When Pat Drees became principal of Teutopolis Junior High School 17 years ago, his oldest child, Michael, was walking in as a seventh grader. When Pat walks out for the last time after next school year, his youngest, Elle, will be leaving the building as an eighth grader, right alongside him.

In between came Jessica, Lucas, Josie and Derek. Six children, every one of them a junior high student under their father’s roof at home and under his leadership at school. “I’ve gotten to see all six of my children from start to finish as seventh and eighth graders,” Pat said. “That’s special.” To him, it is kind of cool the way it worked out. “I started with my oldest in seventh. I’m going to finish with my youngest as an eighth.”

It is a fitting arc for a man who has given his career to an age group many adults would rather not try to explain. Pat doesn’t pretend to have them completely figured out. After four years teaching at Brownstown Elementary, ten years teaching math at Effingham Junior High and nearly two decades as a principal, his honest assessment is simple: “I’m still learning and trying to get better at what I do every day." He knows exactly where he belongs. “I found my niche, and my niche is junior high, middle school kids, and I really enjoy them.”

What he enjoys is the person each student is becoming. At this age, he said, "You can talk to them about grown-up topics, joke around with them, and at times have real, meaningful conversations  about anything in life, including their own.” They are growing up fast, and they still need steady adults close by.

Pat knows Teutopolis from the inside. He graduated from Teutopolis High School in 1987, married Cindy, a fellow Teutopolis native, and the two will celebrate 30 years of marriage this fall. When the principalship opened, he applied and was thrilled to get it. “It felt like life had brought me right back to where I started,” he said of coming home. He loved the schools where he had worked and the people he worked with there, but this was home and where he wanted to be.

Ask him how Teutopolis built its remarkable school culture, and he gently pushes back on the premise. “I think it was something that was already in place long before I arrived,” he said, crediting the past administration and educators at TJHS for laying the foundation for the school’s strong culture. He also credits families. “We have terrific students in our school district and it all starts with parental involvement,” Pat said, and it extends to grandparents taking an interest in their grandkids’ education, activities and sports. Children grow up knowing someone is paying attention. “All of that contributes to the culture we have today, and I'm fortunate to be part of it,” he said.

He is just as quick to credit the adults in his own building.“The junior high wouldn’t be what it is today without the hard work and dedication of our current teachers and staff. They are the heart and soul of Teutopolis Junior High School.” What sets them apart isn’t complicated. “They go above and beyond for every student in this building. They take it upon themselves to do whatever it takes to help each student succeed, whether that means offering extra support, lending an ear or simply letting them know someone cares. They truly care about our kids," Pat said.

This fall, that culture faced a real test. For the first time, Teutopolis Junior High welcomed sixth graders, and enrollment jumped from about 160 students to 240, roughly 80 in each grade. Before the move, Pat talked with incoming sixth grade students and some of their parents, and one worry kept surfacing: sharing a building with eighth graders who are so much older and more mature.

Those worries have largely faded. Sixth graders have their own area of the building, a place to settle in and find their footing, but they aren’t walled off. They pass older students in the hallway and take many of the same kinds of classes, from digital skills and art to daily PE or a semester of health. Pat also made a point of talking with his seventh and eighth graders on the very first days of school.“These students are going to look up to you and follow your example,” he told them. “They know what’s expected because that’s the standard we set at our school.”

Belonging is the thing he is proudest of. “I think what makes me most proud is our kids’ sense of belonging at the junior high,” he said. He encourages every student to find something to be part of, whether it’s an activity, a sport or simply a seat in the cheering section at a volleyball or basketball game. “We are family,” he tells them, emphasizing that everyone has a place and a role in the school community. He wants students to feel connected not only to their classmates but to the entire school, regardless of their age or grade level. Already, he sees sixth graders showing up at games, mingling with the older kids and cheering alongside them. “I think they’re starting to see that they’re part of something bigger than themselves, that we really are one family,” he said.

The transition held one surprise Pat never saw coming, and it was about him. “I knew it was going to be impactful for sixth grade students and sixth grade parents,” he said. “But I was surprised at how impactful it was for me.” Sixth grade was the grade he taught at Effingham, the one he once wouldn’t trade for anything else. Having those students in his building, he said, “Gave me some added energy,” renewing his excitement for the job and reminding him why he loves working in education. “Their presence,” he said, “gave me ‘that little boost’ I needed to get across the finish line, so to speak.” He is careful not to call the transition easy, but he embraces the challenge. It has been a fresh source of motivation, giving him a renewed sense of purpose as he looks ahead.

For now, there are still the rest of this year and all of next to walk the hallways, cheer at ball games and welcome new sixth graders. Then Pat Drees and his youngest daughter will leave Teutopolis Junior High together, closing a chapter that began with his oldest son walking through the same doors. Six children, thousands of students, and one community that treats them all as its own. It has made for a full house and a full career, and Pat says he “wouldn’t have it any other way.”