), and Maverick Murray (three months).
Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Chezsports.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Argosy Charter AD Jonathan Murray has big dreams for the school
