(From left) Allison Yamamoto, Second Vice President for SCUSD Board of Education Darrel Woo, and JasMin Khoe at the grand opening of the Bound Together Library in the Pocket. Photo courtesy Kathi Windheim.

McClatchy High School seniors Allison Yamamoto and JasMin Khoe needed to come up with an idea for their senior project. As they both had a far-reaching love books and libraries, they decided to do a project to promote literacy.

Yamamoto is a member of the Teen Advisory Board (TAB) for Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library, while Khoe was on the TAB of the Belle Cooledge Library and for the past year has sat on the Board of Directors for the Friends of Sacramento Public Library.

At first, they set their senior project as a book drive at McClatchy. Yamamoto says they conducted the drive by placing donation boxes in classrooms at the school and by working with academic groups that focused on community service. Through this effort, they were able to collect more than 600 books.

“My goal was around 500 (books) … I was really happy when I found out there was over 600 — it was a great surprise,” Khoe says.

Books for Rwanda
With the books collected, Yamamoto and Khoe decided to send 270 of the books to an orphanage in Rwanda through an organization called Streets Ahead Children’s Center Association (SACCA).

Khoe was introduced to SACCA when she traveled there last summer to help build a school. “I met a lot of kids in Rwanda and so I was really inspired to do something for them,” she explains. “I wanted to send them some materials over, and then I thought books — just to promote literacy would be really great.”

Khoe says SACCA works to take kids — ranging from infants to teens — off the streets in Rwanda to giving them food, clothing, and shelter, and helping them with education. “I was really inspired by that organization and what they do, so that’s where we sent the books,” she adds.

(From left) Jonathan Louie, Allison Yamamoto, and JasMin Khoe install the first Bound Together Library. Photo courtesy Kathi Windheim

Bound Together
Now with still books to use from their book drive, Yamamoto says they began to look for an opportunity to help promote literacy in their own community. Then they heard about a recent movement where community members build small libraries, which look like oversized birdhouses, and set them up in a public area such as outside a home or in a park. The library is stocked with books, which anyone can take. Once you read it, you can return it. Or if you want to keep it, community members are urged to replace it with another book.

Yamamoto says they decided to built similar libraries on their own they could stock with the remainder of the books they had collected and called them Bound Together libraries. “JasMin and I are really close friends and the whole purpose of the project is to bring the community together, so we call them Bound Together libraries,” she explains.

The only problem was the girls now needed help in actually building the libraries. For that, they turned to Khoe family friend and East Sacramento resident Greg Stults, who in addition to being a past teacher at Crocker Riverside Elementary has experience in construction and woodworking.

Stults says he met with Yamamoto and Khoe to design the two libraries they would be building. Then after purchasing necessary hardware and using scrap wood and tools he had, he guided the girls in constructing their libraries. He says it took them about 10 hours to build both libraries.

“I wanted them to do as much of it as possible,” he says. “I wanted them to learn how to use the table saw, bandsaw, nailgun — I would demonstrate and make sure they were safe. They did the majority of the work themselves, so they learned a lot about measuring and how to use the tools.”

Yamamoto says she learned a lot from Stults when it came to how to use the different tools. “I learned a lot about the whole mechanics and how much thought you really have to put into constructing something,” she adds. “It was just really fascinating.”

“First Two of Many”
On May 2, Yamamoto and Khoe, along with community members, held the grand opening of their first Bound Together Library on Arabella Way in the Pocket area. The second library is expected to be placed in Curtis Park by the end of May.

Yamamoto hopes that more students and community members will take up the charge to build Bound Together libraries and place them in other areas of Sacramento. She says there are other students at McClatchy, as well as students at John F. Kennedy High School already talking about building their own libraries. “Hopefully this is just the first two of many,” she adds.

According to Kathi Windheim, president of the Pocket-Greenhaven Friends of the Library, the Friends has set aside $500 to reimburse students and have more built, and Eagle Scout Jonathan Louie plans to build one.

To help community members learn more about Bound Together libraries, Yamamoto and Khoe will be offering a workshop on Wednesday, June 19 at 6:30 p.m. at the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library. “We’ll be there presenting what it is, how they can use it and how they can build their own,” she explains.

