There was a time, back in the earlier part of the 1970s, when current Bridgeport High School Principal Mark DeFazio was student-athlete Mark DeFazio at Roosevelt-Wilson High School. Understand fully, this was a different era than students are accustomed to today.

 

Take basketball for instance. DeFazio was likely in short shorts that were the norm at the time, wearing a non-flashy uniform, warming up with no music blaring and almost certainly had tube socks pulled all the way up to his knees.

 

And as a side note for those that don’t know because, well, Mark DeFazio would never talk about it. He wasn’t just a decent athlete – he was a spectacular one. If you don’t believe me, consider this: He was Class AA all-state in football, baseball, basketball and track during his senior year. The list of Harrison County athletes that can claim that is miniscule.

 

I digress.

 

Talking about Mark DeFazio from the 1970s isn’t to let you know that this guy’s been around a long time or that he’s an older gentleman. For those that know DeFazio, they know he’s aged well and still has a ton of energy.

 

Talking about DeFazio’s past is to get to know a bit about the present. For those in the Bridgeport community and for the aforementioned folks that have known him for years, he told me he gets a question I often get a lot about him – “when are you retiring?” The answer? There really isn’t one.

 

“If I had a bad day, it could be tomorrow,” said DeFazio who laughed at his statement. “Honestly, there’s no way I would ever leave a senior class once I started the year unless there was something unforeseen, such as a health or family issue, that led to that. I have too much respect for this profession and too much respect for the students and staff to leave them in the middle of a school year.”

 

If DeFazio is needing advice about when to step down, he doesn’t have to go far. His wife Alice retired from Johnson Elementary after the 2015 school year with 39 years of teaching under her belt.

 

“I’ve got a counselor, so to speak, if I need it right at home,” he joked.

 

That counselor, he said, will be the first to know.

 

“I’ll get up one morning and I’ll tell my wife today is the day. That’s probably the way I’ll do it. I don’t want to make a big deal out of it,” he said.

 

Like his wife, DeFazio has been in the game a long, long time. That’s not an insult, but rather a testament to someone that enjoys the educational environment. Most of his time, however, and all of his recent time has been spent right down there on Johnson Avenue as either the assistant principal or principal at Bridgeport High School.

 

He actually started teaching in 1978 at Norwood Junior High (the precursor to what today are middle schools). He then went to his Alma Mater to teach at R-W for a year and then spent a long time at Lincoln High School.

 

“I was there for 18 years,” said DeFazio.

 

That was the place where DeFazio drew plenty of public attention. He was the long-time coach of the Lincoln Cougar boys’ basketball team that was highly successful. He also served as athletic director for several years.

 

“When I first started the one thing that I really wanted to do was be a high school basketball coach. That was the drive that I had because I knew I wanted to coach. Once I coached, I knew I wanted to be in the administrative part of it,” said DeFazio.

 

And the dominos began to fall into place. The AD duties prepped him for his next step, which was as the assistant to long-time BHS Principal Lindy Bennett. Now, as he starts his 19^th year at the school, he said he still enjoys going to work every day.

 

“More than anything else, I enjoy being around the students. I like watching them excel and succeed,” said DeFazio. “There’s satisfaction that comes from seeing a student make their way in life.”

 

So what’s the one thing that happens that many people don’t know about that DeFazio enjoys?

 

“When a student comes back after they graduate, a student you’ve had to discipline, and the student tells you they’re sorry for the way they behaved you know they’re getting it and you feel good about seeing a situation come full circle in the way you hoped,” said DeFazio.

 

What surprised me, when I pressed him further on that scenario, was that it’s not as rare a situation as one may believe.

 

“It happens more than you think. (Former students) realize some of the things you’ve said were done to help them. It happens with our teachers too and they come back and thank our teachers after the fact for maybe discipline issues or for perhaps being so demanding,” he said. “That’s when you know the relationship you’ve tried to build between yourself and the students is working. I know that may be surprising, but I take a lot from that and it’s among the best things that happen each year.”

 

He said it’s important to him to see that happen with his staff. DeFazio said he “absolutely loves” and has “tremendous respect” for those that are part of his staff.

 

“Make no bones about it, I love my staff. The reason our school usually looks good in the public’s eye is because of their dedication,” DeFazio said.

 

Of course, when you’ve been in a principal capacity for nearly two decades, you’ve also seen things change a bit to the bad side of the ledger. While DeFazio oversees one of the most successful academic schools in all of West Virginia and praises parental and community involvement as part of that success, he also said there has been a drop in how many parents or guardians take a hands-on role.

 

“More than anything else, it’s disheartening to see more kids not have direction or guidance at home. I don’t want to step on toes here or make anyone mad, but that’s the difference between now and say 20 or 30 years ago,” he said. “When I was in school, my parents made learning a priority. It was almost across the board. We still have a lot of that, but we also know it’s not the case with every family because of family problems and other issues. When that happens, education is secondary.”

 

For DeFazio, he said his goal is get those students – those not as heavily engaged on the home front – to get through the doors of the school each day. He said when education isn’t a priority, often times making sure the child in the home is attending school also isn’t a priority.

 

“We see that and I can tell you if we get them here, then the chances are that they’re going to learn something,” said DeFazio.

 

DeFazio also said problems that have taken root in West Virginia and nationally in the education system don’t have quick fixes. He said changing methods of teaching, increased testing and other “quick fixes” aren’t going to turn the corner. Instead, he said applying some old school standards that used to be just for students may be the answer.

 

“I think the bottom line when it comes to where we’re failing is that we not only no longer hold kids accountable to the level we should, we don’t hold parents accountable. It’s always someone else’s fault,” said DeFazio. “Until we change that mind set, you can do all the quick fixes you want, even on the technology front where you have to keep pace, but if you don’t have accountability it really doesn’t matter.”

 

DeFazio has been around long enough to know that such a systemic problem is something he can’t fix in his time left – whether it’s this year or five years from now. He just hopes it will happen and would like to see inroads made while he’s still the boss, no matter how much longer that is.

 

“I know I love what I’m doing, but I also know I’m getting older and don’t have the energy I’ve had before. I have a wife that’s retired and have children in Memphis and Charlotte and I know retiring will allow me to see them more,” he said. “I guess I’ll just see what happens and figure it all out when I make the decision to retire.

 

“The reason it’s hard to walk away is that this has been my life and, unfairly to my family at times, I’ve put my job first. I’m guilty of that,” DeFazio continued. “I guess I have to make up for some of that and want to do that while I’m still relatively healthy because I’ve had a few health issues I’ve dealt with in recent years. I don’t know for sure when the time is, but I know it’s a whole lot closer than when I started. I just want to go out the right way.”

 

I have no doubt that will happen. After all, for the last 19 years at BHS, Mark DeFazio has always done things the right way. How he handles his retirement will be done correctly as well. After all, he wants to be accountable to the staff and students he leads – of that I have no doubt.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo, courtesy of Jennifer Stumpo Duarte, shows Mark DeFazio throwing out candy during this year's homecoming parade, while he's shown at this year's BHS Hall of Fame dinner in the second photo. Third and fourth photos shows DeFazio handing school-year and end-of-school-year functions, while he's shown with his wife Alice below.