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Last Thursday morning, a team from Core Construction began demolition on the former Flagstaff Middle School building on Bonito Street, one of the first steps toward building a new Marshall Elementary on the site.

The building had been home to several schools both in and out of the Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) since it was constructed for Flagstaff Junior High School in 1970.

In recent years, FUSD has leased out the building to Flagstaff Junior Academy and Northern Arizona University’s Early Learning and Development Center. It held students from Killip Elementary for most of the 2021-2022 school year after flooding affected their school's building.

Before that, the building spent about 40 years as a secondary school in FUSD, serving students transitioning from elementary to high school under different names. It was constructed as a new home for Flagstaff Junior High School, which then became Flagstaff Middle School before closing as part of a change affecting several district schools in 2009.

Former principals from across the building’s history remembered the school fondly, as trying new approaches to education that could better serve students in grades seven through nine.

"It will be missed," said Kent Powell, who worked at the school for over 35 years. "There were wonderful memories, we helped educate a couple of generations of kids that have done remarkable things and it was a great learning institution. A lot of us are very sad that the building's gone."

Bill Williams

Principal from 1970-1977

Bill Williams served as Flagstaff Junior High School’s principal during its transition to the new building, in addition to several other roles he held across FUSD during his career.

He was principal in Flagstaff Junior High School’s previous location next to Flagstaff High School for two years before they moved into the newly constructed building on Bonito Street in November of 1970 (that location became known as Old Flagstaff Junior High, and was demolished shortly after; Flagstaff Junior High dedicated its yearbook for the 1969-70 school year to the building).

This was Flagstaff Junior High's beginning as its own school, rather than a part of Flagstaff High School (FHS), explained administrator Bob Kuhn, who led the school from 2005 to '07. 

The junior high building was constructed during a period of growth for FUSD, Williams said. At the time, around 12,000-13,000 students were enrolled in the district and FUSD was building new schools to accommodate them -- Cromer, Knoles and DeMiguel elementaries, Sinagua High School and the district office building on Sparrow Avenue all came as part of this, he said, starting in the mid- to late 1980s.

When it was built, Marshall Elementary was already across the street, having been completed in 1952.

The district had two junior high schools when the building was first constructed, with East Junior High (which eventually became Mount Elden Middle School) being the other.

Flagstaff Junior High was known for pioneering a team-teaching approach for its students, which at the time were in seventh through ninth grade, as sixth-graders were part of FUSD's elementary schools throughout the building's lifespan.

Williams remembered the school as bringing a cooperative teaching model to Flagstaff, with teachers in multiple subjects working together to teach students. By team-teaching, Kuhn said, the teachers had the chance to collaborate on their curricula and preparation time. Having the same smaller group of students for each group of teachers also allowed them to work together to meet students' specific needs.

The building was designed to facilitate this model, he said, with triangular doorless classrooms grouped together in pods by subject (similar to the concept for the new Killip Elementary building, which was completed in 2022). The commons area served as both library and cafeteria, and there was a gym and separate rooms for science, industrial arts, music and other classes.

The school also had an activity program, where once a week teachers would lead kids in learning a hobby or nonacademic activity of the teacher’s choice, such as fly tying, macrame or photography.

“It was part of the atmosphere that we wanted in the building,� Williams said. “Teachers weren’t just there to teach math or science or music. They had a life, they had other things they knew how to do and they were willing to share that with the students.�

He added: “We took that concept of team-teaching and an open space and a number of other programs in schools at the time, and we really made that work as a faculty. I feel like we worked well as a group of people. We met and talked regularly and we got along well, and it was a real strong sense of camaraderie and community during those years.�

Homer Townsend

Principal from 1977-2001

Homer Townsend, an assistant principal during Williams' time leading the school, became the principal of Flagstaff Junior High School after Williams left to lead FHS. He served as principal for over 25 years and said the school is still the best he’s ever worked with, defined by respect, caring and trust between both students and teachers.

"I can talk about that school forever," he said. "I always say that was the best school in the world. ... Flagstaff School District during my time there was the best time, best educational system for me that I have been a part of.�

What set it apart from other schools he’s worked at, Townsend said, is buy-in from the community as well as staff and students.

The list of things he's proud of from his time as the school’s principal is long � including the trust students and families placed in him, low teacher turnover across his tenure and "the growth of students that have made their contribution to society."

It also included several specific moments: teachers running cable through the building to place computers in every classroom and writing a grant to set up a computer lab, fundraising to bring a group of 21 teachers to a conference in New Orleans, the time a "moon tree" was donated to the school after it had returned from space.

One of the main accomplishments, though, is that Townsend led Flagstaff Junior High School through its transition to become Flagstaff Middle School, introducing a new approach to teaching students in the years between elementary and high school. The school officially changed its name in 1995, while the district had moved ninth-graders to its high schools in 1989.

Townsend explained that the difference between a middle school and junior high has to do with the teaching philosophy in addition to grade levels.