This week marks a very special anniversary for Garcia Realty owner Eva Garcia, as it has been 50 years since she obtained her real estate license.
During an interview with this publication last week, Eva, 74, discussed the events in her life that led to this special anniversary.
Eva was born and raised in Mexico City by her mother, who was also named Eva, and her father, Jorge.
Her family had a unique connection to Mexico City, as one of its members, Agustin Delgado, established that city’s first tannery about 150 years ago. And the Eva, who is the subject of this article and the only Eva who will be referred to for the remainder of this profile, noted that the tannery is still in operation.
Eva, who was the oldest of four children, attended the private school, Colegio Francés (French College), from when she was 3 to 16 years old, and learned to speak four languages, Spanish, English, French and Italian.
During her childhood, she enjoyed swimming and riding her bicycle to a nearby park.
Eva, who came to America at the age of 19, said that her decision to marry Frank Garcia, a San Bernardino native whose family dates back to the pre-United States years of California, was not especially well received by her father.
“When I came home and told my father I was going to marry an American, he had a fit,” Eva said. “He said, ‘Why do you want to marry an American?’ And I said, ‘Well, he’s a nice guy.’ I had known him for about six months and I decided to marry him. I came from a very strict family. I was 14 before I could cross the street by myself. So, I think that drove me to get out of the house. I was lucky that (Frank) became a very good man, a great husband, a great father. We were married for 48 years before he died.”
Eva’s marriage to Frank occurred on Aug. 10, 1957.
Eva and Frank returned from their honeymoon to discover a telegram that informed them that the airport in Ontario, Calif., where Frank worked, had been closed.
Frank received unemployment benefits, and Eva became one of 17 women to apply for a bookkeeper position at a department store.
After being selected to work in that position, Eva progressed from part-time to full-time employment with the store.
A benefit to the Garcias’ financial situation around that time was Frank’s purchase of property in San Bernardino.
In 1960, the couple moved to Berkeley, where Frank attended the University of California, Berkeley full time through his veteran benefits that he acquired through his service in the Korean War.
During the same time, Eva attended that university as a part-time student, and both Frank and Eva were co-owners of a Berkeley restaurant called Mr. Pizza, on Shattuck Avenue.
In 1962, the Garcias ended their involvement with the restaurant and moved to Sacramento.
In explaining that time in her life, Eva said, “I found myself pregnant after being married (five) years. McClellan (Air Force Base) told (Frank), if you move to Sacramento, we’ll pay all the maternity. So, he took the job (as a computer programmer at McClellan) right away.”
Eva said that during the following year, she met a woman who changed the course of her life.
“We met this woman and she had a baby, too, and she said, ‘Why don’t you go into real estate?’ And she talked my husband into getting his license.”
And to assist Frank, who received his real estate license in January 1963, Eva obtained her real estate license on May 19, 1963.
In 1967, Frank and Eva both took the broker test and then opened Garcia Realty within the same year. The business operated for many years at 910 21st St., which was formerly the site of Blair Realty.
During the 1980s, Garcia Realty grew to include three locations and 75 agents. These locations were 2014 28th St., 8301 Folsom Blvd. and on Fruitridge Road, near Franklin Boulevard.
A 1981 advertisement for the business partially reads: “Garcia Realty. Se habla Espanol. Residential, income property, investments, property management.”
Eva and Frank worked together until about 1994, when Frank opened a second hand store on Del Paso Boulevard.
Frank, who operated the latter named business until about 1999, passed away eight years ago.
During her career, Eva accomplished many things, one of which was establishing herself in a then-mostly male dominated field.
In discussing this latter point, Eva said, “It was very interesting, because some brokers didn’t have any women. They would tell me, ‘Oh, women will never make it in this business.’”
But fortunately for Eva, she was determined to succeed as a real estate business owner, in part due to her pride that she had become a local pioneer, as Sacramento’s first Latina broker.
Another facet of Eva’s life was her involvement in education and politics.
Following the March 14, 1974 death of the longtime Sacramento City Unified School District board member Genevieve Didion, Eva was appointed as the first Mexican-American to serve on that board. And Eva was twice re-elected to that position.
A 1983 city council resolution honoring Eva noted that she “championed better bilingual education in Sacramento and has advocated that our educational system return to the basics in education.”
She resigned from the school board in 1982 to fill the California State Board of Education seat of Robert Arroyo of Fresno.
Eva was also elected president of the Women’s Council of Realtors in 1976, and she was later appointed president of the Multiple Listing Service (now known as MetroList) of the Sacramento Board of Realtors.
In 1981, Eva became the state president of the Women’s Council of Realtors.
Many locals remember Eva’s service as a member of the Sacramento City Council. She officially became the representative for District 6 on Dec. 28, 1982 during the term of Mayor Burnett Miller.
Since the early 1990s, Eva has been a member of the California Association of Realtors Board of Directors.
She also presently serves as an alternate for the California Real Estate Association Political Action Committee. However, she will be a trustee of the organization next year.
Eva has also won many awards, including being named “Woman of the Year” by Soroptimist International in 1970 and “Realtor of the Year” by the Sacramento Chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors for 1994-95.
In her spare time, Eva enjoys traveling (she has been to 65 countries), spending time at her second home in Mexico City, walking, leisure gambling at casinos and attending book club meetings.
Eva, who, on average, reads 16 books per year, said that she especially likes to read mystery novels and biographies.
Today, Garcia Realty is located at 2100 28th Street, and is also represented by Eva’s son, Franco Garcia, Realtor; Eva’s daughter, Rosanna Garcia, Realtor; and Rosanna’s husband, Jeff Slodowitz, broker and property management.
Eva said that she has a long running joke that her children were introduced to real estate so early in their lives that their first words were “escrow” and “lock box.”
In explaining her business’s philosophy, “We measure our success one family at a time,” Eva said, “I don’t pretend that I can go sell 1,200 houses a year or anything like that. We just do one client at a time, service them right, make sure that everything is in order, make sure that they understand all the paperwork and everything.”
Eva added that although she has had various opportunities to close her office and join larger real estate organizations, it was important to her to maintain her own business, in part to inspire other Latinos to succeed in business.
“For years, I have been wooed by the franchises (and told), ‘Close your office, come with us, we’ll give you a nice office.’ Coldwell Banker, Red Carpet when they began Realty World, they all came to me and they said, ‘Close your office.’ But I felt very strongly (about being a positive role model) for the Latino community. ‘If she made it, I can make it. If they made it, we can make it.’ That’s important for me.”
Toward the end of her interview with this paper, Eva was asked what it means to her to celebrate the 50th anniversary of obtaining her real estate license.
“(It is) very satisfying to see that I’m still (involved in real estate and) in business,” Eva said. “There are a lot of people who closed their doors. We’re thriving and I hope that my kids keep it going, because it is important.”

