By John Johnston / Enquirer staff writer

In pre-dawn darkness, a slender man with a slight limp approaches Ludlow Elementary School. He unlocks the door at 6:20 a.m., steps inside and hears nothing. But not for long.

Jeff Lonneman comforts Victoria Ashcraft, 8, during lunch on the first day of class at Ludlow Elementary School. (The Enquirer/Steven M. Herppich)

Jeff Lonneman's first day of school as a principal is about to unfold.

He grabs a coffee mug from his office, then greets cafeteria manager "Boss" Sandy Keller. "We ready?" he asks. She is; coffee's not. There's time to flip on second-floor lights before returning to fill his mug.

His challenge this year will be keeping up with more than 450 children from preschool to grade 5. The limp won't slow him down. Never has.

Lonneman, a 39-year-old married father of two, was born with a bum left leg: no muscles in his calf or toes, no Achilles tendon.

Still, he managed to keep pace with four older brothers while growing up in Covington's Latonia neighborhood. At Holy Cross High, he played basketball, baseball, golf, soccer and tennis.

He set his mind on a career in education and earned degrees from Northern Kentucky University, which was followed by 15 years in roles that included teacher, coach and assistant principal.

He landed in a good place.

Moments of Life

This is the ninth story in an occasional series that documents moments that connect us. We welcome your suggestions. Contact John Johnston at 768-8516 or E-mail: jjohnston@enquirer.com.

Academically, Ludlow Elementary is as solid as the older but well-kept brick houses that line Elm Street, this river town's main drag. The community supports the school. Test scores are among the top 10 statewide.

The new guy's first goal: get to know people. And here they come. Nine-year-old Nick Millson arrives first, just past 7. "C'mon in," the principal says. "Let's see what happens."

By 7:30, Lonneman is part cheerleader ("How are you? Ready to go? Good deal!") and part traffic cop ("Guys, freeze!"), as he shepherds students out of a hallway and into the cafeteria.

Outside, the Oak Street sidewalk swells with a procession of mothers, fathers and children. Moms kiss their kids goodbye. One snaps a photo. Boys and girls are dressed up and dressed down. They're in Bengals jerseys and T-shirts, shorts and jeans, dresses and hair bows.

Lonneman wears a tie adorned with "Peanuts" comic strip characters.

By 8:20, everyone's in classrooms, except for fifth-graders Michaela Briede and Olivia Troehler, who wait to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. "Let's rock," the principal says, dialing the public address system and getting ... a busy signal.

"I thought we had this down to a science," he says. "Nothing's a science on the first day of school."

When morning announcements are behind him, Lonneman roams. He makes brief stops at 15 classrooms, checking in with teachers. Along the way, he presents three students with birthday cards and pencils.

In the cafeteria, Lonneman meets with the entire fifth grade - more than 80 students - and lays out their responsibilities as role models. They ask why he wears a whistle around his neck. "It's kind of my security blanket. I love coaching," he says.

Several classes are signed up for 15-minute get-acquainted sessions with Lonneman. In Marlena Shoup's kindergarten room, he sits in a rocking chair and quizzes the children about the principal's job.

"If somebody gets in trouble," young Zachary Stiens says, "they go to your office."

Lonneman is back in the cafeteria by 10:25 when the first batch of first-graders enters, greeted by the smell of pepperoni and cheese pizza. Some of them have trouble balancing their trays; those with packed lunches are unsure what to do; and everybody's looking for direction on where to sit. Lonneman jumps in and helps sort it all out.

During lunch, he spots a sobbing 8-year-old, Victoria Ashcraft. New to the school, she feels overwhelmed. The principal crouches beside her and tells her he's new, too. It doesn't stop the sobs.

Lonneman's own lunch break lasts all of 12 minutes, during which he jumps up twice to attend to cafeteria matters.

His afternoon consists of more classroom visits, as well as phone calls, e-mails, brief chats with the school's physical therapist and guidance counselor, and a stop at Ludlow Park, across the street from the school, where children enjoy recess. He notes a need for basketball nets.

At 3:10, he's back outside. The sidewalk is clogged with departing children, including Victoria Ashcraft, the third-grader Lonneman consoled at lunch. Smiling now, she proclaims her first day in a new school "fantastic."

The new principal feels the same way.

E-mail jjohnston@enquirer.com