PLANT CITY, Fla. — At Plant City High School, the principal and three assistant principals are Raiders themselves.
Spend just 10 minutes with them, and you'll feel their passion.
"We understand the Plant City community because we grew up in Plant City. We understand Plant City because we attended Plant City," Principal Traci Durrance said. "We all know each other, our families know each other, our kids went to school together. So yeah, I mean, it is a family. And everyone will tell you that about Plant City, it is a true family atmosphere."
All four have known each other for a long time. They're more like family than friends, which makes work a lot more fun while they work to make a difference in the lives of their students.
"I think it's important too because there's so many new things coming at kids today, new technology, new ways of work, new synergy that we're having to deal with. But when you have something that's consistent, that gives them that stability," Lana Smith, assistant principal, said. "For me, even as an adult, knowing that I have that kind of stability, it helps me do a better job in my day-to-day."
Having grown up in Plant City, they say everybody here knows everybody.
So the likelihood of them knowing your parents, grandparents or siblings is pretty high.
"We'll have parents, or a parent of, like, another kid will call us, 'Hey, I saw so and so, whatever, I'm not trying to rat him out, but I don't want them to get in trouble.' It's just interesting. Even though our community has grown tremendously. It's just still that whole small town feel, you know, still kind of here, and everyone kind of looks out for each other," Mike Witchoskey, assistant principal, said.
These four friends and colleagues are paying it forward with Raider pride every single day.
"But we came back here because community is important. This school is important, and your education is important. And none of us would be sitting here at a table as friends and as leaders if we didn't do that. I mean, we weren't straight-A students. I wasn't. I'll speak for myself," said Randall Humphrey.