Showing Up: Father’s Club Launches Into a New School Year with Olathe Schools

By Jim Bradford, Chapter Co-Chair at Mission Trail Middle School for Father’s Club

Every school year begins with new faces, new teachers, new goals and a fresh perspective. While students are busy finding classrooms, memorizing schedules and settling into routines, there’s another group – standing behind the curtain – preparing for the months ahead. They’re the parents, businesses, churches and community organizations that stand behind our Olathe Public Schools, ready to lend a hand whenever it’s needed.

Community Investment

Strong schools aren’t built by educators alone. They benefit greatly from a community’s investment of time, talents and resources to help students succeed. That’s the spirit behind Olathe Public Schools’ Adopt-A-School program, a partnership that remains one of the district’s greatest strengths. Each school is paired with a faith partner, a business partner and a parent partner. Together, they work alongside school leaders to identify needs, coordinate volunteer efforts and develop meaningful ways to support students and staff throughout the year.

Enter Father’s Club. A quick show of hands Wednesday afternoon at the district’s second Adopt-A-School kickoff in as many days showed more than a handful of Father’s Club partners throughout the room. Some firmly entrenched in their middle school or high school community. Others, like Olathe West High School, looking to relaunch in 2026. Meetings like these are a perfect place to help spread the word about Father’s Club and to help kick the school year off right.

Whether it’s mentoring students, providing weekend food assistance, fixing up school grounds, tutoring after school or organizing special events, every partnership looks a little different because every school has unique needs. And, in turn, every Father’s Club relationship with a school dis different.

A New School Year Begins

As another school year gets underway, representatives from those partnerships recently gathered with principals and administrators to begin planning for the months ahead. The annual kickoff brings everyone together to reconnect, hear district updates and begin building a roadmap for the year.

The conversations focus on more than a calendar of events. Partners identify opportunities, establish goals and create action plans that ensure everyone is working together rather than separately. It’s collaboration with a mutually driven purpose.

For Father’s Club chapters across Olathe, the gathering is especially meaningful.

Focusing on the Mission

Our mission has always been simple: to encourage, support and invest in students as they navigate the challenges of middle and high school. Sometimes that means showing up at school events. Sometimes it means mentoring a student, volunteering for a project or simply being another positive adult in a young person’s life. Whatever the need, our goal is to help create an environment where students know they have people in their corner.

Being part of the Adopt-A-School partnership also reminds us that we’re part of something much larger than Father’s Club itself. We join educators, PTOs, businesses, churches and countless volunteers who all share the same objective: helping students reach their full potential.

No single group can do everything. But together, each contribution builds on the next until something remarkable takes shape.

A stronger school. A stronger community. A stronger future for every student who walks through those doors.

That’s what partnership looks like. That’s what Adopt-A-School makes possible. And that’s why Father’s Club is excited to begin another year working together.

Making a difference. Always.

Next Steps

• To get involved with a Father’s Club chapter at your school, visit the Chapters page on our website.
• If there isn’t a chapter currently at your school and you would like to know more about starting a Father’s Club chapter, visit the Contact page and fill out the form with your details and we will be in touch!