Tri-City high school comes up with a compromise to honor this beloved student
He lived, breathed and embodied the Southridge High School Suns spirit.
And soon his name will adorn the gym’s cheering section.
At the recommendation of a stakeholder committee, the Kennewick School Board on Wednesday night voted unanimously in support of naming the student cheering section the “Jo Jo Conn Student Section” after a beloved student who died in 2008.
Jovan “Jo Jo” Conn attended Southridge 2004-2008 and was part of the school’s life skills program. He encouraged his fellow students with disabilities to get involved in school activities and sports. And his enthusiasm was a confidence booster for many.
He played soccer and was part of the school’s track and field team. Conn also helped out with the Suns football, baseball and boys basketball events, and he was quite proud of the personal scorebooks and stat sheets he kept on athletes.
His legacy will soon be memorialized in the form of a banner that will hang from the cheering section. A similar banner will be taken to events outside the gym and to away games.
“I just hope his legacy opens doors for all kids with special needs, and even kids that feel there are barriers that stop them from achieving what they want to achieve,” Conn’s mother, Moraima Phillips, told the Tri-City Herald.
Robyn Chastain, Kennewick School District’s executive director of communications and public relations, said the specifics of this decision are still being ironed out.
A few months ago, Southridge’s senior class brought forward a plan to rename the school’s gym after Conn because of the impact his life continues to have with the school’s families and staff today.
The superintendent formed a committee made up of school staff, alumni, students and booster club leaders. The group, which met over four meetings, was tasked with reviewing community submissions and making a recommendation to the school board for naming the facility.
The committee was ultimately split on whether to name the gym after Conn. But they came together with a compromise.
“Thank you to everyone that supported this, the senior class for even thinking about naming anything in my son’s name and just taking his story to heart,” Phillips said. “He gave 100% to the school, his Southridge family, and I just appreciate all that they’re doing for him.”
Ralph LeCompte considered
Before giving their final recommendation to the school board, the committee narrowed 190 responses from a community survey down to three finalist recommendations.
They would either recommend to not name the gym at all, name it the “Jovan ‘Jo Jo’ Conn Gymnasium,” or name it the “Ralph LeCompte Gymnasium.”
LeCompte was an administrator and the first athletic director of Southridge High School, which opened to students in 1997. He retired from the school in 2008.
His name was supported by a majority of Southridge staff members who sat on the committee, but LeCompte was largely unknown to the students. While he was a significant figure in the short historical timeline of Southridge, the committee ultimately steered away from the recommendation as procedure recommends not naming facilities after people who are still alive.
Committee members who opposed naming the gym after Conn said there had been other valued alumni who had also tragically passed away who might be equally as deserving of an honor.
Plus, those committee members pointed out, Conn’s memory has been honored in many other ways.
Every year, the school awards the Jo Jo Conn Spirit Award to students or staff who show love, spirit and pride for the school while also working and spending time with students with disabilities.
Jo Jo Conn Week is also hosted annually at the school to focus on inclusion, acceptance and Sun spirit. Also, the basketball team recognizes their hardest-working player each year with the Jo Jo Conn Award.
But Assistant Superintendent Matt Scott said students were adamant that the gym could not remain unnamed.
“It was really a split committee in many ways, and for some staff who felt that Jovan was very deserving of this and they had lots of good reason why to do that,” Scott said.
‘Truly a blessing for us’
In the end, students agreed with the compromise of naming the spirit section after Conn to help spread his legacy.
Conn was also an active community member. He died at the age of 20 from an undiagnosed heart condition, just a year before he was set to graduate with his sister.
The school board voted 4-0 to approve the naming. Board President Michael Connors was absent.
“I think it’s a great compromise,” board member Micah Valentine told staff and the board. “My opinion is I actually think that’s a better way to honor his name.”
Phillips said her family feels blessed that Conn’s name was even part of this discussion.
“It’s truly a blessing for us,” she said. “This is something that’s just so very much appreciated.”
This story was originally published June 23, 2023 at 9:23 AM.
