COMMODORE MEDIA GROUP

LHS principal Glenn Kitchens has been at the school for three years now, though he went on a long journey to get here. From growing up in small-town Mississippi to getting his PhD from Ole Miss, Kitchens has worked hard to better himself and be the best leader he can possibly be.

Kitchens knew he wanted to be a teacher in the seventh grade, despite, ironically, not being a very good student. He hated the academic side of school life, but loved the social and musical parts of it. He struggled to graduate and work hard, often getting in minor trouble for being mischievous and engaging in harmless fun. There was one building for all the grades and only 40 people in his graduating class. When he entered college, he was able to make up for what he was lacking in high school and excel.

“I had to learn how to learn and study,” Kitchens said. “I was able to press on and move forward and ultimately I was able to do well.”

Kitchens grew up in Mantachie, MS, which is a small town in Itawamba County. He went to the local junior college and got his Associate of Arts degree, then moved on to Delta State to procure his Master of Science in Education with a focus in social studies. He ended up in Oxford, eventually graduating from Ole Miss with his PhD. Through all of his education, he was heavily involved in the arts; he was even drum major in his senior year of high school. His journey with Lafayette began in 1996, where started out at the elementary school and stayed for seven years, then moved to the Water Valley School District for twelve years before returning to LHS and taking his place as principal.

“I love the community of Lafayette, the school environment, and the school culture,” Kitchens said.

One of Kitchens’ favorite things to do is to attend school events like football games, choir concerts, and swim meets. Though he can’t go to everything, he loves to watch Commodores in action and believes that although we may not always win, we’re always competitive, and we are second to no one in those areas.

“I like to go as much as possible and watch students do things they love beyond their love of the classroom,” Kitchens said, “just the passionate things that they love to do.”

Being principal is hard work, as Dr. Kitchens has to visit different classrooms everyday, manage the school culture, handle finances, work with the counseling office, and of course, do a lot of paperwork. He tries to be as supportive as possible and create relationships with students, whether that be by learning their names or just greeting them in the hallway. His goal is to simply create a place where everyone has a place.

“I want everyday to be a pretty good day,” Kitchens said.

Though Kitchens has worked at four different schools, he says that he has always been blessed with a great student body and staff. He has enjoyed his time at LHS immensely so far; the school is not perfect, since conflicts are bound to happen with human beings, but he loves the attitude students have about solving problems.

“Every school is not like this one,” Kitchens said. “I wish so much that our student body could truly understand how well this community provides for them.”

Kitchens loves to cook and garden in his spare time, and regards being outside or in the kitchen as a vacation. He loves doing landscaping-type things, like mowing the grass or working in the flowerbeds with his wife. Kitchens also loves experimenting and trying new recipes, and tries his best to cook often.

“If there had not been any such thing as education, I would’ve worked in a bakery, I think,” Kitchens said.

All in all, Dr. Kitchens loves Lafayette and it truly does show, as any student you may find in the halls of LHS will tell you how kind and caring he is. He works his hardest everyday to make sure that everybody wants to be a Commodore, even if not everybody can be a Commodore.