Principal Abby Kanitz is all smiles for her first year at Catholic Central in an administrative position, after being a student here herself from 1998-2002. After a brief reflection on her own high school experience, she says it’s “Wild – I’m walking up the same stairs I did as a student.” She also added, “It is wonderful but it does not weigh lightly on me. It is a big responsibility. I feel honored to have it.”
When asked about her past work experience, she let us know of her time as the principal at Byron Center middle school for eight years. Although, she has been in the education field for a total of 18 years. Why did she return to being a principal? Kanitz said that “it just kept coming back to the surface. [She] prayed on it a lot and couldn’t ignore it anymore.”
Her current feelings on the student body of Catholic Central have been nothing less than positive. Mrs. Kanitz said that she has been “overly impressed. We have some of the kindest, most polite students.” She then went on to say that she loves teaching “the older kids because [she] can be more of [herself] with them. [She] can be slightly sarcastic.”
Being part of a team is true for any teacher. Mrs. Kanitz has joined Mrs. Lamerouex to form the ultimate administration duo. While they have very similar jobs, “Mrs. Lamerouex is the first to respond to students, and [Mrs. Kanitz] is the first to respond to adults.” However, they “are a team together.”
During a visit to the school in May of 2025, Mrs. Kanitz sat through a staff meeting and reported that she “thinks we have a really positive staff who want the best for kids. You don’t always have that.” She believes that “a staff culture can make or break a student culture.”
Her favorite part of Catholic Central is “the rich history. It’s rare to find. The catholic culture and catholic beliefs. Our foundation remains the same” after 120 years. Many traditions have not changed. Her favorite change of CC as a whole since she was a student was the addition of the house system, which includes every student in one of each of the four houses. She loves that we have something in place “that works hard to make sure every kid [has] a place to connect,” something that she did not experience herself. This kind of connection only adds to the love that she holds for her new position.
As for Mrs. Kanitz’s goals for her future as principal, she expresses how she doesn’t “want to screw this up. I don’t want to set lofty goals until I live it for a year. I want people to say it is better than when I found it.” After all, she is human. Overall, she thinks that “things are pretty good here. Sometimes people forget that. It’s easy to forget how good you have it.” It’s clear that the weight of this situation is not lost on Mrs. Kanitz.
We look forward to our time with Mrs. Kanitz as our new principal! Be sure to say hello to her as she holds the door open for you in the morning, or when you see her in the hallways!
