When most people think of Danny Manning, they think of a Kansas University basketball legend.

To Ted Juneau, he’s just a kid he used to coach.

“He wasn’t someone who I thought, ‘Oh, he’s going to be an NBA All-Star, he’s going to lead KU to the championship,'” Juneau said this week. “He was an 18-year-old kid who moved to Lawrence, and we wanted to treat him just like everybody else. And I think he appreciated that.”

Juneau coached Manning and hundreds of other students at Lawrence High School from 1981 until 1990.

That was the beginning of Juneau’s 24-year career in Lawrence public schools.

This June will be the end. Earlier this month, the Central Junior High School principal announced he is retiring.

“I’m at a time in my life where I think I have some productive years left,” Juneau said. “It felt like I needed to close a door to see what other opportunities might open.”

Juneau says he doesn’t have any specific plans for when he retires, but he hopes to combine his two passions: teaching and basketball.

He earned his bachelor’s degree at Fort Hays State University in Hays and his master’s degree at KU. He taught in Topeka for nine years before coming to Lawrence.

After nine years as a coach and teacher of social studies and American history at Lawrence High School, Juneau took over as the school’s assistant principal for the next four years.

Central Junior High School Principal Ted Juneau, left, guides student Dakota Copp through the school's cafeteria. Juneau, who is retiring at the end of this school year, watched over students during lunch Thursday.

In 1994, he accepted a position as principal of Central Junior High, where he’s worked ever since.

“We’re really like a family here at Central,” said Patty Bondurant, a guidance counselor who’s worked with Juneau for the past 11 years, “and I guess you could say Ted is kind of like our dad.”

Teachers praise their boss as open-minded and willing to listen.

“He provides teachers some autonomy,” said Kathy Carlsen, a science teacher at Central Junior High. “It’s empowering.”

And when he takes a stroll down the red locker-lined hallways, Juneau takes the time to stop and talk to every student he sees.

6News video: Central Junior High principal to retire (03-10-05)

“He’s fun. He makes you laugh. He’s just a good principal,” said Alexa Moreno, a ninth-grader at the school.

Juneau isn’t the only retiree in his family. He’s married to Lawrence Alternative High School principal Judy Juneau, who has also announced plans to retire at the end of the school year.

Central Junior High School Principal Ted Juneau jokes with students Thursday as he patrols the cafeteria during lunch. Juneau plans to retire at the end of this school year.

Ted Juneau said he’s adopting “the watched pot never boils” philosophy for wrapping up this school year and his time in Lawrence public schools.

“There’s so much going on between now and then, a lot of planning, staffing and hiring,” he said. “You know, the job doesn’t quit, and I’m not going to quit either until that day at the end of June.”

But there are many who wish he never would.

“Instead of a party, we should probably hold a wake,” Bondurant joked. “Why would we want to celebrate? Unless it’s celebrating that he won’t be singing Elvis songs in the cafeteria or at staff meetings any more.”