Mike Wolanin | The Republic Northside Middle School social studies teacher Molly Fountain poses for a photo in her classroom at Northside Middle School in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. Fountain was named the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. Teacher of the Year.
For some people, middle school is a phase of life they can’t get out of soon enough, but Molly Fountain enjoys it — enough to spend about 15 years there.
“You’ll tell someone, ‘Oh, I teach middle school’ and they’ll be either horrified, or like, ‘Oh my gosh, thank goodness there are people like you,’” she said. “But I don’t think there’s a better place to be.”
Fountain has been teaching social studies at Northside Middle School since 2009 and was recently named the 2023 Teacher of the Year for the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. She will be honored at an upcoming school board meeting and will represent BCSC as its nominee for Indiana State Teacher of the Year.
Fountain said she loves working with students who are at such an interesting, in-between point in their lives.
“They are so full of energy and funny and willing to kind of roll with whatever activities I decide to do,” she said. “But yet you can still have a good conversation with them too. They’re mature enough that you can have really meaningful, important conversations. So I know it’s intimidating to some people, but I don’t think there’s anyone cooler than middle schoolers, to be honest.”
The energy that students have energizes her, Fountain said.
She also noted that middle school is a hard time for a lot of people, and being able to brighten up at least part of student’s days is one of her favorite parts of the job — along with getting to share her love of history.
Still, Fountain admitted that her work is not without its difficulties.
“It’s middle school, right?” she said. “So you have challenges as they’re trying to find their way in the world, as they’re trying to kind of figure out what they want to become. Naturally, that involves stumbling a bit.”
It’s a balance between trying to give students some independence and the ability to make mistakes while also trying to guide them as well, she said.
Another challenge is that Fountain has three kids of her own, which can make her work-life balance a challenge.
Fountain’s husband, kids and parents were among those who celebrated Fountain during the award announcement, showing up to surprise her during a teacher work day at Northside.
Receiving the award, she said, is “overwhelming.”
“There are so many awesome people that I work with every single day, and so many people that have, through their guidance or through their example or through their feedback, have made me the person and the teacher that I am,” Fountain said. “And so I am incredibly grateful.”