A junior high school focuses on preparing students for high school by shaping them to the curriculum, he said, while a middle school uses its curriculum to meet the students� needs and interests. Middle schools give students choices and room for exploration, he said, while explaining to them how core subjects such as math or history might be useful in their lives after school.

Townsend said the idea came from discussions with school counselor Phil Woodall. As they researched the concept, he said, they thought the middle school approach would provide a better foundation for students.

He remembered a sign on the gymnasium wall a teacher suggested that read "This is Hawk Country." The slogan "wasn't taken lightly," he said.

“That school was my life,� Townsend said. � ... I looked forward every day to go to work because I knew my children were going to have something exciting to say to me, my teachers were going to come up with new ideas, new things they could initiate with the daily concepts they were teaching. � The most important people in my school were my teachers, then my children, and I loved every last one of them. Might be hard for people to believe, but that was me.�

Townsend said he still runs into former students of the school frequently and has kept in touch with several, even as many are nearing their own retirement.

He remembered how several of his students would ask him for lunch money after hearing his daughter make the same request on her first day attending the junior high school.

"From that day on, the other students would say, 'Hey dad, lunch money,' and if they needed lunch, they got it," he said. "That's the reason why I would say I'm proud of the fact that students would come and they weren't afraid to talk to me. I wasn't a villain, but I would make sure that they would do the right thing."

Flagstaff Middle School then had five principals between Townsend’s retirement and its closure after 2009-2010 school year, including Ilona Anderson, Kuhn, Powell and Steve Boadway.

Bob Kuhn

Principal from 2005-2007

Kuhn began leading Flagstaff Middle School in 2005. He attended the school growing up shortly after it first opened, and worked as a teacher there at the beginning of his career.

Kuhn said he remembered the school's team-teaching approach from his days as a student and teacher, though by the time he returned as its principal, few of the same people were still there. He said he wanted to continue the school’s legacy for current students, including both Williams� and Townsend’s work.

“When you lead a school that you went to, you take pride in the school and in the leadership, and you make sure it’s the best you can do,� he said. “You get really more involved.�

The school still focused on team teaching under Kuhn and earned an A+ rating. He said he continued its involvement in the NASA program, which focused on science, engineering and math. A group from Flagstaff Middle School traveled to Houston one summer as part of that program.

"I think our largest compliment was we had one of the highest school grades ever," Kuhn said. "I don't take credit for it; I just took over from some great principals and continued it ... and the kids that come out of it were tremendous."

To Kuhn, the school's lasting impact has been its teachers -- Frances Short and Jim David for their environmental work both in and out of the classroom, and Bob Oberhardt for his dedication to student athletics, among many others.

The pond next to the school is now named after Short, an FMS English teacher who later served on city council. David was a biology teacher at the middle school, and both Kuhn and Powell remembered his environmental education, dredging the pond and relocating a log cabin from the Peaks to use as an outdoor classroom.

"We utilized that for some good science, history lessons and everything else out there," Powell said.

Kent Powell

Principal from 2008

Kent Powell spent 35 years working at Flagstaff Junior High/Middle School, starting as a history teacher in 1971, before becoming an activities coordinator, athletic director and then assistant principal, all at the same school. After retiring in 2005, he returned to Flagstaff Middle School as principal for eight and a half months starting in 2008. 

"What I remember most is how well we got to know the students, having them three years, and the faculty that stayed there year after year after year," Powell said. "We didn't have a large turnover, so we had a real close-knit group that was there."

The principals had low turnover, too. Powell, like Kuhn, noted that Williams and Townsend had led the school for its first 30 years.

Powell said he continued working at the same school for so long because he enjoyed the school and teacher camaraderie. It was also designated as an exemplary school in Arizona. He said the junior high's serving students in seventh through ninth grade was a particular strength. The school had freshman athletics and a student council that traveled to conventions, as a result of serving ninth-graders. 

This was the case for his first 18 years working at Flagstaff Junior High; the district switched ninth-graders to its high schools in 1989. As a result of this change, Powell said the school enrollment fell from over 1,000 students to around 650.

"We had hall decorations, similar to high school, and it was a good learning environment, maturation level for the kids growing up in that," Powell said.

Flagstaff Middle School's closure came as part of a districtwide restructuring in response to declining enrollment. (A Daily Sun article from September 2010 lists FUSD's total enrollment as just over 10,100 students, compared to the 11,600 listed in a column from the district in 2001.)

An enrollment report from this week's board meeting, meanwhile, places the district at 8,754 students near the end of the 2023-2024 school year.

Sinagua High School was turned into a middle school, attended by the former students of MEMS/East Jr. High, while Flagstaff Middle School’s students moved into Mount Elden Middle School. South Beaver and Christensen Elementaries closed at the same time.

Kuhn said the decision was based on each school site's characteristics, including building size, age, the number of gyms and the size of the property, among others.

"[FMS] gave a good academic educational center for the west side of town, and when they closed it and they moved to two middle schools, Mount Elden and Sinagua, it lost that effect on the west," Powell said.