Revitalizing Jay Pride Alive

Glenna Honich, left, and Erika Leonard arrive Friday at Jefferson City High School to deliver plastic cups to faculty. Both women are with Jay Pride Alive, the school's alumni association, and made stops at each of the schools in the district to deliver the logoed cups, along with information for faculty about the alumni group and how they hope to help teachers in the classroom.
Glenna Honich, left, and Erika Leonard arrive Friday at Jefferson City High School to deliver plastic cups to faculty. Both women are with Jay Pride Alive, the school's alumni association, and made stops at each of the schools in the district to deliver the logoed cups, along with information for faculty about the alumni group and how they hope to help teachers in the classroom.

Pride in Jefferson City Public Schools has been running on empty for the past few years, but the high school alumni association aims to amp it back up with a rebranding effort and plans for more district involvement.

The Jefferson City High School Alumni Association, Jay Pride Alive, had been fairly dormant; some didn't even know the association existed, said President Holly Nunn. Members are hoping to re-energize alumni and spread positivity about the school, she said. They've kicked off the rebranding with the organization's new name and student-created logo, featuring the district's famous jaybird.

The vision is to restore Jay pride in the community with the mission to support the high school by engaging alumni and strengthening community partnerships.

Board member Erika Leonard, class of 2001, was recruited by Nunn. Leonard hopes the rebranding will be a catalyst for revitalized district support.

"There's been a culture shift in Jefferson City where families want to send their kids to Catholic schools or move to Wardsville or Taos," Leonard said. "Personally, I find that appalling, and I want there to be pride in our schools. Jefferson City Public Schools is the backbone of the community."

One of their new efforts is creating a PledgeCents campaign for teachers. Teachers can submit requests for items they need on PledgeCents, a website that allows anyone to donate to a person's campaign. The association will select one or more of those requests based on their budget, Nunn said, and asks teachers to keep their campaigns under $500.

It's one way the association is expanding its outreach, she said. Last year, the association sponsored the district's Teacher of the Year award, but that funding has been adopted by former teacher Linda Eisinger and her husband, Don, and renamed the Eisinger Teacher of the Year Award.

The association is also hosting its fourth annual event Sept. 22 at The Millbottom after the homecoming parade. For a $15 ticket, alumni can enjoy live music and meet other alumni, Nunn said. They're hoping to spread awareness about the association and get more people involved.

"The alumni (association) is about the alumni," Nunn said. "It would be great if we were a hub for alumni to reconnect with their classmates and host reunions. If we could grow our funds, we could do a lot for classrooms."

On the association's new website, there's a section for community donations that are funneled for scholarships and classroom donations. Interested alumni can enter their information if they'd like to join.

For more information, visit jaypridealive.com.