Jack Woods, co-owner of J & J Deli, interacts with a high school student Wednesday during the lunch hour rush. Superintendent Glen Gelbrich is handing out buttons that read "Connect" as a message to students, teachers, and community members about the importance of building supportive relationships with students.
Story last updated at 9/3/2009 - 9:50 am
Jim Kuhlmann strolled through the Juneau-Douglas High School commons Wednesday carrying his lunch bag and biting into an apple. The new principal said he leaves his office to eat lunch with students because it's a chance to connect with them.
Kuhlmann wasn't wearing any buttons, but his attempt to form relationships with kids is what "Connect!" buttons are all about.
School staff started wearing the inconspicuous red and blue buttons on the first day of school.
They are the idea of new Superintendent Glenn Gelbrich, who said the buttons are a reminder to people in the community that if we don't connect with kids, they can't hear us.
Sayings like, "Kids don't care what you know until they know you care" are popular among educators and reflect the idea that, before there's an opportunity to teach kids, you have to connect with them, Gelbrich said.
The buttons are meant to spread the word to the community.
Gelbrich started his job in June. He's faced with a rampant drug problem among teens, low graduation rates and poor academic achievement for many students. He said he took the job despite the challenge of leading a district with these problems because he thought it was evident the community cares about kids.
He hasn't changed his mind.
"An extraordinary quality about Juneau is that it cares. ... I'm not sure we're collectively doing all we can to let the kids know that," he said.
Gelbrich introduced the buttons at a community breakfast last week. Staff seem to like them and are wearing them, he said.
"I hear people saying, 'Oh, I forgot my button today,'" he said. "It's not a big thing but enough for us to stop and notice, and that's enough to build action - that we're intentional about what we're doing."
Kuhlmann said he was confronted by a teacher Wednesday who asked him where his button was.
"That tells me it's a concept they uphold as well," he said of staff buy-in.
Students are noticing the buttons and sometimes ask about them, JDHS Assistant Principal Paula Casperson said.
"I think kids appreciate it even if they can't verbalize it," she said.
• Contact reporter Kim Marquis at 523-2279 or kim.marquis@juneauempire.com.
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