Sunday, members of the Bridgeport High School Class of 2016 will flip the tassels on their caps, signifying that they have completed the public education requirements. It seems like only yesterday that they were in preschool. That’s certainly what Cindy Frederick and Cathy Beckley think.

 

“Those kids were our very first public preschool class at Simpson Elementary,” Frederick said.

 

Now retired, Frederick said she can still picture the fresh little faces in her mind: Four-year-olds eager to begin their elementary education and each with individual characteristics and personalities.

 

Among students who came immediately to mind are twins Ashley and Abby Cottrill, Hannah McCall, Joseph Cain and Aaron Randolph.

 

Randolph remembers the year too.

 

“I do. I remember Halloween for some reason. I was a SWAT team guy and Seth Marshall was SpongeBob,” Randolph said.

 

He also remembers getting into trouble at school a couple of times and had to sit in the “thinking chair.”

 

“We had this little wooden chair with a face drawn on it,” Frederick said, “and on the seat was a little question mark above the head – like a little smiley face with a half smile/half frown. They would have to sit there and think about why they were sitting there and then take a note home to have it signed.”

 

That topic of conversation brought more of her little students to mind, including Wyatt Bolle, David Alvarez and Sarah Momen.

 

In addition to classroom curriculum, it was a year of adventure, Frederick said. She remembers lots of field trips, including one to Hauges Flower Store and Garden Center in Fairmont.

 

“That’s when we could put the kids in our cars and take them anywhere,” she said. “One of our kids’ parents worked there and since we were doing a flower unit, we made a visit and every student got to take home a plant.”

 

The classes also visited Meadowbrook Mall to shop at the Dollar Tree, visit Santa Claus and eat at Garfield’s.

 

Beckley also remembers loading up the kids and taking them to the Bridgeport Fire Station on main Street and the pumpkin farm that used to be located on Saltwell Road. She said they also ventured to Morgantown to visit the WVU Animal Farm.

 

The preschool classrooms also had a class guinea pig named Lucy.

 

“But then (Principal) Mr. (Jim) Harki said no more animals in the classroom, so one of our students, Emily Estanich took Lucy home,” Frederick said.

 

Lots of other kids wanted to claim her as their pet, but Emily’s mom was the only one who agreed to it.

 

“Lucy lived several years with the Estanich family and I got the nicest note when she passed away,” Frederick said.

 

Frederick also fondly recalls Becka Crandall and Amna Haque. Becka was full of spunk and Amna was a classroom helper.

 

The 40 children in the two classrooms were from both the Simpson and Johnson elementary school areas. Public preschools were being implemented around the state and Frederick and Beckley were among teachers who wanted to see it happen at Simpson Elementary. Both had previously taught first grade at the school.

 

“Early childhood was my major in college, so my heart had always been in preschool,” Beckley said. “I was ready for a change personally and I thought I could do as good of a job as anybody could as far as implementing it.”

 

There were those who were opposed to 4-year-olds coming into the school.

 

“It was going to happen whether anybody liked it or not and I was hoping we could make it a success,” Beckley said. “We worked really hard that summer getting the classrooms ready. I was going to use my current first grade classroom so I had to change it around completely to give it a different vibe. We had to switch our minds over from first grade to preschool, which was less structured.”

 

To help make the transition, the teachers even took some additional weekend classes at WVU.

 

The year was as much about socialization as it was a start to formal education, Frederick said.

 

Now looking at the BHS Class of 2016 and their accomplishments, the teachers feel even more confident that it was a good start for them.

 

“It was a good year,” Beckley said. “We got a lot of positive feedback from parents who were very satisfied.”

 

Frederick and Beckley taught preschool together for five years and then both went back to teach first grade for four years before they retired.

 

“We were joined at the hip. Two brains were better than one,” Frederick said. “We worked together closely and it was so much fun.”

 

The beginning of a preschool year was always a little rough, but it was always so rewarding to see how much the children grew and changed throughout the year. They benefited from the school year, but then so did the teachers.

 

“That was, of course, all the love and hugs,” Frederick said. “The hugs are one of the things I miss most about teaching. They fulfilled that need for me.”

 

Editor's Note: Pictured above are the 2003 Simpson Elementary preschool classes of Mrs. Cindy Frederick and Mrs. Cathy Beckley, courtesy of Stacy Bolle and Jennifer Randolph, moms of Drake Bolle and Austin Randolph. See what graduating BHS seniors you might recognize. Below is a photo of Simpson Elementary teachers and other staff members during the 2004-05 school year.