Hello Ridgewood Families,

My name is Brandy Copeland, and I am honored and excited to serve as the principal of Ridgewood Elementary as we open our doors for the first time in August. I have 11 years of experience as an administrator with 7 of those as an elementary principal and 4 in middle school as an assistant principal and principal. Prior to that, I taught 7th and 8th grade English and Reading for 9 years.  I completed my bachelor’s degree at Texas State (actually Southwest Texas State at the time) in Interdisciplinary Studies and my M.Ed in Educational Administration at Lamar University. I absolutely love working with elementary-aged students and believe there is no better job in the world of education!

On a personal note, I am married to my husband of almost 25 years, Stacy, and we have three grown kiddos and seven grandchildren. We moved to Lubbock from Midland in July of 2020 and have fallen in love with this community.  As a Snyder native, I thought I knew Lubbock—but living here is a completely different experience than what I knew growing up—and we could not love it more!

Professionally, I am passionate about finding innovative ways to individualize instruction for students so they can grow and excel. I am equally passionate about supporting teachers in their own learning to be the best they can be in the classroom and meet students’ academic, social and emotional needs.  There is nothing better than an excited educator!  While academics are important, building strong relationships and a culture of kindness is priority.   It is vitally important to me that every student feels that they belong and that they feel loved,  so they can be successful in all other areas at school.  When educators are fired up and families are happy, students thrive!  That is our focus at Ridgewood.

Our theme for 2024-2025 is “The Adventure of New Beginnings”.  It reminds us in this opening year at Ridgewood that every adventure brings joy and excitement along with mixed feelings of the unknown.  As we navigate this year together, we will grow—bringing multiple campuses together to form one phenomenal school community.   I am truly grateful for every Ridgewood family.  We look so forward to celebrating your children and sincerely thank you for entrusting us with them. We cannot wait to go on this adventure with you. 

Together, it will be a great year,

Brandy Copeland