Lance@valcomnews.com

By MONICA STARK

After 26 years, Kennedy band teacher George Miles is calling it quits. But before he leaves his position, he has one last show he hopes alumni come see. It’s a combined concert with Sutter Middle and Leonardo da Vinci students on May 16 at 7 p.m. in the JFK Auditorium.
Miles has had generations of students and some have gone into teaching and other music fields. He harbors mixed emotions about his retirement as he has fond memories of his career. The Kennedy band has played at the tree lighting ceremony for Governor Brown; he’s taken students to Hawaii, Florida and other places closer to home like Disneyland.
“I love to make music and I will miss that. And I will miss the kids,” Miles said. “When you are teaching kids to make music, there is a lot of collaboration and personal investment both ways and it’s something you share with the kids. People who haven’t done music, they don’t really understand … that musical connection. That’s not something you can describe, something you can’t put into words. It’s just something you do together,” Miles said.
But while he will miss making music with the kids, he also feels like it’s time to move on. “I am old enough,” he said “and marching band gets to be physical. It’s been hard in recent years to keep up with it.”
Originally from Illinois, Miles studied at Northern Illinois University for undergrad then continued on to Western Oregon University, which was then called Western Oregon State College. “When I was in Oregon I thought I was going to stay in Oregon but I heard about an opening down here and interviewed. I ended up being really impressed with what I saw and came here instead,” he said.
Twenty-six out of the 34 years he’s taught have been at Kennedy. Previously, he taught for five years in Oregon and two years at an Indian reservation in Illinois.
Miles looks forward to having more time to play music with friends. A trombone player, Miles used to get frequent requests to play with various groups, but often had to turn them down because of work commitments. Also, he has been putting off traveling to Europe, but adds that unfortunately his wife Sheryl isn’t ready to retire. So, he said, he’ll probably have to wait a year or two before he does that.
Sheryl teaches music at Caroline Wenzel and comes to Miles’s band room during her lunch to teach drumming. Sheryl also travels all summer with the Concord Blue Devils as the band’s manager.
Miles said the Kennedy band has about 85 students, which fares quite well in size compared to other bands. “There are bands much larger but they are in areas that are densely populated and they have an elementary program which we no longer have,” he said.
“When times get tough, you can tell what they value. Haven’t seen as much money as we used to,” he said. Besides paying Miles’ salary, he said the district provides $250 for repairs and supplies. “That was about it,” he said. “Everything else was provided by boosters or stuff I’ve had to buy out of my pocket,” he said. Some of those things included drum sticks, drum heads – “all kinds of stuff,” he said.
Though Miles will be sorely missed, Jeremy Hammond, the band teacher at Sam Brannan will split his time between teaching at Kennedy and teaching at the middle school. Miles speaks highly of Hammond. Miles said he has spoken to Hammond a lot about the personal connections he has made with students before or after school and that splitting time between the two schools may make that difficult for Hammond.

“When you are a teacher, you make a personal connection. You get to talk before or after school, but with a split (schedule), you give up a lot,” he said. “That’s something Jeremy and I have talked a lot about.”
For those who may be interested in music but have not had the opportunity to play, Miles has words of wisdom: “I would just say get in there. You know — old school: try.” He said the district is fortunate in that they have a lot of instruments. For students who can’t afford to buy own instruments, the school has some for them. “I think for a lot of kids it’s one of the bright spots in the day … it’s one of the classes you really get to look forward to,” he said.
Miles has brought such joy to many students and families over the years and several of them had such nice things to say about the beloved teacher:
Drummer Alex Pfiefer said: “Mr. Miles is and always will be one of the greatest music instructors I have ever known. With him, you can always tell he understands and loves the music because of the benevolence he has towards the piece that he is teaching.  His striving to improve the band as a whole is always apparent due to the support he gives to each individual band member.  But, when those members are irresponsible, the gloves come off and his iron fist comes down and establishes order with irrefutable leadership that everyone should take note of.”
JFK senior Joseph Barrett has been in the marching band for four years. To him, Miles has done such a great job and is very committed to his work. “He keeps us motivated and inspired to thrive musically and educationally. His ever-funny jokes he cracks in class are sure reminder of his awesome personality. His best trait is that he really cares about us all in the band. I would say what really makes the JFK band is Mr. Miles. Without him, the band won’t be the same. I will miss him greatly. He is a great role model to all of us,” Barrett said.  Barrett has played the clarinet for almost 10 years and will go to Sacramento City College with plans to transfer to Sacramento State University or Chico State to work towards a history major. He wants to teach history in high school.  
Barrett’s brother, alumnus Brian Barrett (former band drum major) said: “One memory in particular is seared into my mind in regards to Mr. Miles. The memory is of a day when the schools power went down and as a result the band room was in complete chaos. Mr. Miles stood there playing half-notes on his trombone in a chromatic scale like it was any other day. That is Mr. Miles at his core, turning chaos into order through music, the results are always magnificent.”
Joseph and Brian Barrett’s father, Alan Barrett, has been involved in the band since 2001 and is former band booster president. Alan Barrett said: “George and Sheryl Miles have had a positive and dynamic impact musically, enriching the lives of thousands of kids for over two decades in the Sacramento area. Many of George’s students have gone on to major in music and teach themselves. I would like to thank George for his tireless devotion over the years, especially in teaching all three of my sons about the importance of music and a good education.”

editor@valcomnews.com

The earliest humans used the sky as both clock and calendar and hailed the Autumn Equinox as a time to celebrate the season–harvest the crops and prepare for the winter season of spiritual awakening.  Expanding upon this traditional concept, Soil Born Farms will host the 10th Annual Autumn Equinox Celebration Fundraiser, Saturday, September 22, 2012 (details below).

