Antoinette Johnson and Benjamin Sands have been walking the halls of Coolidge Senior High School in Northwest D.C. for more than four decades.
Both teachers grew up in the District and graduated from D.C. public schools. After graduating from Howard University, Sands became a music teacher and band director at Coolidge 41 years ago.
On his first day as a teacher, other teachers mistook him for a student in the lunch room because he was so young.
"They said, 'Teachers are supposed to go to the front of the line.' I went to the front of the line and the lady said, 'All students are supposed to go in the back,'" Sands said. "And somebody said, 'No, he's a new music teacher!'"
While 41 years might seem like a long time, Sands is not the longest-tenured teacher at the school. That title belongs to Johnson, who has taught at Coolidge for 44 years. She taught for one year at Ballou High School before that.
For her service, Lewis Ferebee, the DCPS chancellor, recently recognized her for being the longest-serving full-time D.C. public school teacher.
When Johnson first started, she said the job was intimidating because she was only 23 years old at the time. Also, she was one of just two woman science teachers at Coolidge.
"The young lady was happy to see me because she had always worked with men," Johnson said.
Johnson wakes up every morning knowing that she'll be welcomed and embraced by a group of loving students when she comes to school.
"The media makes them into some things that they're really not," she said. "Most of the students here – we have a great group of students at Coolidge High School."
In his 41 years of teaching, Sands has learned to be himself at all costs.
"See, students think they have to be like somebody else to be successful. No," Sands said. "They think because their parents had struggles that they're going to have the same struggles. That's not true."
Johnson gives similar advice, telling her students they shouldn't try to be popular. Instead, she tells them to be themselves and the best they can be.
"I tell my students always to not be a follower, to trust your gut instinct and to do what you feel is best and that you don't have to try to fit in," Johnson said.
While they've both seen plenty of changes in students and teaching, Sands says that the biggest change he's seen is in himself.
"It is a journey and all the things that happen to you in your life, you must learn from them," Johnson said. "Always be open for advice."
As Johnson's 45th year of teaching comes to a close, she's already looking forward to next year.
"Just when you feel like you're tired, June comes along. We go home for the summer," Johnson said. "By the time August and September come, you're just ready to go again. You miss them over the summer."
Both Johnson and Sands say they have no intention of retiring anytime soon.
