GHS principal will be new superintendent for Bath Community Schools

GAYLORD — After working as a teacher and principal in Gaylord Community Schools since 2008, Chris Hodges will be leaving at the end of the month to become superintendent of Bath Community Schools.

Bath is located about 10 miles northeast of Lansing and has a total enrollment of 1,000 students. Hodges noted that is about the same number of students who attend Gaylord High School (GHS).

"That is one of the things that attracted me to the position. The size is familiar and it will likely be one of the easier parts of the transition to administration," said Hodges.

Hodges has been the principal at GHS since 2015. He began as a teacher in Gaylord in 2008 and admits it will be tough to leave a school district that launched and nurtured his educational career.

"This district has put a lot of faith in me. Gaylord took a chance on me as a teacher in 2008 with just one year of experience in rural South Carolina. They gave me an opportunity to come home to Northern Michigan as I grew up in Roscommon," he said.

"What was nice for me about Gaylord is my familiarity with it," he continued. "Growing up in Roscommon, Gaylord was where we came to do things like skiing, dinner and going to the movies. While in college, I thought 'Where do I want to work' and I decided I wanted to be in a town like Gaylord."

Seeking a superintendent position was something Hodges had rejected in the past.

"I had given some thought to it and at one point even decided it was something I never wanted to do. But I have been working on my doctoral degree at Michigan Sate University and my wife asked me 'What are you going to do with the degree?' I was also inspired by some of the professors I had and the superintendents that I worked for," Hodges said.

Hodges said Bath has worked hard to keep its small-town charm.

"While other communities outside of Lansing have experienced tremendous growth and sprawl, Bath has retained its small-town atmosphere," he said.

On May 18, 1927, a pair of bombings in the Bath Consolidated School resulted in the death of 38 schoolchildren. The perpetrator, Andrew Kehoe, also killed five adults in addition to himself in the worst school massacre in American history.

"There is a Bath School museum that is not just dedicated to that tragedy, but also it recognizes the achievements of the district," said Hodges. "The museum really impressed my wife and I in that they have taken the time to memorialize not only the lives lost in that bombing, they also value all of their school history."

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As someone who has already transitioned from teaching to administration in becoming a principal, Hodges knows there will be less time to interact with students.

"I think the further we as administrators are removed from the classroom, the easier it is for us to get sidetracked by other things that don't matter as much," he said. "At the end of the day we are here for the kids. My plan is to never lose sight of helping students."

— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: GHS principal will be new superintendent for Bath Community Schools