Almost every month, Huntington Middle School parents are invited to have coffee with Principal Jason Kurtenbach.
Usually occurring the first Thursday of every month at 9 a.m., Java with Jason draws approximately 100 parents.
“I love Java with Jason,” HMS mom Ann Eittinger said. “It’s one of the highlights of the school year for me. Jason keeps himself on the cutting edge of education and technology, and he keeps total humanity through it all.”
She referred to Kurtenbach as an “unofficial counselor” to help calm parents through their child’s middle school years.
Kurtenbach has been hosting Java with Jason since he started at the middle school four years ago.
“It’s a really good way to have parents connect with you on a less formal basis,” he said. “We do formalize the meetings a little bit by having specific topics. The goal is to get more people here, increase communication and make people feel like this is their school, because it is.”
Kurtenbach said he wants parents to feel connected to the school – not like they just drop their kid off at HMS and leave.
He said he doesn’t set his schedule of topics too far in advance.
“I used to do that, but I’ve found that it’s kind of important to stay fluid because things come up,” Kurtenbach said. “That’s really what we want it to be about—what’s topical in the moment. I usually start out the year with ‘Here’s what’s new and what’s coming up.’”
He said if the school does adopt a new curriculum, he likes to focus a meeting on that to answer questions. For example, the Oct. 6 Java with Jason was focused on the new English curriculum. Kurtenbach also said every year he makes sure that one of the coffee events has the parents of seventh- and eighth-graders speak to the parents of fifth-graders about what it’s like for children entering the middle school.
The next Java with Jason is planned for Nov. 3.
