June 24, 2004

Bret Harte Bids a Fond Farewell to Assistant Principal Addison Jones

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

As the last day of school dawned, the excitement was palpable at Bret Harte Middle School. Just beyond its doors, summer vacation beckoned with its promise of fun-in-the-sun, get-away adventure, swimming in deep blue pools or splashing through the waves at the seashore. However, for the students, teachers and staff of Bret Harte Middle School, their anticipation was touched by just a hint of sadness, due to the pending retirement of their beloved assistant principal of activities and discipline, Addison Jones.

Jones, whose trademark Hawaiian shirts and cowboy boots depicted his relaxed style—his retirement gift from the staff was a pair of cowboy boots—will be greatly missed at Bret Harte. Even his office reflected his personality, festooned with Mardi Gras beads, stuffed animals, photos and memorabilia, it offered guests a welcome oasis from the hectic school atmosphere. Many of these items were gifts from the California Activity Directors Association (CADA) Leadership Conferences, for which Jones served as a board member. This year, he was one of eight state area representatives recognized for running an outstanding program.

During School Spirit Days and Broncothon fundraisers, Jones’ sense of humor and good sportsmanship could always be counted on. To reward students meeting their goals, he has been known to hula hoop, wear a variety of costumes, ride a razor scooter around campus, shave his head and even be duck taped to a flag pole!

However, says Jones, being the assistant principal of both activities and discipline, means there are two sides to his job. “They get the good, the bad and the ugly,” he laughs. “We try to be fair. We talk about their hitting a bump in the road, making a mistake and give them a clean start. There is always room for improvement. We want all of the kids to be successful, so you just have to keep at it.”

Girls basketball coach and parent volunteer, Yvette Champlin, who worked closely with Jones over the last three years, is impressed with his mediation techniques. “One of the things that I love so much about working with him is that no matter what the situation, he always approaches it first with a positive light,” she asserts. “In dealing with kids, he’s always willing to listen to both sides rather than jumping to any judgment. He’s always there at tournaments and games, supporting the kids and has a calming effect in the midst of chaos.”

Champlin joked with students that Jones real name was ‘go ask Mr. Jones,’ because whenever they had questions or needed advice, she would send them to see him.

“That’s what’s going to be difficult to replace,” she contends, “that positive ‘let’s go take care of it’ attitude, and the kids knowing that he’s always there for them and always on their side. I don’t know how he does that for everyone involved; because the administrators and the teachers feel the same way. When you have everyone thinking that you’re on their side, that’s a pretty hard task, but that’s what he does.”

Jones, who has been known to ‘hold up the wall’ at school sports events, has been an enormous advocate and the force behind bringing an extensive athletic program to Bret Harte.

“When I came here, they only had eighth grade boys and girls basketball, and now we have approximately 20 different sports teams and we’re in three different leagues,” notes Jones, who also credits the parents for stepping up to coach the teams.

Jones also enjoyed assisting the students with leadership activities. “The kids are bright and mature,” he says. “They took on a lot of responsibilities you don’t normally find at middle schools, such as directing their own noon-time activities. They are capable here and pretty impressive. The kids and the parents made this school what it is.”

One of those parents is Bobbi Janes who volunteers her time to produce the Bret Harte yearbook. She will be sad to see Jones go. “Bret Harte was truly fortunate to have Addison Jones as their champion,” said Janes. “He was instrumental in establishing their sports program, so because of him hundreds of students over the years found a place to participate and to feel part of the school. The school will not be the same without him.”

Although Jones has been with the San Jose Unified School District for 34 years, his career started with teaching art in the classroom. After earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in drawing and painting from San Jose State University, and a Master’s Degree in three-dimensional design from Fresno State he taught art for 24 years. He then became assistant principal at Gunderson, Steinbeck and finally, Bret Harte, where he spent the last nine years.

While an art teacher at Gunderson, Jones realized that he needed to be politically active to obtain supplies for his class. “If you’re not there when they’re looking at the budget, your art department is very limited, so being active is the key,” he states. It was this sense of responsibility and involvement in the planning stages that led to his transition from art teacher to assistant principal.

Sylvia Orlowicz worked with Jones at Gunderson before becoming his student activities clerical assistant at Bret Harte. “He’s got a great personality and is so easy going,” she says. “He’s very open-minded and willing to give new ideas a try.”

“Mr. Jones was one of my art teachers at Gunderson, and now my daughter has him as an administrator,” comments parent Sheetal Singhal. “He connects with the kids in a ‘let’s do it together’ approach.” Her daughter Anchal agrees, “Mr. Jones helps us a lot. He makes our school more fun and makes us want to be at school.”

When he first joined the staff at Bret Harte, the greatest challenge Jones faced centered on introducing electives and an extensive sports program to the school. “When I arrived, it was a five-period program and although they had a fee-based enrichment program for electives, they only had basketball,” he recalls.

“The hardest part was realizing that the kids involved in sports might miss some classes. The teachers were dedicated and wanted the kids in class, but we had the conflict of having to travel for sports events and having to take the kids out of school. Finally, we had the starting time changed and it made a world of difference,” he states. “There was also the struggle of bringing in and supporting activities, when the school’s only focus was academic—but now they support the programs and appreciate them, because it reaches a lot of kids and keeps them interested in school.”

Principal Don McCloskey has worked with Jones for about 10 years at Gunderson and Bret Harte. “We have a great working relationship,” attests McCloskey. “When we both started here, we had similar interests in wanting to expand the opportunities for students in extra-curricular activities. We both like sports, so we talked about trying to increase the number of sports teams we had after school, and it went on from there.

“Addison tried hard to start other activities, clubs and expand the role students could play outside of class and academics. We know that not every student is connected to school through their academic performance, and if we can find a way to connect them through sports and extra-curricular activities, it might make them happier to come to school. There are also a lot of lessons to be learned through these activities.”

“It’s been my good fortune to have him on the staff with me,” remarks McCloskey. “One thing that’s great about Addison is that he’s very even-tempered and he really cares, and kids can see that. I can honestly say that if a kid came to him with a request for a club, he did everything in his power to make sure that request came true.

He’s always looking for ways to help kids, and that’s why kids connect with him. He’s as accommodating a human being as possible. He’s a perfect fit for this community and a perfect fit for what the kids need here.” At Bret Harte’s Promotion Ceremony, Addison received rousing applause from the students and parents alike.

“I’m extremely sorry to see him go,” comments McCloskey. “Usually at the end of the school year, you’re on a high and the kids are happy, but it’s winding down Addison’s career here, so there’s a little bit of a depression settling in. But the great thing about Addison is, that even with his retirement coming, he continues to talk about ways we can make the school better next year. We plan to bring him back when needed, and he promised to come out and help us. He has a lot of knowledge that the school needs.”

Following retirement, and some well-deserved time off, Jones plans to teach art again. He says that most of all, he will miss the kids, their activities and their sports. “I won’t miss the discipline though,” he laughs. “I just really loved being here.”