Nestled among the crops, in the beauty of their urban agricultural oasis, Soil Born Farms is known for its quaint location in the heart of Sacramento, growing tasty seasonal produce as well as serving as a training site for future farmers.

AUTUMN EQUINOX CELEBRATION DETAILS
Event:        10th Annual Autumn Equinox Celebration at Soil Born Farms
Sponsored By The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op
With underwriting support from Union Bank, Dave and Maxine Clark Family, Western Health Advantage and Bank of America

Location:        3000 Hurley Way, Sacramento

Date/Time:        Saturday, September 22, 2012  4:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Details:        Wander among the organic gardens, sample seasonal and organic foods
prepared by prominent local chefs from Sacramento’s finest restaurants.  Taste a varied and exceptional wine list from prominent regional vintners.  Enjoy live music with Mind X Quartet and Cousin Jimbo & Friends; raffle featuring prizes including domestic round trip airfare for two and more!

Invitation Info (Advance Purchase Only; No Tickets Available At The Door):
Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, 1900 Alhambra Blvd., or
Soil Born Farms (916) 363-9685 or
Online www.soilborn.org

This annual event also helps Soil Born Farms raise the necessary funds to run its programs and service the community.  Among the farm’s programs are scholarships for school field trips and donations of thousands of pounds of vegetables and fruit to families in need.
The Soil Born Farm Urban Agriculture And Education Project is a 501(c)3  organization

Sponsored by the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op—a community partner since the beginning of the Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture & Education Project—the Autumn Equinox event highlights their successful relationship to promote and support healthy food education and access for our region’s population.  Soil Born Farms is a featured organic grower within the Co-op’s 100% organic produce department.  The Autumn Equinox celebrates the accomplishments of Soil Born Farms while raising funds for the farm’s education and food access programs.

Soil Born Farms 10th Annual Autumn Equinox Celebration Participants…
Fine Food:
Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, A Healthy Kitchen, AME-Mean Eats, Bella Bru
Baking Co., Biba Restaurant, Dad’s Kitchen, Ella Dining Room & Bar, Fat Face,
Figueroa Farms, Freeport Bakery, Grange Restaurant & Bar, Hot Italian, Magpie Café,
Mulvaney’s B & L, North Valley Farms Chevre, Old Soul Co., One Speed, Pedrozo Dairy
& Cheese Co., Piatti Ristorante and Bar, Plates Café & Catering, Point Reyes
Farmstead Cheese Co., Restaurant Thir13en, Santa Fe Mi Abuelita Bonita Tortillas,
Selland’s Market Café, Sierra Nevada Cheese Co., Smart Chicken, Soil Born Farms,
The Good Stuff, The Kitchen, The Waterboy, Tuli Bistro.

Wine, Beer, Cider:
Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op Wine Department, Amador Foothill, Berryessa Gap
Vineyards, Boeger Winery, Bogle Vineyards, Capay Valley Vineyard, Chambers &
Chambers Wine Merchants, Dancing Coyotes Wines, E2 Family Wines, Epic Wines,
Hoppy Brewing Co., Mammoth Brewing Co., Moniz Family Wines, Origin Beverages,
Peltier Station, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Revolution Wines, Rubicon Brewing Co.,
Two Rivers Cider Co.

About Soil Born Farms…
As part of its mission, the Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture & Education Project connects everyone—youth, students and adults—of varying cultural backgrounds with locally grown organic food and provides a home for education about food, nutrition, ecological farming and sustainable living along with hands on volunteer opportunities.  Projects include the American River Ranch in Rancho Cordova, Harvest Sacramento and Youth Education Programs with field trips, classes, workshops, farm tours, summer camp and job training, and volunteer opportunities to help maintain and harvest the farm land while learning more about sustainable living, cooking, nutrition and bringing high quality foods from the farm to the table.  Additionally, a portion of the food grown at Soil Born Farms is donated to the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services.

For more information on the Sacramento Public Library Adult Literacy Services, visit www.saclibrary.org / Photo by Ian Wilson

