Longtime educator Mr. Joel Guy has retired - and unretired - twice to step up in different open positions in Kingsley Schools.
"I came back because I love being around the kids."
For the past few school years, Kingsley educator Joel Guy has said they would be his last.
He's worked as a special education teacher for 38 years, 32 of which he's spent in Kingsley Schools. In the summer of 2021, he entered into retirement, only to be called back to the district a few months later to fill in as the interim middle school principal.
By the school year's end, he returned to retirement once again and spent the summer working at the Fairgrounds. Then, he got another call from the district.
"Now, they've asked me to come back to do high school special education, which I am new to," he said. "I've said for the last couple of years this will be my last year of teaching, but we'll see if they keep me around for one more year, I may go one more."
He says it's the students who keep him coming back.
"The rewards are fantastic. They come in small little bits. But they are they keep me coming back and I really do enjoy it," said Mr. Guy.
Mr. Guy has also worked as a coach every year he's been in Kingsley. He spent 29 years as a middle school boy's basketball coach and has led every other sport at one time or another, except for girl's volleyball. (Varsity Coach Dave Hall has spent the past 23 seasons with the Stags)
This season, he'll coach middle school girls basketball, and in the spring, he'll coach Varsity golf. And when he's not coaching, he's in the stands as a fan.
"I'm at every home contest and I see a lot of people there," he said. "This whole community - the education, the sports...Kingsley is a great place to live. Thank you to the community for keeping me around all these years."
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Say hi to Mr. Guy! He can be reached at jguy@kingsleyschools.org