New principal making connections with school, community

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The more he learns about Charles City, and the more he interacts with the people here, the more new middle school Principal Joseph Taylor believes his decision to move here was the right call.

“It seems pretty easy to get connected here,” Taylor said. “It’s a very inviting place. It seems like home already.”

Taylor officially started as Charles City Middle School principal on July 1, and he and his family have gotten assimilated to both the school district and the community rather quickly.

Taylor, his wife, Renee, and their three children — ages 5, 2 and 1 — have bought a house in town and moved in, and have already gotten involved with church activities and other civic groups, such as the YMCA.

“We just kind of started immersing ourselves into the community,” he said. “We spent the Fourth of July here, which was really big.”

Taylor and his family wanted to get the full Charles City experience.

“It was just super important that we not only be connected with the school but be connected with the community — we’re all in,” Taylor said. “With my daughter starting kindergarten this year, we’re really excited about going to Washington Elementary and all the opportunities that are there.”

Taylor, a Riceville native, replaces Rick Gabel, who retired at the end of the 2018-19 school year.

Gabel will continue working with students as an at-risk coordinator, developing support systems for students in the Clarksville Community School District. Gabel served the Charles City Community School District for 19 years and graduated from Charles City High School in 1982.

“Rick was a hero of mine growing up. He coached baseball in the town where I grew up, and was my high school teacher as well,” Taylor said. “The transition he has provided me has been incredible. I’ve got a lot of respect for Rick, and I have Rick on my speed dial.”

Taylor knows that he has some big shoes to fill.

“Rick was obviously dedicated to the betterment of Charles City, not just the school but the whole community,” he said. “I think I can capitalize on his strengths and the things he was doing that are already in place.”

The first order of business for Taylor has been to get to know the people he’ll be working with. He scheduled one-on-one meetings with every  staff member at the middle school — from teachers to para-educators,  janitors to cooks — and has met with each of them over the last month.

He said those meetings have given him a “really wide perception of the momentum of the things” in the school.

“The thing that’s come out is everyone is part of a family here,” Taylor said. “They’re all in for kids. They love each other and really lean on each other for support.”

Taylor comes to Charles City after serving as the middle school principal and athletic director at South Hardin Middle School in Hubbard. The South Hardin School District encompasses South Hardin High School and South Hardin Middle School as well as Eldora-New Providence and Hubbard-Radcliffe elementary schools.

“No matter where you are, kids are kids,” Taylor said. “South Hardin has very similar socio-economic backgrounds of students, which I think equips me well.”

Renee, his wife, is both “CEO of the household” as well as an occupational therapist, who works primarily in geriatrics. Taylor said that he and Renee live on opposite ends of the spectrum.

“I work with youth and molding minds, mentoring and helping people become great adults,” he said. “She’s working with great adults who are looking back on their lives and reflecting. She comes back with a perspective that is unique in comparison to mine, but we balance each other nicely.”

Before being named to lead South Hardin Middle School, Taylor served as a professional learning community facilitator, middle school social studies teacher, and athletic coach for Clear Creek Amana Schools in Tiffin. He has also taught in Oxford and Soldotna, Arkansas. He graduated from Riceville High School in 1999, and attended college at Winona State and Viterbo in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

He said the transition to Charles City has been seamless, and that he’s found he’s on the same page as those he will be working with.

“What I’m finding is that, even at the ground level, their values are in line with the school’s values, which are in line with my values,” Taylor said. “The vision, the mission and the purpose are already in my heart, so I don’t have to shift my values to match. We’re already in line.”

Taylor is also a 12-year Army Reserve veteran. He served as a combat engineer and reached the rank of staff sergeant. He served a tour of duty in Iraq from 2003-2004.

An avid outdoorsman, Taylor said his interests include hunting, fishing and training his German shorthair puppy. He loves to read, and he also loves music, and plays guitar — specializing in modern bluegrass music.

“My groupies are my kids,” he said. “They’ll sit on the couch and sing and dance with me.”

He said one of his long-term goals as a principal will be to develop more student leadership opportunities at the school — and outside the school. He wants students to be more involved in community outreach, and create a systematic program where kids are getting out into the community.

“This community has given so much to this school, we want to give back to the community,” Taylor said.

In the meantime, however, he’s looking forward to the adventures that await him at Charles City Middle School as the school year approaches.

“Right now I’m just assimilating myself to the culture,” Taylor said. “I want to honor history, and I want to honor culture and tradition. If I didn’t do that, I’d be making a big mistake. There are a lot of really great things that are going on here.”