Fairfield Elementary named OAESA Hall of Fame school; Principal Stacy Tenenbaum named Ohio principal of the year

Interim Superintendent Dr. Scott Hunt opened the Pickerington Board of Education’s honors and recognition ceremony by announcing that Fairfield Elementary School had received two statewide recognitions: Fairfield was named a 2025 Ohio Association of Elementary School Administrators (OAESA) Hall of Fame school and Principal Stacy Tenenbaum was named the 2025 OAESA Principal of the Year.

OAESA Executive Director Becky Hornberger, joined by Associate Executive Director Mark Jones, presented the awards and described the selection process as rigorous. Hornberger read comments from the visitation team, saying, “At Fairfield, one message is clear. This school is a family.” She told the room that Fairfield’s approach centers on social-emotional learning and coordinated systems such as BLT, TBT and RTI, and that data from tools like iReady and Acadience supported instructional decisions.

The OAESA speakers explained the nomination and review process: schools are nominated electronically, complete an extensive application, and then a blinded reading and on-site visitation review are combined to pick the top recipients. Hornberger said the association usually recognizes up to 10 schools each year and that this year 11 were honored because two schools tied in the rankings.

Dr. Hunt noted the honors reflect “the resilience and excellence that define Pickerington schools.” Hornberger and Jones presented plaques for display at the school and said Fairfield and Tenenbaum will be formally honored at OAESA’s award celebration on June 16 at the Hilton Easton in Columbus.

The ceremony also recognized a range of student and team achievements across the district that evening. Assistant Superintendent and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Alicia Gillison highlighted winners of the Student Space Flight Experiment program and Mission 10 Patch competition; several students’ experiments will travel to the International Space Station in June. The board and audience also applauded multiple athletic and extracurricular state qualifiers and champions, including Pickerington High School North diving and swimming qualifiers, Ridgeview Junior High robotics team all-state qualifiers, several OASSA cheer state champions, and Pickerington High School Central’s girls basketball team for winning the Division I state championship—the district noted this marks Pickerington Central’s eighth girls basketball state title.

The district provided names and coaches for the athletic and club recognitions during the ceremony; event organizers asked attendees to join light refreshments in the hallway before the board’s regular meeting.

The awards and recognitions announced at the ceremony will be displayed or formally celebrated later as noted by OAESA.