Jose! Jose! Jose! Jose! The cafeteria of George Grant Mason Elementary sounds more like a raucous soccer stadium when school custodian Jose Morales enters the room.
Morales, who has been with District for the past ten years, has become something of a celebrity to the elementary student body this school year. Why? For no other reason than the quality of his character.
“Because, they think I’m them,” says Morales as he gets ready for the first of the school’s two daily lunch periods.
“I ask them how their day is going, we play Rock Paper Scissors, I love it. They are my kids."
What started in September as animated greetings and energetic high fives has transformed in to “Mr. Jose’s Lunch Friends.” Every day, Mr. Jose splits his time among his “friends” and moves from table to table engaging in conversation with students as they eat their lunch. Morales is so popular that Principal Terlecky had to create a schedule designating where he would sit on which day, just to avoid bickering in the cafeteria.
The hot topic of discussion on this particular Monday was Morales’ whereabouts last Friday. “Where were you Jose?!” he is repeatedly asked by friends passing by with their lunch trays in hand.
“I was helping out at the High School,” Morales was forced to explain time and again.
Most day-to-day conversations center around Morales age, his love of the bongos or his favorite foods.
“You like tomato soup? I like tomato soup, it’s my favorite,” he boasts to the kindergarten boys before he is interrupted by a second grader who runs over to share a secret. Between the small talk and endless high fives, the grandfather of two is quick to remind his friends they need to eat before the bell rings.
"That burger looks delicious. Less talking, more eating,” he tells one friend who has a full plate of food in front of her.
When the bell does ring, Morales cleans the tables before the school’s upper elementary classes usher in and he gets to do it all over again.
Thank You Mr. Jose for being a difference maker.