Once a week, Sacramento resident Shelley Petazini spends more than two hours at the Arden-Dimick Library. She’s not there to check out the latest bestseller – she’s there to help a 54-year-old man learn how to read.
For the past year, Petazini has been a volunteer tutor through the Sacramento Public Library Adult Literacy Service.
Petazini said her student voluntarily signed up for the program after he quit his job as a cross-country truck driver – a job he held for 29 years – as the industry got more computerized and he wasn’t able to keep up.
“I’ve been amazed at how he’s been able to cope with his not being able to read,” Petazini said. “He’s very knowledgeable about politics, very knowledgeable about sports.He’s very articulate, but he can’t read and he can’t write. It’s just amazing what he’s been able to do and still keep that a secret for so long.”
Sadly, Petazini’s student is not alone.
According to Stephanie Allen, literacy and homework center supervisor for the Sacramento Public Library, about 13 percent of the adult population in Sacramento County – roughly 140,000 people – is at a below-basic or basic reading level.
And when you add in those that are at an intermediate level – that is, they can read but improvements are needed for higher-level critical thinking – that number jumps to 20 to 25 percent of the adult population, or close to 250,000 adults.
“(Adult literacy is) a big problem in Sacramento County,” Allen said. “It’s a big problem in California. It’s a big problem nationwide.”
To help combat this problem, the Sacramento Public Library has offered an Adult Literacy Service since 1984 that Allen says uses trained volunteer tutors to assist adult learners in either learning to read or with improving their reading level, Allen said.
She said the program serves about 250 adult learners each year through about 150 volunteer tutors.
Although the program is housed at the Central Library in downtown Sacramento, tutoring is available at all of the library’s branches throughout the city.
The program and its materials are free for learners and tutors, and according to Allen, it is funded mainly by the Sacramento Public Library, with a smaller portion coming from the California State Library.
Adults wishing to take part in the program are given an intake assessment and interview to determine their reading and writing level. From there, Allen said she works to connect the learner with a tutor that can meet at the time and location of their needs.
Once a learner and tutor are connected, Allen said a tutor and learner will meet an average of one to two times per week for one and-a-half to two-hour sessions, depending on individual availability.
“If they are able to, we like to see them meet twice a week just because the progress is quicker that way,” Allen said. “But if all they are able to do is once a week, then once a week is better than zero times a week.”
Although the program uses basic curriculum to help teach reading and writing, Allen said it is very much tailored to what exactly the student is looking to achieve.
“Many of our learners work on lots of similar types of goals, like being able to read a bedtime story to their child or being able to learn to do email,” she said. “We really do make an effort to tailor our tutoring sessions toward exactly what they are looking for.”
Speaking of goals, Petazini’s student is steadily working toward a goal of getting his GED, but the student/tutor pair are taking their time and working within both of their schedules.
“I would say we’ve got probably a few years to go yet, but he wants to keep working with me and I want to keep working with him,” she said. “So we’re not stressing out about how much we should do and far we should get at any given point.”
In fact, Petazini says she has enjoyed her time as a tutor so much she is considering taking on a second student.
“To me, it’s so liberating when someone learns to read, they have so much power,” she said. “And right now if you can’t read, you really don’t have a lot of power at all because you’re dependant on so many people. When you can start learning to read and enjoy reading, it really empowers you. And that’s really what I like about it a lot.”

For more information on the Sacramento Public Library Adult Literacy Services, visit www.saclibrary.org.

“A dynamically gifted person.” “She’s been my mentor for 10 years.” “An impressive lady.” “A remarkable woman.” “Kay is St. Francis.”

These are just a few of the myriad of comments by staff and alumni of St. Francis High School about Kay Gaines, who will be retiring from the school after 43 years on March 31.

“I think it’s a good time to retire – I have my health, I have my energy, so I want to move while I can still re-engage,” Gaines said about her upcoming retirement and move to Lewiston, Idaho at the end of March so she can be closer to her sister’s family, as well as her two grown sons and two 3½ year old granddaughters currently living in Colorado.

“It will be very difficult to leave my life-long friends in Sacramento, but I’ll carry wonderful memories with me,” Gaines said in a letter emailed out to St. Francis High School supporters in February. “I have good health, lots of energy and a loving family, so I’m very fortunate.”

Where it all Began

Gaines began her St. Francis High School career at literally the very beginning of 1969 – she came in to interview for a part-time social studies teacher position on Jan. 2 and started the very next day. Gaines worked part-time from 1969 to 1973, then became full-time from 1974 to 1984, and later the Social Studies Department chair from the mid-70s until 1985.

Rosemarie Bertini, a 1972 graduate of St. Francis who came back in 1997 to become an Italian instructor for the school, recalls Gaines’ reputation as teaching difficult, serious classes.

“When you’re a kid at that age, you’re just going to do anything you can to not put yourself in that position, but when we got to senior year there was no way around it – Civics was Mrs. Gaines,” Bertini said. “And I just thought, ‘Am I going to live to see the end,’ because I knew it was a lot of work!”

Reflecting on her student experience, Bertini said that although at a young age taking a class from Gaines might have been something a student would want to avoid, Gaines knew it was something her students could do. And Gaines would do what she could to keep them on track.

“In the end we were so full of accomplishment – when you left that class, you’d truly learned something and in addition you had this confidence in it,” Bertini added.

Gaines herself admits she was a really tough teacher.

“I think that students can reach very high levels if you ask them to – they can learn skills, improve their own academic knowledge,” she added. “We did a lot of writing in my history classes because that skill you’ll take with you for the rest of your life.”

St. Francis Theology Department Chair Rick Norman recalls beginning his own career at the school in 1977 when Gaines was the chair of the Social Studies Department. He said her long career has allowed her to have a real grasp of the history and vision of St. Francis as she’s managed of number of transitions the school has gone through, from changes in campus location, buildings, administration and enrollment.

“She’s had to weather all the transitions and she’s been just incredibly graceful at guiding that school academically and administratively, and supporting just so many programs at the school,” Norman said.

Also during her time as a teacher, Gaines taught the first advanced placement (AP) U.S. history course St. Francis, which is a course high school students can take for college credit. According to St. Francis AP Literature teacher Rich Weldon, the AP program Gaines started then has grown. He said of the two English AP courses the school offers, over 100 students take the junior year course, while between 60 to 80 students take the senior year course.

“The AP programs, not just in English but in other departments, have really flourished under her because she just believes they could do it and it didn’t matter if it was math or chemistry – it was kind of like move over boys, here come the girls,” Weldon said.

Nora Wehrenberg Anderson, 1983 alumna, recalls her first interaction with Gaines in August 1981 in her AP U.S. history class.

“Lucky for me, I learned so much more,” she said in a note she recently wrote to Gaines to wish her well on her retirement. “I learned how to think critically, to write well, and about how positive role models are all around us – people like you!”

