Guarini's alma mater soaks up publicity, renewed pride
Chuck Darrow
Courier-Post (Cherry Hill, NJ) November 1, 2002

Justin Guarini, his family and friends aren't the only ones basking in his American Idol-induced insta-fame. There are at least another 2,000 or so people whose lives -- individually and collectively-- have been affected by the 23-year-old entertainer's supersonic flight to the big time. And you can find them gathered together on any given weekday.

These folks are the students and staff of Central Bucks East High School, which, thanks to Guarini's second-place Idol finish, has seemingly become America's high school.

National and local cut-ins during the Sept. 3 final-round, FOX-TV broadcast were produced at the school, which hosted 1,000rabid Justin fans for the telecast. And that was just the beginning.

'It's been very exciting here,' says Principal Joseph Jennelle. 'The first day of school, we had Good Morning America here live, and we had a FOX helicopter flying outside.'

That was a direct result of Guarini's constant boosting of his alma mater in interviews and on the Idol broadcasts.

By every indication, he harbors genuine and abiding affection for the Doylestown, Pa., high school amidst Bucks County's rolling hills, just a few miles south of New Hope. That's because it's the place where Guarini's performing ambitions and abilities were developed and nurtured.

The depths of his feeling are probably best summed up by the 8x10glossy photo Jennelle recently received from Guarini. The inscription reads:

'Thanks so much for your love and support. You mean the world to me, and I'll always consider you as my home.'

According to Scott Teschner, CBE's choir director, Guarini was a performing-arts dynamo during his late-'90s tenure.

'He always had this star quality,' says the 48-year-old teacher whose Justin-driven media exposure has earned him the affectionate moniker 'Hollywood Teschner' from his students.

'He was choir president and leader of the men's ensemble. When he left here, I told him he'd make a good choir director. He can take a group of people and turn them into (a unit).'

Guarini's most profound impact may be on the current CBE students to whom he is an odd blend of mythological figure and everyday, hometown guy. When he visited CBE in late September, he greeted both teachers and kids he knew and those he didn't with the same smiles and hugs.

For 17-year-old junior Derek Allison of Doylestown, the mop-topped Guarini is a role model.

'I had read he had tried out for Broadway (and landed an understudy role in The Lion King). The fact that he went out and fulfilled his dreams inspired me to try and fulfill my dreams of trying out for Broadway after college.'

According to some students, Guarini's biggest contribution may be that he has changed students' perception of their school.

'I didn't really like high school at first. But Justin just made the school spirit so phenomenal,' says Kate Wesolowich, a 17-year-old junior from Doylestown.

'There's school spirit everywhere,' agrees Doylestown's Jen West, a 16-year-old junior. 'Everyone says, 'I'm from Central Bucks East -- Justin's school.'

'Everyone has more love for the school -- Justin walked these halls!'