From a New Johnston Perspective

Words | Anna Catlett Design | Dory Holms

Stereotypes of Johnston: the original idea for this story. But, as we set out to gather information we realized that the perception of Johnston is fairly positive. Many Johnston students prefer to point out the flaws of our school, which is what we planned to do in this article. Though once we spoke to students who are new to Johnston they had only positive things to share about their experience. Switching to a new school is a nerve racking process for any student. This year we have had a total of 98 new students transfer to Johnston. When attending a new school it is important to feel connected with the community, which Johnston has provided for incoming students.

“I do feel connected to Johnston. They make you feel like you’re like family to them you know? Like they care more about you and they basically treat you well.” Yvonne Benezo ‘25 said.

Benezo transferred from Urbandale at the beginning of this year. When comparing Johnston to other schools, new students state that they have had a more positive experience with our educators.

“There might be a little more individualized teaching here. I have had a better experience with teachers here,” Carson Lane ‘23 said.

Who transferred from Roosevelt at the beginning of last school year. According to students, our staff put in more effort to connect with students and establish an effective learning environment. When speaking with teachers, they say that they often check in with students on their understanding of the material and offer their support before and after school hours.

“I feel more connected [with the teachers] here because they care more about you, like if you have bad grades they will take care of that and try to help you. At Urbandale, it’s all by you, like that’s your business.” Benezo stated.

Teachers were happy to hear that students recognized their efforts.

“It makes me feel good to know that students appreciate what we do, or at least can tell that we try to be kind.” Madison Buckley, a teacher at JHS said.

Along with teachers, new students say that their peers have been respectful and assisted them in their transition to Johnston.

“People here tend to mind their own business more which is, like I’m not used to that since everybody at Urbandale kind of came up in everybody’s business 24/7,” Ethan Boyde said, another transfer from Urbandale.

Feeling included is key to adjusting in a new environment. Fortunately, this is something Johnston students have provided for their new classmates.

“At Urbandale, like if somebody sees that you’re new they will literally just pass you and act like they don’t want you around, but here they talk to you, chat up on you,” Benezo said.

The Johnston Youth Mentoring Program (JUMP) has also played a part in helping new students at Johnston. New students who have chosen to be a part of the program reported that it has been beneficial to their experience at Johnston.

“If you are feeling stressed you just go there [JUMP]. If you want to talk to somebody there is someone to talk to. If you want a snack or something you go there they have everything. If you need something they just got you.” Benezo stated.

Upon hearing about their new peers’ experience, Johnston students were surprised by the positive outcome. Instead of focusing on what we dislike about our school, we should try seeing Johnston from a new perspective.

“It makes me really happy actually, that these kids are blending in so well and everybody is just really welcoming to them. I didn’t realize that we had it so well here,” Kennedy Dostal ‘25 said.