Fairfield High School’s new principal feels fortunate for Iowans’ generosity

FAIRFIELD — No one has felt the love and warmth of “Iowa nice” as much as Fairfield High School’s new principal Aiddy Phomvisay.

He and his family moved to the state when he was 7 years old, after they had lived for three years in a refugee camp in Thailand. A church in the small town of Alta, in northwest Iowa, took in Phomvisay, his parents and five siblings.

When Phomvisay enrolled in first grade, he didn’t speak a word of English. His father wrote a message on a piece of paper and put it in Phomvisay’s pocket, and told him to show it to the teachers when he had to use the bathroom.

Phomvisay and his family are from Laos. His father served in the Royal Lao Army, and trained in the United States with the 101st Airborne. He went to armor school and ranger school, and was a member of the Central Intelligence Agency’s “Secret Army” that fought in Laos during the Vietnam War.

When the Communists took control of Laos in 1975, they arrested Phomvisay’s father and put him in a prison where he was tortured. Fortunately, he was able to escape, but it was not safe for him and his family to remain in Laos, so they fled to Thailand when Phomvisay was just 4 years old.

The family spent three years in a Thai refugee camp, and Phomvisay’s youngest sister was even born in the camp. They were so grateful when they learned that the Methodist Church in Alta would sponsor them to come to Iowa in 1979. It was part of then Iowa Gov. Robert Ray’s refugee resettlement program.

“We were the first Laotian family in Alta,” Phomvisay said. “It was all because of Gov. Ray’s leadership, and the kindness of churches and communities that sponsored Southeast Asians to come to Iowa. I’m the product of that generosity and kindness, so I feel extremely grateful. When we do this for every child, where all are welcome, we can achieve anything.”

Members of the church and local teachers fixed up a house for the Phomvisay family. The church paid for the family’s flight to America, but Phomvisay’s father was so proud that he insisted on paying it back, which he did. Phomvisay’s mother and father worked at a local turkey processing plant called Bil-Mar, and his father worked a side job as a night custodian at a bowling alley.

The transition to life in Iowa was difficult for the Phomvisays. The food was completely different from what they were used to, and it was difficult to find their staple meal of glutinous rice.

“Our pastors drove to Des Moines to the Asian grocery store to get us our basic Asian foods because there was nothing like that in northwest Iowa,” Phomvisay said. “That’s pretty remarkable that they would do that, to give us some semblance of our homeland.”

The care and attention that Phomvisay’s teachers gave to him and his siblings inspired him to go into teaching. Since they spoke no English, teachers and volunteers immersed them in the language. They met in a tiny room where the siblings worked on reading and writing.

“That set us on a course for success,” Phomvisay said. “We quickly became proficient in English as a result of these teachers and volunteers, and that’s why I went into education.”

Phomvisay attended Iowa State University where he received a bachelor’s degree in sociology and later a master’s in curriculum and instruction and educational leadership. His work experience includes being a social studies teacher in Ames, an associate principal in West Moines, and a high school principal at Marshalltown. As Marshalltown High School Principal, Phomvisay was named the 2014 Iowa Secondary Principal of the Year by the School Administrators of Iowa. He was also the director of Central Campus for Des Moines Public Schools, and executive director of teaching and learning at Ottumwa Schools.

Phomvisay’s wife Minday is a music teacher in the district at Washington and Pence elementary schools, and is also a church music director. The couple have three children: Elijah, who works at Job Corps; Emma, a student at the University of Iowa majoring in music therapy; and Ethan, a second-grader at Pence Elementary School.

He has photos of all his family in his office at FHS. Also on the wall are photos of his family when they arrived in Alta from Thailand, and one of his youngest sister in the refugee camp.

“I have those pictures in my office to remind myself where I came from, and also to spark a conversation with students and staff,” Phomvisay said. “It reminds us why education is so important. Our church did so many things for us that we could never repay, and my work in education is my way of giving back to this country, of paying it forward. When we work together, we can do extraordinary things to transform people’s lives.”

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com