HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — High Point Central High School Principal Mike Hettenbach greets around a thousand students most days.
The students’ arrival seems more like a stage show than a traditional class with the music of “Earth, Wind and Fire” blaring from a speaker as the staff welcomes them with smiles and compliments.
“Now, this is very unusual,” Hettenbach said. “And because we’re unusual, we get a lot of attention.”
Guilford County Schools Superintendent Whitney Oakley agrees that Hettenbach is not your ordinary principal.
“We have a few of them, but he (is) the symbol of what relationships mean in public education,” Oakley said. “They know the kids’ names. They know who they are. They know what they care about … They’ve seen results because they’ve spent the time building the relationships and the trust not just with students but with parents in the community, and it’s making a huge impact.”
Hettenbach got into education because of what wasn’t there when he was in high school.