We tend to ask this question when we think of old friends or “Hollywood has-beens.” I too, found myself asking this question on a warm evening this past August. I was fortunate to have spent the last six years serving as principal of Fairfield East Elementary School. During this time, I was able to see students run into the building with smiles on their faces and watch them hug their teachers each day upon arrival and at dismissal. First-graders were excited and scared while fourth-graders walked the halls as if they were seniors on a college campus. Our teachers celebrated all student accomplishments, regardless of their size or importance. They found time in their busy schedules to attend evening events like skating parties, not because they were avid skaters but to show their students that they wanted to join in on their fun. I was honored to watch as children experienced that moment when they realized they were really reading…all by themselves. I always felt fortunate to have been given the privilege of a front row seat as students’ lives were changed forever. 

As I reminisced about my experiences at East, I found myself asking the question “Where are they now?” What had happened to those students whose backpacks were three sizes too big? This past summer I waited eagerly for August 29th to come. It was the first day of school, my first “real” day of being the principal of Fairfield Middle School and my first opportunity to see these students again as young adults. 

Believe it or not, students at the Middle School still enter the building daily with a smile and a look of excitement on their faces. They no longer carry lunch boxes, but now come with iPods and cell phones. They do not tend to hug their teachers, but rather give them high-fives or the fist-to-fist handshake known as “the rock.”  They spend time talking and laughing in the hallways with their teachers and sharing stories with each other about school and life. The teachers and other staff are active participants at concerts, dances and athletic competitions. They truly cheer our students on in every aspect of their lives. As much as the students have changed and the teaching strategies for this age are different, I have come to the realization that the needs of our students have remained the same. The staff supports our students in the same way that their elementary counterparts have done in years before. It just looks different. 

Our students in Fairfield are on the right track and we as a community should be proud of their accomplishments. What I have seen and learned since the first day of school at FMS has made me proud to work for the Fairfield City School District. So to answer my question, these students are successful young adults who are growing up to become great citizens and leaders. I am excited to see what the future holds for the current students of Fairfield Middle School.

Paul Otten is the principal at Fairfield Middle School. He can be reached at otten_p@fairfieldcityschools.com

Published in the Fairfield Echo, March 13, 2008