Embracing diversity
By Claire Compton
John Coleman's biography is a wellspring of surprising life experiences.
He and his wife Yvonne are parents to nine daughters and have 16 grandchildren. He was born in the Bronx and lived on Coney Island and in Harlem. His grandfather was a rabbi, he was raised Christian and now practices Islam.
Before moving to Reston in 1994 he owned his own bakery and continues to bake, including creating the wedding cakes for his five daughters who are married. He knew he wanted to work with children at the age of 11, when he organized a track team in his poor neighborhood in the Bronx.
“I grew up in the ghetto, there weren't a lot of things to do,” he said of his track team. “When you don't have a lot, you have to organize things. You take one ball and 10 to 15 people can play with it.”
Now, he is a 2008 Best of Reston winner. The recognition comes for Coleman's past 15 years at South Lakes High School, where he is currently the safety and security assistant.
Soon after arriving at South Lakes, Coleman founded the Latino Club, in an effort to involve and celebrate a part of the student population he had observed was on the fringes of the community.
“I asked them things like why didn't they go to the dance, and they would say, 'Well they didn't play Latino music,' and I said let's start a club and ask them to do these things,” he said.
Soon after, other students responded to Coleman's enthusiasm for helping students and asked him to sponsor the Break Dancing Club and the Double Dutch Team.
All of these endeavors require Coleman to put in extra time after school and on weekends. Coleman, a resident of the Stonegate cluster, said his commitment to service is a natural function of wanting to contribute to his own community.
“I do what I can do for what's in front of me. I want to be a better neighbor,” he said.
For that reason, Coleman's involvement extends beyond the high school. This year marks his third year on the Southgate Community Center Advisory Council, of which he was recently elected chair.
He is also seen as a facilitator for families in need and those in the community who want to help them.
“People always come to me and say I got this or I got that, and I refer them to services in Reston such as Reston Interfaith or [Supervisor Cathy] Hudgins' office,” he said.
He has also been able to help former students find jobs and stays in touch with many graduates.
“They're my neighbors and my friends,” he said.
Coleman's role as a neighbor and friend to students was especially important during the past year's contentious boundary study, during which some students felt their school was being attacked. Coleman said he looks forward to welcoming the nearly 200 new students South Lakes will take in this fall.
“If you come in here during lunchtime and look at all the diverse groups in here ... you don't know what they are because they're all mixed up, that's how the world is,” he said of South Lakes' diversity, which he considers an important preparation for the world.
His current home at South Lakes is an appropriate reflection of the diversity of experiences in Coleman's life, which he said has taught him to approach everyone with respect.
“I truly believe I'm my brother's keeper,” he said.