Black History Month spotlight: Q&A with Assistant Principal Fabian Jones
On Wed, Feb. 22 staff writer London Moore conducted a Q&A with Cedar Shoals Assistant Principal Fabian Jones about his time at Cedar as both a student and staff member. The questions and responses have been edited for length and clarity.
London Moore: What years did you attend Cedar Shoals?
Fabian Jones: From 1982 to 1986.
LM: What do you remember about the atmosphere at Cedar from your time as a student?
FJ: For the most part everybody was pretty friendly with each other. There were not a whole lot of issues between students. Everybody got along well, and we did what we did here at school and then we hung out together after school. I played sports, football specifically, and a lot of football players and people who were in our class hung out quite a bit together.
LM: Why did you decide to work at Cedar?
FJ: Well, to be honest with you, this is the second time that I’ve worked at Cedar. I worked at Cedar as a school resource officer about 16 to 17 years ago. I did that for about five years. The reason I came back and wanted to do that (resource officer) was because I wanted to be a police officer at the time. I wanted to engage with our students so that they would know who the police officers are. I know a lot of young people don’t really interact well with the police, and I thought that was a good opportunity for me to show young people that police are here to help. As a school resource officer I was here to help our students, our staff, our community liaison, so I really enjoyed doing that. After I left that and went out and began doing some other work in the district, coming back here, to me, was the goal that I had.
LM: Where have you worked before Cedar?
FJ: Before I worked at Cedar, I worked for the school district as Director of Transportation. Before that, I worked in the school district police department where I was the school district’s Chief of Police. Before that, I was what they call the Police Services Coordinator, and prior to that I worked at the Athens Clarke County Police Department.
LM: Tell me a little about where you have been post-graduation?
FJ: I’ve been in the military. Actually, I retired from the Georgia Air National Guard after 22 years. I was deployed, I went to Saudi Arabia during some conflicts that we had with the Middle East. I did some work in the military during some natural disasters where I had to go and assist people, I had to go down to Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina to help support that. Going away to school, I went to the University of West Georgia. Since I left Cedar, just interacting with the teachers who I had here was very instrumental in me being able to navigate my life and to interact with people in a way that was beneficial to me. My hope is that it was to them as well.
LM: I saw that you worked as the Chief of Police for nearly 5 years, tell me about what led you to that position and what you gained from that experience.
FJ: When the (previous) chief retired, I applied for his position and I was able to get the job. The difference between that and being a school resource officer was that I was more of a community based police. When I began to work for the school district, I was specifically here to be sure that things were safe for the school, our students, to make sure that our facilities were secure and that the security systems work the way that they’re supposed to. They (those skills) helped me to continue to better myself and to help with things that are going on here in our school. Knowing the law helps me to help students and to help some of our other administrative staff. Everything that I’ve ever done in the school district, I still do here at school and I feel like I can benefit from those experiences. There aren’t a whole lot of other staff members and administrators who’ve had the experiences that I’ve had in the school district.
LM: I heard that you worked at Hilsman for a bit, could you tell me more about your years there and how it perhaps helped you prepare to work in a high school?
FJ: Oh, that was great too. When I started working at Hilsman, at the time, they were rebuilding that old school. So we had to go to the old Gaines Elementary School building. My experience here in the school district has been almost like a circle, from the time that I began school, which I went to Gaines Elementary, that’s where I began school here in Clarke County. I then went to Hilsman, and of course I went to Cedar. Having an opportunity to work at all of the schools that I went to as a young man growing up, it was enlightening. I don’t know how many people are able to have that experience. When I worked at Hilsman and we were at the old Gaines building, I was able to walk to the first classroom that I was ever assigned to as a student in first grade. That brought back a lot of memories. Then even working at Hilsman, even though I worked in the new school building, it just reminded me of some things that me and my friends did, just growing up and being there. My time here has brought back a lot of memories and it gives me an opportunity to give back to our school district and to our community.
LM: How do you feel your time as a student on the Eastside has impacted the way you go about your work here at Cedar and how you interact with people?
FJ: Instrumentally. I mean, just growing up where I did on the Eastside and just seeing what it looks like for those same young people who live in those areas now, I try to encourage them. It’s hard for them to see me where they are, but I’m able to remind them that I have been there as well. So I remind them that if you have some struggles, understand that you don’t have to always struggle that way. Life has a lot of opportunities that you can take advantage of, like I did. Don’t believe that because of where you are, that you have to remain there. You have every opportunity in the world to do anything you want.
LM: What would you suggest that the Eastside community do to further support local school youth?
FJ: Honoring and giving opportunities to our young people in our schools, maybe some type of apprenticeships to get those experiences. Maybe doing some volunteer work in the government offices or in the Athens Clarke County departments. I know there are some partnerships like that, but I think those are the type of things that our young people need to see so that they understand the potential opportunities out there. Also probably more exposure to the University of Georgia. I don’t think our young people should feel as if the university is something that they can’t attain. I believe that we could do more for the Clarke County School District as far as exposure. I know they’re doing a lot of things now where they provide field trips to different areas, but still to me, it’s not as inviting as it could be for our kids in our community.
LM: Is there anything else that you would like to add about your time here at Cedar, whether working or learning and what you have gained from your years on the Eastside?
FJ: I’ll say that I’ve made a lot of really good relationships, not only with students but with the teachers as well. I still see some of them and it’s always good to just thank them for what they were able to do for me during the time that I was here.
