Who WE Are – Ahtiya Johnson

Wiedenmann

When Ahtiya Johnson graduated from William Penn High School in 2010, she never dreamed she would return to the Colonial District to work in the administration building with her former principal. Johnson, now the School Choice and Unit Count Specialist, enjoys working directly across the hall from Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Menzer but says,” at first it was so weird! I feared my reputation for being a social butterfly as a student would dictate his thoughts of me as an employee.” And Dr. Menzer does recall Johnson’s high school years when she was a gregarious student saying, “I remember Tiya as a student. Why? The same reason I know she works in the office across the hall…she was and is loud!!”

Putting all jokes aside, Menzer says Johnson’s decision to work for Colonial also speaks volumes about the District, “alumni returning to join Colonial as an employee speaks to the sense of family here. Most Colonial employees view our students as a member of their extended family, oftentimes the connections made through that relationship draw the alumni back into the fold, with a goal of developing that same relationship with other students.”

As someone who bleeds cherry red and black Johnson says she loves working in a role where she can now help students saying, “I returned to Colonial because I felt that it’s rewarding to give back the community and district that vested so much time and effort in me.” With aspirations to climb up the administrative ladder, Johnson is now working to obtain her master’s degree, something that comes as no surprise to Superintendent Menzer who says, “WE are proud to have Tiya as part of the Power of WE!”

Ahtiya is #WhoWEAre.