FAIRHOPE, Ala. - A lot of things have changed in public education since 1977. That was the year that Cassandra Jones, having recently graduated from the University of South Alabama with a degree in early childhood education, accepted an offer from the Baldwin County Board of Education to launch a kindergarten program in Fairhope.

“There were a number of Title 1 kindergartens in the state, and this was the first year that the state legislature implemented public kindergarten, but it couldn’t be done all at once,” Jones said.

At the time, the K Center housed kindergarten through third-grade classes and the first 20 kindergartners were chosen by a lottery. Within a few years, she had mentored a student teacher and helped expand the program to two other classrooms. Today, with 11 classrooms and more than 240 students, the K Center will close it’s doors to public school children and transfer those classes to the new Fairhope Elementary School on Section Street.

Jones said the K Center’s closing saddens her, but she is satisfied with her career and optimistic that the community will increasingly value education in the future.

“I always wanted to teach,” Jones said. “I love spending time with children and I love the challenge of the classroom.”

In 34 years, Jones said the thing that has changed the most has been that more mothers are working full-time and demands on the children are greater because of computers and technology.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Jones said. “The computer has made my class fabulous, but they are still going to learn those things at an appropriate age.”

In many cases, Jones said, teachers spend more waking hours with their students than the parents do, so it is important that social skills are not pushed off of their lesson plans.

“A lot of early childhood things have been lost that I’m sad about because developmentally, children are the same,” Jones said. “They still need to play and learn to get along, which is something we have less time for because we are required to teach so much. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t stress the children so much. We’d cook more. We’d bake cakes. We’d lay out on the grass and look at the clouds more.”

Jones recalls spontaneously asking a recent class if they had ever played “Farmer in the Dell,” which many students answered that they had not. Jones taught them the game, and “immediately, there was a spark in the classroom and the children were having the time of their lives,” she said. “All they wanted for the next two or three days was to play ‘farmer in the dell.’ That’s an old game, very basic and very social and it’s those types of experiences that I hate to lose.”

Jones has managed to keep a few staples on her lesson plan throughout the years, including annual class plays and teaching her students how to churn butter from raw ingredients.

She said the BCBE has been a wonderful employer, but as of late, financial restrictions have made teaching in a large school system less desirable.

“I support smaller anything,” Jones said, “especially class sizes and school systems. Whenever you have a system get so large, there are just too many resources that get wasted.”

Jones said an ideal class size is 16 students but some years she’s had 22 or 23. “The worst feeling is to go through the day and wonder if you had a chance to interact with everyone. Children their age need personal attention and when a class gets too big, it’s not something that’s always possible.”

In that regard, Jones said she would support a city-run school system, which a large contingent of Fairhopians are beginning to get behind.

In her time at the K Center, Jones has also taught several generations of students.

One of the students in her class this year, Jacob Northrop, is the son of Ty Northrop, who was Jones’ student in her first year of teaching in 1977.

“I started with a Northrop and I’m ending with a Northrop,” she said. “I’ve taught all three Northrop children and it’s those types of things that make my career very rewarding. I love knowing these families like I do.”

Jones has two grown children of her own, Chris and Amy with her husband David, who works for the school system as a bus driver and paraprofessional. Once she retires, Jones said she wants to spend more time with her three grandchildren, along with reading, traveling and getting her house in order.

“My fondest memories are when parents tell me that they appreciate what I’ve done,” she said. “The children have to be the best part. They absolutely adore you. You can scold them for being unruly and two minutes later they tell you they love you and you’re the best.” Jones said she also has also been inspired by watching shy children gain confidence.

“I’ve loved these people’s children.” Jones said. “And sometimes it is hard. We don’t always like them but we always love them,” she said, expressing the sentiment of a parent. “I measure their success by if they are a happy, well-adjusted child. Children tend to forget kindergarten and that’s okay. They are young and have so much going on. But I just want to leave them with a good, warm feeling about their experience.”

Jones was honored at a retirement party at noon Wednesday, June 1, at the Fairhope Yacht Club, along with Principal Pat Carlton, Teacher Andrea Rhodes and Registrar Judy Thomas.