Schools
Superintendent Looks Back On Career With Time Capsule Opening
As part of a class assignment in 1991, Jeff Eakins' fourth-grade students buried a time capsule at Cypress Creek Elementary School.
RUSKIN, FL — Back when he was a young educator teaching fourth grade at Cypress Creek Elementary School in Ruskin, Jeff Eakins wanted to leave a lasting impression.
As part of a class assignment in 1991, his fourth-grade students took the lead on gathering items for a time capsule. Students in all grade levels participated and added items they felt were important at the time – the school’s first T-shirt, students’ notes to themselves and other items that were popular with kids – and packed them in a long tube. The time capsule was then sealed in a cement enclosure near a stairwell on campus.
On Feb. 27, Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent Jeff Eakins and some of his returning students – who are now nearly 40 years old – met at Cypress Creek Elementary to crack open the cement-covered time capsule for a look into the past.
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Eakins will retire in June after 31 years in Hillsborough County Public Schools and 33 years total as an educator.
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