Long Reach High School Teacher and Coach Kevin Broadus Celebrates 50 Years as an Educator

November 18th, 2024

Long Reach High School (LRHS) physical education teacher and girls’ field hockey volunteer coach Kevin Broadus has been referred to as a “legend” within both the Howard County Public School System and Howard County. Broadus has worked in many different schools at all levels of teaching, coaching and mentoring youth and is celebrating 45 years in the County, and 50 years as an educator in Maryland.

Broadus grew up in Washington, D.C. and played football at DeMatha Catholic High School before continuing his football career at Towson State College. He began student teaching in Howard County at Oakland Mills High School and Longfellow Elementary School.

“I knew I wanted to teach physical education at the high school level, but it took me 23 years to reach that goal because there were limited job openings available.”

In the meantime, he taught at St. Martin’s School in Washington, D.C., and Benjamin Banneker Middle School in Montgomery County before accepting a physical education position at Jeffers Hill Elementary School, where he remained for nine years. Then, he shifted gears and taught in Alternative Education at Howard High School for eight years.

After going back to teaching physical education at Mayfield Woods Middle School for five years, Broadus finally landed a physical education position at LRHS in 2003. “As a physical educator, I make students think about the future—do you want to be active when you’re older? Do you want to be horizontal or vertical? Then, I give them the tools to stay healthy. My main thing is to give them knowledge for a lifetime. I enjoy teaching students, they bug me, and I bug them,” Broadus says with a laugh.

During his time at Howard High School, he taught and coached many students, including his current LRHS administrator, Adam Eldridge. He coached Eldridge in football from 1988–1992.

“I’ve known Kevin for a long time. He is an amazing advocate for kids—in particular for women’s athletics. A lot of the coaching he does is voluntary. He spends time with kids, contributes to the culture of the team, and encourages kids to play and participate, and the coaches to keep coaching,” said Eldridge. “His strength is around belonging and relationship-building. When he’s not teaching, he takes on the role of ambassador, walking the hallways and giving students a pep talk.”

During the span of his career, Broadus has impacted generations of students, staff and families. Many in the LRHS community have observed this and wanted to do something about it so the LRHS School Booster Club launched a t-shirt campaign to commemorate his 50 years in education. The t-shirt features a caricature of Broadus’ face that was illustrated by Alberte Witt, an exchange student from Denmark who attended LRHS during her sophomore year. Broadus was her field hockey coach.

“My host mom and I would often be creative together because we shared the same passion for art. I had gotten into drawing caricatures of people during my exchange year, and as a parting gift at the field hockey banquet that marked the end of the season, I decided to draw an image of Broadus to give to him,” said Witt. “He received it with a wide grin on his face and I remember how happy he looked when he hugged me whilst expressing his gratitude.”

Broadus, who doesn’t like the spotlight, was surprised to start seeing people at sports games and around the hallways wearing the shirt. “They got me good. And it all really hits me right here [gestures to heart]. It shows that people care, and as a teacher, you don’t always know if you’re succeeding or not and it just hits me, that they are showing their appreciation for all my hard work.”

If you wander the halls with Broadus during the school day, it is clear the halls are an extension of his classroom as he speaks to every student he passes and imparts some knowledge or joke on them. “You have to be about the students, you have to get to know the students. When I see students walking around the halls, I engage with them. You need to find ways to connect with them. I just try to give myself to them.”

As he celebrates his 50th year in education, many have wondered what’s next for Broadus. “Everyone asks me when I’m going to retire,” said Broadus. “But I tell them I am taking it year by year. I am still having fun.”