APMS's Dan Johnson reflects on his career

When Avon Park Middle School Principal Dan Johnson attended Woodlawn Elementary School in 1956, the school's principal was Jack Ingle. Twenty four years later Johnson returned to Woodlawn to succeed Ingle as the school's principal.

Back in the 1950s, '60s and '70s administrators sometimes stayed in one position for a number of years instead of being transferred or requesting a new assignment every few years, which is more typical today.

Johnson recalls some of the other things that have changed over the years, including technology in the school and classroom.

The technology at Woodlawn Elementary in 1980 was two electric typewriters and an electric mimeograph machine.

"That was it; everything was done by hand," he said. "Since 1980, we don't survive without computers and the technology in the classroom has gotten so much better."

The kids today are wired for technology in their brain so they respond more to technology, Johnson said.

But more students are from broken families, he said.

"The families were somewhat intact when I started out teaching," Johnson said. The mother and father were home and it seems like now a large percentage of our families are broken families - just a single parent or a grandfather/grandmother arrangement.

"That's had an impact on our children."

The great majority of the children are good and come to school and they try, he said. "That's one thing I'm glad hasn't changed."

Johnson said there continues to be a small percentage of children who are troubled, but their problems seem more serious.

Johnson, who was born in Sebring in 1946, attended the old Sebring High School when it was first- through 12th-grade. He attended Woodlawn Elementary School when it opened in 1955 and then was back at the old high school for junior high and high school.

After his high school graduation in 1964, he attended St. Petersburg Junior College.

That was a year before South Florida Community College would open, Johnson noted. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University.

In 1968 Johnson started working for the School Board of Highlands County as a fifth-grade teacher at Fred Wild Elementary School.

He remembers the school only had one wing and about six classrooms and no cafeteria.

"We got on the bus everyday and went to the high school for lunch," he said. The whole school fit on two buses and the elementary students were served before the high school's lunch period.

After teaching one year at Sebring Middle School, Johnson and his wife, Becky, moved to Palm Beach County so she could complete her degree and he could earn a master's degree. He taught elementary school for four years in Palm Beach County.

"We wanted to start a family and we felt a small community, especially where our families were, was the place to raise our children so we came back," Johnson said. He went back to work at Sebring Middle School where he became the assistant principal.

Along with Woodlawn Elementary, Johnson has served as principal of Avon Elementary, Park Elementary, Lake Placid Elementary and, the past six years, Avon Park Middle School.

The Johnsons have three grown children - two boys and a girl.

Though the last day for students is today, Johnson said he will be working until about the end of the month.

He plans to keep busy in retirement.

"I have a lot of work at home; I have a house that needs a lot of attention," he said.

Johnson will be president of the Avon Park Noon Rotary next year. This summer the Johnsons will be going to England for two weeks to attend an international Rotary convention.

"So I'm planning on giving back to the community as best I can for some of the good things they've done for me," he said.