Campus Supervisor Mr. Littlejohn’s approach to connecting with students
News/Sports Editor
Starting as a night custodian and football coach, transitioning to working in day maintenance, and settling as a campus supervisor, Mr. Littlejohn has been busy during his first three years working at AHS.
“The day shift keeps me in touch with a lot of the athletes. When I was coaching, it made it a lot easier to just communicate, understand where their heads are,” said Littlejohn.
Roshan Pauls (11), a defensive tackle for the AHS football team, said, “He’s always there as a positive voice. We make a bad play, we make a mistake, he still believes in us. It’s nice to have a coach who has your back and believes in you.”
Caiden Kalitta (12), who plays corner and safety for AHS football said, “I would see him in the morning when I was walking to class, he’s super friendly [and] he builds a bond with [players] at school and on the field.”
Though Mr. Littlejohn no longer coaches the football team, his bonds with his players remain intact, and he prefers to be referred to as Coach LJ in passing.
“He had good intensity, a good vibe about him,” recalled defensive tackle Julian Serrano (12). “Even though he left, all the football guys are cool with him. I was really bummed when I heard he left, because honestly speaking, he was one of our better coaches, for sure.”
“He still checks up on me to make sure that my grades are good. To make sure that as a student athlete that I’m not lagging [behind] in grades or getting in trouble, and that’s a really positive influence,” said Pauls.
Mr. Littlejohn is known for navigating the campus while playing music through his loudspeaker. “I try to play uplifting music, and that’s because I can give a little bit of just happiness [to the students]” (Photo Credit: Daniel Davis (12)).
After working in day maintenance, he transitioned to being a campus supervisor. “I had a lot of encouragement and help from our admin, from Mrs. Sharma, from Angie [Teixeira and] Belinda [Lozano], so I’m thankful for that,” said Coach LJ.
As a campus supervisor, Mr. Littlejohn’s ability to communicate with students became increasingly more important.
“My interactions are pretty much [with] everybody—over 2600 students here. It’s hard to connect with everybody, but I try my best to just be chill about things and get to know people,” said the supervisor. “It makes it easier when I have to be the disciplinarian—which I don’t want to—because we have a connection, and they’re more likely to take action towards doing the right thing.”
“When he meets students for the first time, whether they’re new at school or they get called to the office for whatever reason, he’s not going to judge,” said Mr. Kimo, a special education specialist who has known Mr. Littlejohn since the coach’s arrival at the school. “He’s going to keep the conversation at a familiar level, and whatever we’re trying to accomplish, whether it’s teaching life skills, life lessons, [or] academia, we’ve got to keep it familiar to them..”
One such student, Anthony Bollinger (12), described having an extended conversation with Mr. Littlejohn about a move Bollinger had made in Call of Duty. “We started talking about how using knives makes people mad, even though it’s a game mechanic. And that was where I became more talkative towards him, because I was like, I can get along with this guy. The conversation is always full of energy and he’s always making you laugh.”
How has Coach LJ found so much success relating with the student body?
“I play video games too,” said Coach LJ, laughing. “I have a 12 year old. I’m not comparing [high school students] with 12 year olds, but I’m still kind of in that area of learning what you guys get into. We’re both here in the same place at the same time, so we might as well get along.”
Coach Littlejohn’s experience as a former AHS student also informs his approach as a supervisor. “There was nobody who really took the time to say good morning, to say, ‘Hey, you know you have these things at your disposal,’” said Coach LJ. “[student] athletes, a lot of times don’t get home until nine o’clock and then have all these essays, and a lot of us adults forget that we went through things like this. It’s easier to say, ‘Hey, how can I help you?’”
Before coming to American, Mr. Littlejohn had experience as a DJ, bouncer, football player, and actor. “I think that these jobs have taken me to places that I would have never gone otherwise, and I’ve been introduced to many different views of life. Just being around other people that I would have never met outside of what I was doing helps me to be more accepting of other people’s cultures, beliefs, religion, whatever it may be.”
Throughout Coach LJ’s interview, a multitude of students approached him and he made sure to fill each quick greeting with the same upbeat and playful energy. “We’re doing an interview right now, and I’m glad these guys showed up. So these are the minions right here,” said Coach LJ, pointing to Bollinger and brothers Ian and Caiden Kalitta. “His name is Ian, but I call him Tyrone. Someone’s got to teach these guys how to be normal human beings. Well, one of the two, normal or human beings, but I’m gonna do my best.”
Mr. Littlejohn’s past work experience informs his strategies as a campus supervisor. “[As the] DJ, my job is to keep people happy. That kind of follows me here,” said Mr. Littlejohn. “My job [at AHS] isn’t to keep people happy, but it makes my job easier when everybody else is” (Photo Credit: Daniel Davis (12)).
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