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Board
to dedicate learning center:
Former chairman to be honored
By
Tiffany Schwab
Staff
Writer
MANASSAS – The school board will officially dedicate the Joseph B. Johnson
Learning Center at 4:30 p.m. today. The center, which houses the school
system’s alternative education program, is located next to Osbourn High
School on Tudor Lane.
On hand for the dedication will be the center’s namesake, Joseph Johnson,
who served on the Manassas City School Board for 25 years, 10 of those as
chairman.
Johnson said he’s still deciding what kind of remarks to make at the
dedication, which will include the unveiling of a plaque, comments by Interim
Superintendent Dianne Mero and a few words by Johnson. The school board
will be present, as will Manassas Mayor Marvin Gillum.
“It is quite an honor,” Johnson said of the naming. “I’m
very appreciative of it.”
He’s also modest about it.
In his opinion, school buildings should be named after educators, which
he is not, Johnson said. Nevertheless, his colleagues on the school board
voted to name the building after him shortly after he retired from the school
board last year.
“I was not a part of that decision,” he said with a smile.
His name was a good choice, some say.
Sam Wilfong, supervisor of the alternative program at the learning center,
said Johnson has always been a fervent backer of alternative education.
“He was just a good friend of this program – a strong, strong supporter,”
Wilfong said.
The new learning center opened in September to rave reviews from students
in the alternative education program.
Before the center was built, students attended classes in an older building
that wasn’t in such good shape, Wilfong said.
“The new building has made a remarkable impact on the students,”
Wilfong said. “The overall attitude of the students is so much better.”
Students take pride in their bright and spacious new building and attendance
is up, he added.
The changes have been for the better, he noted, but one thing has always
been a constant – a caring and dedicated staff. “That’s what makes
this program work,” he said.
That’s what Johnson is interested in – success.
“I’ve always believed in programs that keep … students involved
in something that they really care about,” he said.
He said the school system has a variety of enrichment programs, like
art and music, but the alternative education program isn’t geared toward
enrichment.
“We started the alternative program in 1993. Really its main purpose
was to deal with students who really weren’t functioning in the regular
classroom environment,” he said. “It’s a program that strives
to keep these children in school and get them an education,” he said.
Wilfong agreed.
“They’re kids who for one reason or another do not function well
in a traditional school program,” Wilfong said. “We try to provide
them with a foundation … to improve their social skills as well as academic
skills.”
The Johnson Learning Center houses five programs and serves students
in grades 7-12. Programs include the Options program, which has an academic
and vocational aspect for certain 16-year-olds pursuing a GED; the 17-year-old
GED program; a high school completion program for students in grades 9-12
who are on track for graduation; a middle school redirection program to
develop necessary social skills for students to be successful in a traditional
school environment; and a ninth-grade academy for students working to transition
back to the high school.
The alternative education program began with about four students in
1993. This year about 80 are enrolled, Wilfong said.
· Contact Tiffany Schwab at [email protected]
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