Children Find Old Friend in New Teacher

For 12 years, Wayne Jennings regularly visited Room 22 of Fremont Elementary School toting a broom and trash can.

Today, the former custodian will walk into the same classroom, but this time he’ll be armed with pens and pencils to begin his first day as a teacher for the Santa Ana Unified School District.

The kids “are going to be in for a little shock when they see me,” acknowledged Jennings, 40. “But once the initial shock wears off, we’re going to have a lot of fun in this classroom.”

Deputy Supt. John Bennett said Jennings may be the first custodian in the district to switch to teaching, a distinction that drew honors at a special ceremony before the school board Tuesday night.

Jennings said he always has wanted to work with children. He even considered a career in law enforcement.

Yet, during all his years as a custodian, he never lost his dream of one day teaching in the classrooms of Santa Ana.

So in 1995, Jennings, whose wife is a first-grade teacher in the district, finally returned to school at National University in Costa Mesa to get his degree. Two years later, he had his degree and teaching credential. And Fremont Elementary, where the children comfortably wave to the friendly man they know as “Mr. Jennings,” had an opening for a second-grade teacher just as he was ready to launch his new career. His starting salary will be about $30,000 a year, the same he was making as a custodian.

“The kids are real excited about it,” said Carolina Tercero, the Fremont principal who interviewed, then hired, Jennings. “They want to be in his class. They like his sense of humor, and they’re happy for him.”

In between answering questions from reporters about his newfound celebrity status, Jennings was busy Tuesday setting up his classroom.

One of his priorities was posting a chart of rules on the wall for students to follow. The chart asks children, among other things, to be good listeners and respect others.

Jennings said the chart is important because some of the students may think they can get away with misbehaving just because they know him.

While that remains to be seen, what is clear is that children seem eager to be in his class.

“Some kids said they wanted to go back to second grade,” Jennings noted.

Students on the playground recognized their former custodian in spite of his new garb--dress shirt, gray slacks and tie. So did his new colleagues. As he passed through the hallways, one teacher quipped, “This is the celebrity, I hear.”

In addition to his lesson plans, Jennings said he hopes that his career change will have a lasting impression on his students.

“Maybe just the fact that I’ve switched careers will help these kids continue through school and become teachers,” he said.