Sarah Maggert can be found almost every day at Justus Gage Elementary School in her roles as parent, PTO member, coach and volunteer.

Sarah is the mother of two students and assists as room mother in both their classrooms. She and her husband, Ryan, have a son in second-grade and a daughter in fourth-grade.

As PTO Treasurer, Maggert handles the finances and is also highly involved in every aspect of PTO activities. So far this year, she has helped with the open house, pumpkin night, fundraisers, and Secret Santa Shop.

Maggert also assisted in preparing our spelling team members for the district’s spelling bee. She designed the students’ t-shirts and organized the lunch at Pizza Hut.

During baseball season, Sarah works as Concessions Director for Dowagiac Little League.

Mrs. Maggert believes that being involved gives her more time with her own kids. It helped her get to know Principal Marcy Hendress, the teachers and staff at the school. She thinks it leads to a more open relationship and communication between herself and everyone involved in her children’s education and that’s important to her.

This year, Maggert is taking on yet another role at Justus Gage as the “Girls on the Run” coach for our team. “Girls on the Run” is a program designed to increase the girls’ activity, fitness level and self-esteem.

Maggert has known about “Girls on the Run” through her mother’s involvement as a coach in Berrien County and was waiting for the “right time” to become involved. When she found out that Justus Gage did not have a coach, she contacted the health department and put the first steps in motion.

“It will be good to get the kids excited about ‘exercise’ and show them that it can be a fun activity to do together with their friends,” she said. “I love seeing the excitement in the kids, my own and their classmates, when they talk about an activity that I’ve helped plan and put together. When they can’t wait to go to one of our activities and when they talk about it afterwards. It’s important to share those times with your kids. That one student that says ‘I really had fun’ or that one parent that says ‘thank you for planning this’ makes it rewarding.”

Maggert is an OB Nurse at Lakeland Community Hospital in Niles. Sarah serves our greater community in this capacity and has had the pleasure of assisting as some of our tiniest Justus Gage students take their first breaths and are handed to their parents.

We are grateful that Maggert takes every opportunity to give students, teachers and her community extra help and be a champion Starfish Thrower.