Leaving a Legacy

Gaines continued to support the AP program at St. Francis as she made the move to assistant principal in 1985, followed by becoming principal in 1998. Gaines then decided to retire from the principal position in 2004 to take on her current role as director of special projects.

Gaines said her current role is a “catch-all” phrase that covers a wide variety of unrelated things, a good portion of which are connected to the school’s academic teams, many of which Gaines started during her career, including the Mock Trial, Model United Nations, and Academic Decathlon, and others she also coached, such as the school’s Robotics Team.

St. Francis Director of Admission Moira O’Brien said Gaines is the reason why they have academic teams at the school. Although Gaines ran them herself for a while, she then found staff to take on each team and stick with them.

“We were the first all-girl school to ever go to the national championship in robotics, our speech team wins so many prizes,” O’Brien explained. “It’s all Kay’s energy, she built them, and they are so successful and the girls love it.”

And Norman said the building of these academic teams is what is bringing students to St. Francis today.

“For the first time we interviewed the incoming freshmen – many students now are coming to the school for academic teams,” he said. “She was the one that really got all that rolling.”

For 2010 graduate Amy Bush, being part of the St. Francis Debate Team is what she recalls most from her time at the school.

“Participating in debate meant a lot to me because I had spent eight years in speech therapy prior to coming to St. Francis,” she recalled in a written note to Gaines. “To have St. Francis welcome me and make me feel that they were proud of me is something that has inspired me beyond measure, and still continues to.”

Another program Gaines began and currently oversees is an exchange program with a sister school in Japan. The program with Nakamura Gakuen Girls High School in Fukuoka, Japan has been ongoing for 15 years now.

St. Francis 2001 graduate Jayme Hennessy recalls the exchange program and the impact it had on her education.

“That was really neat because we were able to experience a global perspective with girls our own age from another country,” she recalled. “That was really something I remember a lot – especially as a high school student, it was pretty great.”

Saying Goodbye

With the eve of her retirement upon her, Gaines reflects back on her experience at St. Francis and a comment a colleague she had taught with for 35 years said to her one morning that while driving to school one morning, he realized he had never gone to work a day in his life.

“And I said, ‘Yup, I feel exactly the same’,” Gaines recalled. “I’ve never gone to work a day in my life. In 43 years I just came to play, and I think a lot of people here feel that way. We work really hard, we work really long hours because we wear so many hats, but it’s just such a rewarding experience.”

That constant drive has Gaines already making plans for her retirement, including involvement with the church, League of Women Voters, and schools in the area, as well as taking technology courses at the local community college.

“I don’t intend to sit,” she laughed.

When asked what she has learned the most from her experience at St. Francis, Gaines said one thing was that she grew in her own faith as a Catholic, which has become an integral part of who she is. And she also learned respect.

“Respect for my colleagues, respect for the kids and their parents,” she added.

Gaines said what she will miss the most is the community.

“This is truly a family, truly a community – people really do care about each other,” she said. “I will miss living in a truly faith-based community where it just happens so naturally and people just celebrate together and pray together.”

And her parting words for her St. Francis family? Be creative, be adventurous, and love each other.

“I’ve just had the best career that I could ever possibly have desired and in the best place,” Gaines said. “I’ve been blessed for sure.”

The ability to take and post videos to the Internet with ease has become a very large part of our mainstream lives over the past few years, mainly in thanks to the website YouTube. According to an article on RealSEO.com, over 2 billion videos are viewed each day on YouTube, and over 35 hours of video are uploaded by users each minute.

While you may think the majority of those videos are of cats doing silly things, there’s a new movement toward using YouTube as an educational tool. And this movement is being driven by teachers like Vito Ferrante, an algebra teacher at Jesuit High School in Carmichael.

Ready for his close-up

ALGEBRA STUDENTS at Jesuit High School Logan Kemper (left) and Michael Fat (middle) work on a math video while Vito Ferrante (right) looks on. / Photo courtesy, Jesuit High School

Two years ago, Ferrante wanted to try using video technology for classroom instruction, so he created his own YouTube channel, “Ferrante Math,” and began posting videos of himself working out different algebra problems, showing just his hand writing out the problem and his voice explaining the process. Ferrante now has about 100 videos on his YouTube channel that he has used his iPhone or iPad to record and upload.

“In a sense it’s become a type of online textbook and the kids can access it at any time if the need to,” Ferrante said.

Ferrante said giving his students access to these instructional videos at all times of the day has helped him reach the various different types of learners in his class.

“Anytime you have over just one-on-one instruction, you’re going to have 20 to 30 different types of learners in one classroom,” he explained. “And just because an instructor said something once or even twice, that doesn’t mean that everyone gets exactly what’s being said. So rather than needing to repeat things over and over the kids can go home and look again (at) what the instruction was.”

Handy for homework

For freshman Andres Ramirez, having access to Ferrante’s videos has been helpful when he’s home studying or doing homework.

“A lot of times when you see a teacher do a math problem, it seems really easy in the classroom and I find when I get home I totally forget how to do it,” he explained. “It’s really helpful when Mr. Ferrante posts the videos because I can go over what we learned in class and just refresh it in my memory so it will help me.”

Turning the tables

USING NEW TECH. Two algebra students, Joseph Nyguen and Chris Ruggles, left to right, work on a YouTube video. / Photo courtesy, Jesuit High School

Due to the success of Ferrante’s instructional videos for his students, he decided to turn the tables and see how the students do making their own videos utilizing their smart phones. Starting this semester, every student in Ferrante’s accelerated algebra class has their own YouTube channel. They work in teams in the class during the week, taking turns videotaping each other working out algebra problems. The teammates then critique each others’ work and at the end of each week they must upload one video to their YouTube channel for Ferrante to look at. This allows him to hear the student “thinking aloud” the problem and its solution, giving him the opportunity to accurately pinpoint where a student may be going wrong or “they’re doing something very clever that maybe I hadn’t thought of,” Ferrante said.

