When you think about robotics or computer science at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes Upper School, you likely think about the Johnsons. This year is their last year at the school after transforming the science and robotics department for the past few years.
Mr. Johnson is a computer science teacher and the head robotics coach at SSSAS Upper School. This year, he is wrapping up his eighth year at our school. Mrs. Johnson has worked at the Upper School for three years, and before that worked at the Lower School for two years. She is the Upper School Technology Coordinator, the Computer Science Department Chair, a Computer Science Teacher, and a FIRST Robotics Coach.
When asked what they would miss most about the school, they both responded, saying “the students.” This just goes to show how much they care about the kids they teach, and that they are incredible teachers. When asked what some of their favorite memories were from their time at SSSAS, Mrs. Johnson responded, saying, “just watching something click with students at times. Students who are pushing up against a wall for a really long time and then all of a sudden, they make a breakthrough.” Mr. Johnson agreed, saying, “That’s an absolute delight as a teacher.” Mr. Johnson also says that “it is a great joy to see freshmen come in as complete novices and, over the course of four years, become the team leaders.”
We asked Mr. Mallett, the Upper School Director, to describe the legacy the Johnsons are leaving behind at our school. He said, “I would say transformative. Their legacy has been transformative in that they have developed new computer science courses, strengthened existing ones, and these will have a permanence in our curriculum moving forward. I feel like their impact on the robotics program can’t be overstated.” He continued by saying “they’ve built a real culture of family within the robotics program where there would be Friday night potluck dinners where students would stay and enjoy some free time on the quad, throwing the Frisbee and having some fun while enjoying dinner. In the robotics program, they provided pathways for students to learn new skills, certainly the programming skills, the building skills, the outreach skills, but also to develop a sense of camaraderie and teamwork that transcends the technical skills one might learn in robotics.”
When asked about what they hoped for the future of robotics at SSSAS, Mr. Johnson said, “that it continues, that it thrives, that it expands, and that it remains a core part of the school.” Mrs. Johnson continued by saying, “Yeah, and that the new people who come in, the new faculty would come in, give it their own spin and their own flavor as well.”
We asked Mr. Mallett a similar question: What does the future of robotics look like at our school? Mr. Mallett responded, saying, “It’s very bright. We are working with the Johnsons in the hiring process for our new robotics coach, and we have a deep and talented pool of candidates. We will build on the successes that the Johnsons have developed to this point.”
Mr. Mallett was asked what he’ll miss most about the Johnsons. He said, “I think just their adventurous spirit, their can-do attitude, their optimistic perspective that we can pursue any challenge. An ethos of opportunity and excitement, and optimism, and they never had a mindset like, ‘well, we can’t do this’ and ‘this isn’t possible’ and ‘we shouldn’t do this’. Very creative thinking and divergent thinking. I’ll miss that because it’s inspiring.”
After retiring, the Johnsons plan on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (from the border of Canada to the border of Mexico). This will take six months, and it’s something they’ve dreamed of doing since before they got married. After that, they plan to settle on the West Coast.
Mrs. Johnson said, “We’ve been so lucky to be here. It’s such a family, and its culture. There’s so much of it that we will miss.” The Saints community feels the same, and will miss the Johnsons immensely, but wish them the best of luck in their next adventure!
