Kirkpatrick Middle School can’t be memorialized without “Mr. Kirkpatrick.”
The first day of school, Aug. 12, will mark his 36 years at the campus, and in the Fort Worth Independent School District overall, as an educator who’s taught music and English Language Arts. He’s walked the halls of the middle school as its mascot, the Wildcats. He rewrote the school’s song and recorded it in 1999, which notes that its “walls of learning (are) filled with dignity.” The school auditorium was dedicated to him just before COVID-19, spelling out his legal name in gold letters: “Leo Vaughns Jr. Auditorium.”
More fondly known as “Mr. Kirkpatrick” or “Pops” to students and community members, Vaughns plans to tentatively stay at the campus for another four years until the school closes for good in 2029, he said. It’s among 18 Fort Worth ISD campuses closing over the next four years in the face of the district’s declining enrollment and related revenue losses. Vaughns is among teachers who say they’ll remember the campus as a family-oriented place deeply embedded within the community it served.
Vaughns, 57, said he’s enjoyed building positive relationships across multiple generations of families, attending events such as quinceañeras. As a pastor, he’s officiated several wedding ceremonies for his former students; for others, he’s given eulogies…