Ferrante also said this process allows the students to learn how to work in pairs, how to give constructive criticism to a teammate, and how to use technology in both an innovative and responsible way.

“I’m a real firm believer that teachers need to model the usage of technology because we care about all the bad things that happen with texting and sexting and all that sort of thing, and we can model for the kids there are better ways to use these devices,” he added.

Freshman Spencer Bluett has found the process of making his own videos has helped teach him how to combined education and technology. He also enjoys working with his partner on the videos and has found it be helpful when trying to figure out math problems.

“I like how Mr. Ferrante gives us freedom (to) go off and work together,” he said. “I think that really helps us understand because we’re the same age and we have the same questions — we can talk about it and discuss what we think about how it’s done.”

The Future

Through this process of combining education with technology, Ferrante said it has quite honestly made him a better teacher.

“I was always pretty well aware of the limitations of just a traditional classroom – I can be as eloquent as I need to be, but the reality is that in a sea of 25 faces, I’m only hitting a certain percentage of those kids that understand what I am saying,” he explained. “What it’s done for me now is it’s allowed me to have a better differentiation in the classroom. I’m able to target much more succinctly each one of the individual kids and I think that’s where education is going, quite honestly, into differentiation, individualized learning.”

Ferrante’s success has other colleagues at Jesuit interested in the prospect of doing something similar in their classrooms.

“In education, we often talk about the importance of integrating technology and instruction to enrich lessons,” said Jesuit High School Principal Brianna Latko. “Tony Ferrante does this in incredibly creative ways, engaging students both in and out of the classroom. His innovative approach to technology as a tool for learning has benefited his students and our school community greatly.”

corrie@valcomnews.com

During the Board of Education meeting for the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) on Feb. 2, 2012, the Board approved $28 million in cuts to the 2012-2013 year budget.

DRACONIAN BUDGET CUTS caused by an aging population, fewer children and families choosing other educational options for their kids have led to a crisis at the Sacramento City Unified School District. Students in the district are facing larger class sizes, a loss of extra-curricular programs (such as yearbook and robotics), and more as the district approved cuts of $28 million from the 2012 – 2013 budget. Parent groups and district officials are scrambling for options. / Photo iStockphoto

According to SCUSD’s Chief Communications Officer Gabe Ross, the proposed cuts are an attempt for the district to provide a balanced budget to the County Office of Education by March 15 based on Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed state budget for California.

“At this point there’s just so much unknown about the budget, we have to prepare for the possibility of these types of cuts,” Ross said.

Ross said the proposed $28 million in cuts includes cutting staff, increasing class size, eliminating adult education, and removing stipend support for co-curriculars such as yearbooks and sports.

“After years of cuts to our schools, there are no more ‘easy’ solutions,” said Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond. “This list of cuts we are forced to consider for the 2012-13 school year is truly awful. Librarians, counselors, music programs, sports and extra-curriculars, maintenance and custodial staff – these are not ‘extras’ or ‘frills.’ Yet, because of the consistent under-funding of public education in this state, these are the cuts our community is facing.”

How did we get here?

So what got SCUSD to this state? One factor is the rising costs related to employees, such as health benefits.

“Ninety percent of our budget is people, so those are hard costs to us that continue to rise,” Ross said.

Another reason is the district’s steadily declining enrollment. Ross said they receive funding from the government based on their enrollment numbers, so as that declines so does the aid.

“We’re an aging urban school district – this is common throughout the state,” he added. Reasons he cites for the declining enrollment are the economy and other education alternatives. “Families are selecting other options, whether they be charter schools or private schools or other options for their kids,” he said.

The Sacramento Council of PTAs is doing what it can to help families continue to place their children in public schools, according to President Lily Williams.

“I think what’s happening is because so many of the programs are cut at the public schools now, I think a lot of people are looking to take their kids to private school,” she said.

Helping the situation

Williams’ group is doing what it can to help keep the programs that families want going by offering supplemental arts education programs at area schools. Additionally, the Sacramento Council of PTAs works with individual school sites to access their needs and how they can help.

Two initiatives that may help the situation are vying to be placed on the voter ballot this November. The first is Governor Brown’s proposed tax increase initiative. According to Wikipedia, if the initiative is voted into place, state income tax will be increased on those making $250,000 or more for five years and the state’s sales and use tax will be increased by a half-cent for four years. Of the revenues generated, 89 percent would go to K-12 schools and 11 percent to community colleges.

The second, “Our Children, Our Future,” is an initiative sponsored by the nonprofit Advancement Project that aims to generate between $1,100-1,700 per student in additional funding each year.

“At California PTA, we realize that we’re 47th in the nation in terms of per-student funding, so what we try to do is restore adequate funding for our schools,” Williams explained. “California State PTA has decided to endorse and support this initiative.”

How to help

So how can the surrounding community help the situation? Ross said it’s important to remember they are just at the beginning stages of this process and much can change.

“This is a long process and we won’t finalize our budget until June, so between now and June there’s a lot of moving parts and the goal is to restore as many of these programs and people as possible,” he said.

Williams suggests parents get involved at their childrens’ school sites and advocate for public education by writing their representatives.

“You know, we’re right here at the capitol, so we have better access to our representatives right here,” she said.

