Plainwell High School has had a load of new staff members coming into the school at the start of the year. The majority of the change was in the front office, we gained some new staff members, and some staff members just changed rolls. Faces you will see from the front office include – Principal Marvin Taylor, Assistant Principal Brian Huberty, Administrative Assistant Catrina Kingscott, and Administrative Assistant Attendance Brittany Knox.

Talking with the Principals I learned that before the role of principal and assistant principal. Taylor was a superintendent and businessman in northern Michigan, while Huberty came for the position of a PHS classroom teacher where he taught social studies.

Both Taylor and Huberty bring different values to the front office; Taylor brings a mindset of ‘work harder be nice to each other’. He wants staff to be student centered and service oriented, putting survival in everyone’s lives and focusing on the small things.

Huberty wants to build relationships with students and have integrity with everything that happens and be willing to have a hard conversation in a caring way.

With them both bringing different perspectives to the office they both see the value in building relationships with the students that they come into contact with. Taylor wants to spend time to be more approachable when students see him out and around in the school making sure students know it’s okay to talk to him. Now that Huberty is out of the classroom he tries to be in halls and to attend events to be with the students and to go out of his way to have conversations with the kids. 

The administrative assistants have been instrumental in making sure that the all things PHS run smoothly. Both ladies are both new to our school and the high school level of experience. Before her time at Plainwell High School, Knox was at doing administrative work at the elementary school level. She explained that elementary students are more dependent, while high schoolers are more independent, describing them as “walking toddlers and teenage toddlers.”

Kingscott’s experience is at the middle school level. Kingscott shared that some of the bigger differences are that the students are more responsible and taller than her old middle schoolers.

When asked about the main responsibilities of her job that students might not know about, Knox says she does all the attendance, answers the phone, handles the mail, sorts it for delivery. Kingscott pays the bills, coordinates all the substitutes, plans graduation, and works on the principal’s calendar.

The both of them coming from a different school district or building comes with new things to learn about and new people to learn about Knox and Kingscott explain that they have learned from working at the school is that this district is very organized and has a tight-knit community, and that smaller schools are better because they feel nicer and more connected than bigger schools.

Overall, with the new updates and all the changes the front office crew focuses on building relationships, supporting students, and creating a welcoming school. Each new and old staff member brings their own experiences and values that helps to create a student-centered school culture. Together, they help strengthen the community in the school and to make sure that students feel supported, valued, and connected throughout their day.