Friday, August 14, 2026

Community Members Plan to Welcome John Muir Students on First Day of School

By THERESE EDU

[Photos by Takizawa / Pasadena Now]

Organizers expect as many as 100 volunteers, along with the Los Angeles Rams mascot, to greet students Monday morning as PUSD opens the 2026–27 school year

When students walk through the front entrance of John Muir High School on Monday morning, they will not be greeted quietly. A welcoming crowd of volunteers, city officials, educators, and the Los Angeles Rams mascot Rampage will be waiting for them, lining the walkway with handshakes, cheers, and encouragement.

The gathering is the Dena Community Welcome-Back Day, a tradition that organizers trace to 2013. It started with a small group of men organized by local Dr. William Syms greeting students into an annual first-day-of-school event that draws parents, mentors, nonprofit leaders, police officers, firefighters, and elected officials to the campus at 1905 North Lincoln Avenue.

Monday’s event, timed to the opening of the Pasadena Unified School District’s 2026–27 school year, begins at 8:30 a.m.

“This is not just for men,” said Brandon Lamar, this year’s event host and founder of Project Passion, a community organization. “This is for our entire community to come out and be a part of this.”

Lamar said organizers expect 75 to 100 volunteers. The Rams will send Rampage, cheerleaders, and team staff members, he said in a phone interview. 

Dr. Lawton Gray, the school’s principal and a Muir alumnus, is among the co-organizers, along with Pasadena City Councilmember Tyron Hampton and Dr. Syms, who is now vice president of student services at West Los Angeles College.

Hampton, who represents District 1, was a primary supporter of the event in 2013 while he was serving on the PUSD Board of Education. In those early years, the effort went by another name — “We Have Your Back” — and centered on African American men forming greeting lines at school entrances. 

Lamar said he took on the hosting role roughly four years ago and broadened participation.

“We wanted to open it up to our broad community,” Lamar said. “Whether it be mentors or the police department, the fire station, community mentors or organizations, nonprofits, or anybody that wanted to come support our students.”

Syms, who organized the original “August 15-6teen” welcome at John Muir and three other PUSD campuses, said the initiative has evolved from a chapter project of the 100 Black Men of America into what he described as “a community movement that welcomes all supporters regardless of race, gender or other identity.” 

Syms credited Lamar with sustaining and expanding the effort. “Without Brandon I don’t think this would still happen,” he said.

Lamar said the welcome is designed to send students a visible message at the start of the year. PUSD Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco, Board members Michelle Richardson Bailey, Patrice Marshall McKenzie, and Scott Harden are among the district leaders Lamar said typically attend. 

John Muir’s Business and Entrepreneurship Academy also offers a year-round volunteer entry point, he said, with the school regularly seeking community members to assist students with resume writing and business plans.

Syms pointed to the Mentoring Partnership for Youth Development, a nonprofit that operates daily on the John Muir campus, as another avenue for sustained involvement. “Transitioning to support that organization was a natural step,” Syms said. The program provides lunch, summer jobs, and internships to students.

Asked what he hopes students take from the welcome, Syms offered a simple answer: “Students should see their community there for them and available for support. Families should know they are not alone.”

The Dena Community Welcome-Back Day takes place Monday, August 17 beginning at 8:30 a.m. at John Muir High School, 1905 North Lincoln Avenue. The event is free and open to the public. No advance registration is required. Street parking is available near the campus. For more information, contact Brandon Lamar at (626) 314-4256 or brandon@harambee.org.