Jeff Reaves has a secret weapon as principal of Matanzas High School: dad jokes. “Why couldn’t the bike stand up?” Reaves said during an interview with the Palm Coast Observer in March. “It was two-tired.” What’s the reaction he gets from students? “I like the moans and groans,” he said with a laugh. “And they do, too.” Relating to students has always been one of Reaves’ goals as principal. When he was a child, his principal knew the students by name. Having a dynamic example at that age of his life was a factor in his decision to go into education leadership after working for Florida Power and Light for more than a decade, and then becoming a pastor and starting a church (in Edgewater).