Provide Input on Naming the WJ Baseball Field for Coach Ahearn
Recently, in response to a written proposal to name the new baseball facility at Walter Johnson for coach and teacher Kim Ahearn, I created a naming committee. The committee is made up of two teachers, two students, two parents selected by the PTSA and three community members selected by our community superintendent. I serve as the non-voting chair of the committee. Earlier this week, the committee met and voted unanimously to move forward with the process of considering the naming of the field for Coach Ahearn. Thus, I am opening a 30 day window for comment from any interested member of the community about the possibility of naming the field for Coach Ahearn. Feedback (supporting or not supporting this proposal) must be in writing and sent directly to me (via email or regular mail to my attention at Walter Johnson). No feedback should be posted publicly on the list serve. If anything is posted publicly, it will not be considered in the committee's decision. If you want your feedback considered, it should reach me by Monday, December 14th at 5:00 pm.
As some of you might know, Kim graduated from WJ and then returned to his alma mater as a teacher. He has taught here for 30 years (with approximately 70 seasons of coaching). Following is an abbreviated version of the write-up that faculty member Chris Murray submitted with the written proposal.
Thank you.
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From faculty member Chris Murray:
If you were to ask Jamie Ahearn about her father, Kim Ahearn, she would first describe him as a man who bleeds green and white. That is the same green and white that he wore as a proud student athlete at Walter Johnson High School in the early 1960s and that is the same green and white that he put back on in 1978 as the head coach of his alma mater's baseball team. The following fall, Kim Ahearn began his teaching tenure at Walter Johnson where he has served as a dedicated member of the staff for the past 30 years. Over those 30 years at Walter Johnson he has coached an astounding 70 seasons of sports, impacting countless young lives. More important to him are the contributions he has made and the joy he has gained from teaching five classes of physical education every day for the past 37 years of his life.
Men like Coach Ahearn are not the norm in today's coaching community or in education for that matter. The dedication that he has shown towards one community and one school over the past 30 years is astounding. His story and passion must be on hand for the next 50 years as Walter Johnson High School continues to be at the apex of both academic and athletic excellence in the United States of America. That is why I believe that any time a student, teacher, or alumnus walks past our brand new baseball diamond, they should be reminded of the type of character that has built Walter Johnson High School into what it is today. Please support those who have had their lives inspired by ones man's commitment to coaching and teaching in enshrining his name on the new baseball field here at Walter Johnson High School.
If you are participating in this year's Turkey Chase race on Thanksgiving morning please designate Walter Johnson HS as your choice to receive the Principal's Prize. WJ has beaten out rival Walt Whitman for this prize for the first two years of it's existence and we want to keep that streak alive. The $1,000 prize is used to support WJ's Access2College program through which the school mentors first-generation college applicants. Visit www. walterjohnson.com/access2college for more information about the program.
This year, the WJ Education Foundation, Booster Club and PTSA are joining together in order to co-host an early winter gala. Please mark your calendar for the evening of December 5th and plan to attend this special event at the Ratner Museum in Bethesda. As we modernize the campus, the work of these parent organizations benefits Walter Johnson High School and allows us to provide state-of-the-art technology and equipment in our new school. They are also dedicated to supporting our academic and extracurricular programs.
Provide Input on Naming the WJ Baseball Field for Coach Ahearn