Ross urges parents and community members to stay up-to-date by accessing the Budget News section of SCUSD’s Website, www.scusd.edu.

Editor’s Note: This is part one of a two-part series about East Sacramento native Gregg Lukenbill’s many activities in the capital city.

For many local residents who recall the days when the capital city was introduced to major league sports through the Sacramento Kings, the name Gregg Lukenbill is very familiar.

GREGG LUKENBILL holds a basketball from the first regular season Sacramento Kings game, which was held in 1985. / Valley Community Newspapers photo, Lance Armstrong

Gregg was part of the group that purchased the Kansas City Kings in 1983. The team then relocated to Sacramento for its inaugural 1985-86 season.

Although it may seem surprising to many people, this is the 20th year since Gregg sold his stake in the team.

During his interview with Valley Community Newspapers, Gregg spoke about his former association with Sacramento’s National Basketball Association franchise, as well as other details about his life.

In sharing a bit of a chronological voyage of his life, Gregg, who presently resides in East Sacramento, noted that he actually grew up in the area.

“I was born right over there at Mercy (Hospital at 4001 J St.) and I lived at 44th and C (streets) for the first 10 years,” Gregg said. “We ended up with five kids in one room and it was a little crowded over there, so my dad (Frank Lukenbill) bought a bigger house on Meister Way, which is about four blocks away. I lived there until I lived on my own.”

Gregg’s educational background consisted of attending Sacramento schools, as he was initially a student at Sacred Heart School at 3933 I St. before being enrolled at Jesuit High School.

After a year at Jesuit, Gregg, who was his parent’s only son, transferred to Sacramento High School, where he graduated in June 1972.

Gregg said that he became employed for the first time at a very young age, as he began to work for his father, who was a construction superintendent.

“I always worked for my father during the summertime, so that’s just the way that it was from the time I was about seven years old on,” Gregg said. “In about 1962, I think I got my first paycheck. Back then, I was just doing labor – cleaning up the job sites. He used to build houses and commercial buildings and remodels and things like that, so there was always cleaning up to do after the work.”

Eventually, Gregg began learning how to hammer nails, dig ditches, move dirt and use a saw.

Gregg said that with this experience, he became a “mass production kind of a guy” by the time he was about 12 years old.

When Gregg was about 17 years old, he began to construct buildings and foundations on his own.

At the age of about 20, Gregg went into business with his father, who was the co-owner of the construction company, Lukenbill Bros. Together they formed Frank Lukenbill & Son.

As part of the creation of Lukenbill & Son (later Lukenbill Construction), Frank’s brother, Berkley Lukenbill, who was the other partner of Lukenbill Bros., sold his interest in the company to Gregg for about $12,000.

Among the places where Gregg and Frank worked on projects together were the California Almond Growers Exchange at 1802 C St., where the Lukenbills had established a longstanding contract, and Superior Ambulance at 1221 30th St.

Gregg said that it was also during this time that he began to construct commercial tilt-up buildings.

“I started with the tilt-ups, because I was watching Buzz Oates and Joe Benvenuti build these tilt-ups around town and I thought that was a pretty efficient and fast way to build a building,” Gregg said.

To assist with the construction of two of these buildings, Gregg hired Mike Chilimidos, a high school friend of his who was then working at Knott’s Pharmacy at 4819 J St. Chilimidos later served as the superintendent for the construction of today’s Power Balance Pavilion.

Gregg was very close to his father. Frank Lukenbill died about two weeks before his 88th birthday in 2007. Gregg said that his father was a great business partner.

“I always trusted him and he trusted me and he was a godsend for me, because he was always a natural with people and a great hands-on guy,” Gregg said.

Overall, Gregg said that he was very fortunate to have parents who made such an impact on his life.

“I was just really blessed growing up,” Gregg said. “My mom (Leona Lukenbill) was a fanatic about school and my dad was a fanatic about work. My dad was a really hard worker and my mom was a really hard worker from an educational standpoint.”

In honoring the paths of both of his parents, Gregg worked in the daytime and attended college at night.

Gregg took classes at American River College, Sacramento City College and Sacramento State University. He continued with these studies until the fall of 1978, when he was 23 years old.

Although he did not know it at the time, Gregg was on a path that would bring a major league sports franchise to Sacramento just seven years later.

Erik Swanson, principal at Sutter Middle School, will be the new chief of talent and professional development officer for the Catholic schools of the Diocese of Sacramento. He will leave his position at Sutter Middle School on Sept. 19.

According to a press release issued by Rick Maya, director of Catholic Schools at the Diocese, Swanson will be responsible for attracting and retaining top principals. Swanson will be involved in creating new procedures for the evaluation, development and support of diocesan administrators and teachers. Maya explained that Swanson’s duties include serving as a personnel manager as well, to provide greater resources for the Catholic schools.

Swanson said this is a really tough opportunity.

“I am so happy with the staff and community at Sutter,” Swanson said. “They are second to none and I will miss them dearly.”

He said the opportunity to work as the new chief overseeing 46 schools makes the best use of his skill sets.

“At this stage of my career, I could not pass it up,” Swanson said.

Gabe Ross, chief communications officer for the Sacramento City Unified School District said Swanson is going be missed.

“Vice Principal Cristin Tahara-Martin will be the interim principal,” Ross said. “There is no doubt the school will run smoothly until the new principal is hired.”

Ross said they are working on finding Swanson’s replacement. A meeting has been set up on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 6 p.m. to discuss with parents and staff what characteristics they want in the new principal.