James Johnson wears many hats at Ashland Middle School. Hired in 2003, James has been a fixture at AMS for 19 years. Currently, he oversees the Academic Support Center, coaches the AMS Brain Bowl team, and serves as the Tech Director for the AMS Drama program.
A self-described “military brat,” James grew up all over including stints in England and Germany. He made his way to Ashland in 1993 to study history and anthropology at SOU (then SOSC) and never left. “Ashland has a small town feel, but it’s bigger than that,” he says. A modern-day Renaissance man, James’ interests are multi-faceted and wide-ranging. Recently, he has taken up 3-D printing. In answering the question what he has made, he says wryly, “A lot of mistakes, but I’m having fun.” He also plays percussion in the Ashland City Band and the Rogue Valley Symphony Band. Additionally, James loves reading and belongs to two different book clubs. A recent favorite is Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki, a science fiction novel that James describes as “dealing with the devil and galactic refugees.”
About working at the middle school, James says, “I like the middle school age. They’re on that cusp of moving from childhood to adulthood, and they're opening up to the world. They get my sense of humor. I also like the look of bewildered horror I get when I tell people I work at a middle school. It’s a good personality match for me.”