Frontier Middle School principal wrapping up four decades in education

MOSES LAKE — Frontier Middle School Principal Greg Kittrell said it would take a book to highlight everything he’d want to mention from his long career, as retirement in June inches closer.

Kittrell leaves behind a storied legacy, not only as an administrator, but also as a teacher and coach. Kittrell was a physical education teacher and head football coach at Moses Lake High School from 1982-2009. He became the assistant principal at Moses Lake High School in 2009 before moving to his current position at Frontier.

Just like starting anything new, Kittrell said there’s an added level of anxiety.

“You hope you’re doing the right thing, kind of like the first time you walk in as a teacher,” Kittrell said. “I know all of our teachers are experiencing that as well, now. What do I do? Am I doing too much? In a lot of ways, it’s a growth experience for everyone, all around.”

Born in Newport Beach, California, Kittrell said his family moved to central California when he was in about ninth grade, where he wrestled and played football. Kittrell received a walk-on scholarship to the University of Idaho to play football in 1974, before making the team and finishing with two varsity seasons as a Vandal.

Kittrell played under head coach Ed Troxel at Idaho, and later was Kittrell’s opponent in the Columbia Basin Big Nine as the coach of Kennewick High School. Troxel’s offensive coordinator at Idaho was two-time NCAA champion and former Seahawks head coach Dennis Erickson.

After college, Kittrell got his first teaching and coaching jobs in Hartline, in 1977. Kittrell said he was head football coach, track coach, assistant basketball coach, all while teaching six periods a day.

“That experience helped a young 22-year-old boy become a man, and their support was crazy,” Kittrell said.

After his first stint as an educator, Kittrell said he moved around a bit before marrying his wife, Michele, and coming to Moses Lake in 1982. Kittrell said he and Michele rented a house with his best man and the best man’s wife when he got to Moses Lake after being hired by former MLHS Principal Larry Smith and longtime coach and athletic director Red Smith.

“Michele would sit at home with my best man and his wife, and fold letters and send them out to our kids to get them to come out for football, try to get our numbers up,” Kittrell said. “I would go in every day and run a strength and conditioning program to prepare for football so we hit the ground running.”

For nearly three decades, Kittrell built his legacy with the Chiefs football program.

Kittrell and his wife taught alongside each other in Moses Lake for 33 years; she served as the coach of the Molahiettes dance and drill teams at Moses Lake High School for nine years. Kittrell said his wife is “twice the coach” he is, producing a pair of national championship teams.

Kittrell said he, his wife and all four of his children have received nothing but immense support from the Moses Lake community since they arrived.

“We had four little kids that all graduated from Moses Lake High School, Cade, Kelsi, Kyle and Matt,” Kittrell said. “Their experience, my experience and Michele’s experience have been outstanding as far as the community. Obviously, being the coach, we depended heavily on this community.”

Kittrell said a great run of players and coaches helped him lead the Chiefs to their winningest decade during the 2000s, with friend and defensive coordinator Todd Griffith taking the helm in the final season. Moses Lake finished with six or more wins each season, Kittrell said. Moses Lake also hosted its first playoff game at Lions Field under Kittrell.

Griffith, now the head football coach for MLHS, met Kittrell as a P.E. student in junior high.

“I can remember us just being in awe of him, thinking he was the coolest thing since sliced bread, especially us football guys,” Griffith said.

Griffith said he grew up with Kittrell and credits his former coach with the decision to become a teacher and come back to Moses Lake. Griffith said Kittrell has a compassion for learning, education and kids, and said he’s one of the people who “got the best of Greg Kittrell.”

Kittrell built the football program at Moses Lake High School, Griffith said, by changing a town’s belief in what football could be. Griffith said Kittrell remains a big part of his life and said he can always count on him to lift his spirits.

The Griffith family were Kittrell’s neighbors when he first arrived in Moses Lake, and said they’ve been close friends ever since. Kittrell said the most exciting part of his coaching career was watching Todd Griffith follow him as head coach of the Chiefs.

“I’m very proud of him and what he’s producing there with those young men, and helping boys become men,” Kittrell said. “It’s just unbelievable. I’m very proud to say he was not only one of my players, he was also one of my assistant coaches.”

Kittrell was coaching an all-star game in Everett when he received the call to interview for the assistant principal position at MLHS in the summer of 2009. He had received his administrative credentials while working on his master’s degree, but never had any intention of using it.

“I had to make the decision to continue coaching or go on and take this administrative spot,” Kittrell said. “Most teachers don’t exactly know what an administrator does in a building. They do a lot of stuff to support teachers, students and other staff that really go fairly unnoticed.”

At first, Kittrell said he felt he’d made a horrible mistake jumping into a completely new wheelhouse. A notable quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Kittrell said, has helped him meet challenges as he’s advanced through his career.

Emerson’s quote reads, “Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be.”

Kittrell has carried this mantra throughout his career in education.

For the last four years, Kittrell has served as the principal of Frontier Middle School; he knew immediately it was the right place for him.

“As I’ve told the staff 1,000 times, when I walked in there and looked around, they just had such great control over their schools,” Kittrell said. “They run the hallways. The students are very respectful. When I saw that, I said, yeah, I’m in.”

Kittrell had the chance to work closely at Frontier with his former student and player, Brandon Byers, who currently serves as his assistant principal. Together, Kittrell said, they have helped Frontier become one of the few schools to shed the “school of improvement” label, which means that the school falls short of a certain grade level or requirement.

“Mr. Byers, myself and my staff all kind of jumped on this thing,” Kittrell said. “It was actually kind of started by the principal before me.”

Kittrell said he and his wife were looking forward to being able to spend “an inordinate amount of time” with their five grandchildren now that he’s retiring. Kittrell said he’s still looking for ways to stay involved in the community, but added he’s not quite sure what that will be.

It’s this community, Kittrell said, and its people that have kept him and his family here since they walked into town in 1982.

Kittrell said he’ll probably end up substitute teaching as well to get some time in the classroom, as his heart has always been with teaching.

“I’m looking for my next great adventure, to tell you the truth,” Kittrell said. “I’m not really the retiring type. I’m all geared up to volunteer for whatever tough job lies out there.”