Building Futures: Johnnie Milton’s Mission to Empower Students at La Follette High

For the past 11 years, Johnnie Milton has been a familiar face at La Follette High School. As a multicultural coordinator, he fosters a positive culture and climate by building relationships with students and creating opportunities for their personal growth. His goal is to help students stay on track to graduate while helping prepare them for higher education or the workforce, based on what they want to do. 

“All of our students have potential,” Milton says. “We need to help them see that. It’s not always easy, but our support is crucial to their success. I treat each day like an Etch-a-Sketch. We start fresh, and it works.”

Milton shares that he’s seen freshmen significantly grow and mature into seniors. Sometimes, that requires thinking out of the box. For example, La Follette’s Black Student Union (BSU) helped fundraise for a night of comedy at the school. 

“The kids worked hard to fundraise so this event can happen,” Milton said. “Events like this build community. My philosophy is, if we can laugh together, we can work together.” 

Student growth also comes from the experiences the district helps provide. One of the annual events Milton plans is a tour of Historical Black Colleges and Universities throughout the country. Just last fall, Milton took a group of students to Alabama, giving them an opportunity to not only learn about education, but to experience the halls, classrooms and spaces that many of our country’s Black leaders were once in. As part of these trips, Milton also takes students through Black historical museums and monuments. 

While he helps give students an up-close look at national history, Milton said it is also important for students to remember their own history. It’s something he does every day, and he keeps a portrait of his aunt and her grandmother displayed in his office as a reminder of that past. Sometimes, those memories can stir deep emotions. 

“My dad was born in 1929, and faced intense discrimination,” Milton said. “Black people weren’t allowed to be on the same sidewalk as white people, so he had to walk in the street or in the dirt.”

Milton’s family also still owns 120 acres of land in Louisiana that was allotted to them under the Homestead Act of 1862. Although the Act technically allowed for Black people to own land, they faced significant racial discrimination and barriers before finally securing the land. 

“My Uncle Frank, got 120 acres and three mules,” Milton said. “Our past tells the story of our adversity and triumphs. I challenge students to know their own personal history because it can help them have a better future.” 

Milton’s success lies in his students’ success, and he is fully dedicated to them while they are under his guidance. While the impacts of his work aren’t always immediate, he takes pride in seeing students thrive. Many of them reach out to him to check in and update them on where they are. One student who reached out during winter break is now a lawyer, who graduated from Spelman and Howard universities. Then there are the parents and guardians who believe in the work he is doing. In fact, one couple made a pact with Milton: He couldn’t leave until their youngest graduated. 

“I’m happy to say that I fulfilled the pact,” Milton said. “It’s all about my students, and when parents believe in me, and I receive love from the community, I feel really good about the work I’m doing. It humbles me, and I believe that the person upstairs–whoever that is for you–is doing something right.” 

Milton estimates he’s worked with more than 10,000 students over the time he’s been in education. In addition to serving at La Follette, he also worked at Sennett Middle School. He currently works with the Black Student Union, Union Latina, the Asian Club, the Native American Student Association and the Multicultural Club.