Staff Spotlight - Eric Wright

When students first meet Eric Wright, they usually notice one thing right away.

He is direct.

As an accountability coach at Fairborn Digital Academy, Eric believes students deserve honesty, structure, and clear expectations. He holds boundaries. He pushes students to do the work. He tells them the truth, even when it is hard to hear.

But underneath that tough exterior is something students quickly come to understand.

He cares deeply about them.

“They have a second chance here,” he said.

Eric has spent nearly 16 years at Fairborn Digital Academy, watching the school grow and the programs evolve along the way. Over time, he has become one of the school’s most recognizable steady presences, balancing multiple roles as an accountability coach, enrollment coordinator, math tutor, photographer, and mentor.

He likes to call himself a “jack of all trades.”

For many students, Eric is one of the first people they meet at FDA, during enrollment. As the last step in the process, he walks them through paperwork, explains expectations, and makes sure they understand what success at FDA actually requires. The conversation is honest from the beginning.

“They have to want it,” he said. “I can’t do it for them. I make sure they know that going in.”

That mindset shapes how he approaches his interactions with students every day.

Eric describes himself as stern at first, but students eventually realize the structure comes from a genuine desire to help them succeed. Many arrive at FDA after struggling in traditional school settings. Often, they carry a chip on their shoulder, frustration, distrust, or difficult home situations with them. Eric understands that personally.

“I was one of them,” he said. “I had a rough family life, and I can relate. I’ve been there.”

Before coming to FDA, Eric worked as a pastor and spent years mentoring young people in different capacities. Today, he is also working toward an additional master’s degree to also become an intervention specialist, continuing his commitment to helping students who need extra support.

What keeps him motivated are the moments when everything finally clicks.

“The aha moments,” he said.

Students who did not want to come to school suddenly start showing up consistently, some of them even begging for extra tutoring sessions. Along the way, there is a transformation. A student who once felt stuck starts seeing a future again.

“These are kids that didn’t want to go to school at all,” Eric said. “And now they are excited to come in.”

Over the years, Eric has watched students overcome homelessness, addiction, unstable family situations, and enormous personal struggles. He has shown up personally at their homes, had difficult conversations, and continued reaching out even when students pushed back.

“Part of the job is showing up no matter what,” he said.

Eric said some of the most meaningful moments happen long after graduation, when former students come back to visit. Eric gets to see the lives they have built, the stability they fought for, and sometimes even the families they are now raising themselves.

At FDA, he says, students feel the difference immediately.

“At their previous schools, they probably did have staff that cared,” he said. “But there are so many students, it gets missed. They can’t feel it. Here, they feel it immediately. We are all proud of them. That’s part of the connection.”

Outside of school, Eric spends much of his time outdoors. He is an avid hiker, part of the Ohio River Road Runners, and a camp counselor at Glen Helen Nature Preserve, where he works with younger children. 

Whether in the classroom, on the trails, or around a campfire, the mission remains the same. Eric’s passion for genuine connection with students shines through.

Helping young people realize they are capable of more than they think. Helping them reach that “aha moment.”

“Life sucks sometimes,” Eric said. “But there is an opportunity to turn it around. There are people who care and can support you to make it happen.”