Ms. Tresa Maull, Mr. Todd Bretz, Ms. Melanie Brooks, Ms. Angela Bullock, Ms. Teresa Champe, Mr. Steve Coleman, Ms. Donna G. Martin, Ms. Donna H. Martin, Mr. Wes Phelps, Ms. Michelle Waggoner, Mr. Phil Wilder, and Ms. Karen Young. In addition, librarian, Ms. Karen Higdon; guidance counselor, Ms. Pam Peace; and secretary, Ms. Gloria Tompkins have worked at Dunbar since its opening.

These staff members have chaperoned prom, supported clubs, memorized the Dunbar fight song, graded hundreds of assignments, listened to endless excuses, and been exposed to far too many teenagers.

So how does repeating the school cycle year after year stay interesting?

Many teachers feel this question is obsolete.

"I love what I do," said Ms. Angela Bullock, social studies teacher.

While these teachers do work at the same place each year, many say that monotony has proved hard to come by.

"The students keep it interesting," said Mr. Todd Bretz, business education teacher.

"Every year it changes. I get new students, we lose some people, but we gain new people with new ideas," said Mr. Wes Phelps, German teacher.

The first years of Dunbar are hard to imagine for most students of 2009. Nowadays, the halls are crowded, policies are set, and tradition has been established.

As the first teachers entered Dunbar 20 years ago, the building wasn’t complete, the hallways were empty, there were barely 12 students to a class, and anticipation filled the air.

Ms. Karen Higdon, former math teacher and current librarian at Dunbar, spoke of the first day of school in 1990. "It was definitely an adventure," she said. Later on in the year, she said, a squirrel bit through a power line which resulted in no electricity for the rest of the day.

"The first year was very interesting," said Mr. Phil Wilder, math teacher. "We didn’t have a stadium or a track or a lot of equipment," he said.

According to Mr. Bretz, the classrooms went without blinds on the windows, and many teachers were forced to use shower rods to block the sun.

The changes Dunbar faculty has made throughout the years have been beneficial to creating this 20 year milestone.

"I have loved seeing the school continue to grow and change," said Ms. Higdon. When the doors of Paul Laurence Dunbar were first opened, the students that attend Dunbar today weren’t even born. While it may be difficult to imagine this school 20 years ago, students should appreciate the tradition of excellence that Dunbar has achieved.

"You should always respect where you have come from," said Mr. Wilder.