By: Aspen Bosworth
Fruita 8/9 is closing and being turned into the new middle school for Fruita. This means the teachers are being internally displaced from this school to find a new job elsewhere. Once the middle school is moved into the Fruita 8/9 all the teachers from the middle school will be working in the new building.
Many teachers have been in this community and school for years, Janelle Beach, an 8th-grade math teacher says, “I have built my life in Fruita because I love this community and the families that live here. I completed my student teaching at FMHS and have taught in Fruita schools for 22 years. I remember how fortunate I felt to get my first teaching job in Fruita and it has never crossed my mind to teach anywhere else.” Mrs. Beach goes on to say “I am trying to keep a positive attitude about the situation but I will miss our F8/9 staff and students. I will interview at FMS and FMHS within the next week and I am hoping that I will be lucky enough to stay in Fruita.” All teachers are trying to keep positive attitudes towards the situation while trying to stay in the community that we all love.
It's not just teachers that will struggle, it's the whole staff at Fruita 8/9. Stephanie LaCount, a 9th-grade comp-lit teacher reports, “It is a very difficult and complicated situation for everyone involved.” saying that “ The reasons behind the move are very nuanced and involve things outside of any teacher's control. The unfortunate part is that the entire staff is displaced and has to interview for a different job.” many teachers here at the 8/9 are filled with emotions and especially stress.
Mrs.Lacount says “At this point in the school year, there are very few jobs that everyone is competing for. They may be one or two positions open but you have 3 or 4 teachers just from this building competing for that one job. This makes the unknown probably the hardest part of this process. No one knows where or what they will teach for the upcoming school year (much less where our secretaries, custodians, and kitchen staff will go). It is frustrating for everyone involved because of the unknown and because it feels like we are being under-valued and under-appreciated as professionals.” Even though Mrs.LaCount puts a spotlight on everyone's feelings about the situation, every staff member apart of the Fruita 8/9 has been keeping a smile on their faces, and keeping up the school spirit.
Mrs. LaCount keeps a positive attitude toward this hard time, going on to say, “My opinion of the situation is that it is an incredible loss for everyone involved and that it is our responsibility as adults to remember that no matter how hard our own lives may be, kids are still the center of everything we do and we have to focus on that.” Mrs.LaCount highlights the struggles that each and every teacher is facing as the school year comes to an end.
The Fruita 8/9 is being turned into a middle school, meaning current 8th graders will follow the current 9th graders into the high school and Fruita will then have a middle school and a high school.