Skateboarder and Pocket resident Eustaquio Lafranco.

Pocket residents Demetrius Williams and Eustaquio Lafranco both love to skateboard.

Williams, who has been skating for five years, enjoys the freedom skateboarding gives him. “With this you’re not really required to do anything – you’re required to go out there and have fun, learn as much as you want or as little as you want,” he says.

And Lafranco, who has been skateboarding for the last 10 years, says the skateboard population in the area is steadily growing and although there is now a skate park at Reichmuth Park in South Land Park, it would be beneficial to have more skate parks as an interest in skateboarding continues to grow.

Now with the help of the City of Sacramento, the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), Freeport Renovation on the Move (FROM) and other community members are coming together to give skateboarders like Lafranco and Williams another skate park at Argonaut Park in Freeport Manor.

Getting Support

During their initial work on trying to get a local skate park built, the teens were meeting at the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library, where they met Kathi Windheim, president of the Friends of the Pocket-Greenhaven Library. She suggested Argonaut Park as a possible location as it was adjacent to New Technology High School and she knew the school had a group of skateboarders.

Windheim contacted New Tech’s Principal Paula Hanzel, who supported the project. “We’re in a neighborhood where kids need stuff to do, and they need the right stuff to do,” she explains. “And the more we can put in that park for not only my kids, but all the kids in the neighborhood to do, the better off we are.”

Next on board was Darrel Woo, second vice president for SCUSD Board of Education representing District 6, who believes the skate park will be a nice compliment to the workout stations that were put into Argonaut Park a few years ago.

Also on board is Sacramento City Councilman Jay Schenirer representing District 5. “I think anything that we can do to provide positive outlets for young people and safe places for them to be when they’re not in school is a good thing,” Schenirer says of why he supports the project.

And the group received support the of FROM, which according to President Barbara Moore works to provide a healthy way of life for children and teens in the Freeport Manor, South Land Park and Pocket areas. “It’s a need and we have so many kids that like to skate,” she explains. “There’s not (a skate park) that close, so we decided let’s put a skate park over here – we have the space and it would be a great thing.”

Skateboarder and Pocket resident Demetrius Williams. // Photos courtesy of Eustaquio Lafranco

Plan in Action

Now with support in place, plans could start for the Argonaut Park skate park.

According to Windheim, as another skate park is being built at McClatchy Park in the Oak Park area, they asked Schenirer if they could be part of the design process for McClatchy so they could design both at the same time to save money, and he agreed.

On March 5, Windheim says a meeting was held at the Evelyn Moore Community Center to begin planning the design of both skate parks. The meeting was lead by Aaron Spohn from Spohn Ranch Skate Parks in Los Angeles, who Windheim says will be designing both parks.

Dennis Day, landscape architect for the City of Sacramento, says Spohn discussed with those at the meeting what was possible for the skate parks. “He led them – there were some adults there as well as high school students – on what they would like to see in their ideal skate park,” he explains. “They got to design and move around templates of skate elements.”

Community skateboarders, including Lafranco and Williams, attended the meeting to give their input on what they would like to see in the skate parks. “He pretty much gave us a piece of paper and a layout of other parks he’d did that were similar, and just said put the pieces where you want them and that’s what we did,” Williams says.

Hanzel says letting the neighborhood kids help design the Argonaut Park skate park is huge. “You want to teach kids to be civically responsible and civically involved, and the sooner you get them involved and have that be a positive experience, the more likely to have that continued throughout their adult life,” she explains. “When you empower, you create positive people and positive people move things.”

Multi-Use Design

Although a design for the McClatchy Park skate park has reportedly been finalized, the design for the Argonaut Park skate park is still in the works.

According to Woo, the concept for Argonaut Park is still conceptual, but they are looking at a design that would create a “low-level stage amphitheater that the kids can skate around” with a pathway around the perimeter. This way, he says the skate park could serve multiple purposes as it could also be used as a stage area for New Tech. “It looks like a plan that will harmonize with the existing facility without taking away the other purposes of the facility,” he adds.

Hanzel says right now New Tech does not have a room where she can fit all of her 300 students at the same time. ” It would be great to have an outdoor space where we could all gather and engage in the things that we now have to do twice,” she says.

And Windheim says they are considering some skateboard-specific elements for the park, such as a stair set with rail and “hubba bank,” a roller, “curved taco” and flat ledge. She says the Argonaut Park skate park will be roughly 5,000 square feet. “We will be smaller than McClatchy Park (skate park), but with many of the same great elements and a different layout,” she adds.

Finding Funds

Although plans for the design are in motion, much is still needed to be done in terms of fund raising to build the skate park.

Windheim estimates the Argonaut Park skate park will cost around $120,000 to complete.

According to J.P. Tindell, manager of park planning and development for the City of Sacramento Parks & Recreation Department, the City has set aside $20,000 of Park Impact Fees as “seed funding” for the Argonaut Park skate park

Windheim says they are now in fund raising mode for the rest of what they need. “We’re trying to raise the rest of this money through grants, fundraisers, (and) different community support,” she adds.

In regards to fundraisers, they recently held a rummage sale in Belle Cooledge Park, and are now planning an event at Argonaut Park on Saturday, June 8 from 1-5pm that will feature a jazz band, food, prize drawings and a skateboarding demonstration. Windheim says the event will be funded through an $815 community grant they received from Schenirer’s office.

And they will be launching an online fundraiser where community members can vote for the best skateboarding trick videos on votdo.com. Windheim says from May 15-30 skateboarders can upload their videos to the site. Then visitors to the site can vote for $1 per vote from June 1-30. The most votes in each category, Windheim says, will win skateboarding gear donated by Spohn and Spohn Ranch Skate Parks.

Something Positive

Williams says he is going to be “pretty proud” once the Argonaut Skate Park is built as he will know he had a hand in helping make it happen. He also feels the additional skate parks will help people improve and build a love for skateboarding. “It’s going to be bring a lot more people out there to try to skateboard because every time there is a park, there’s people that see the park and say I want to try and they get out there.”

Moore also believes the new skate park will get more kids interested in skateboarding. “I think it’s going to revitalize the youth out there and make really something positive to bring to them because they need some positive reinforcement in the neighborhood,” she adds.

Lafranco believes the new skate parks may even bring new businesses to the area. He says right now skateboarders in the area have to travel to Elk Grove, Natomas, or downtown for skateboarding supplies. “With all these new skate parks emerging, … it could bring in a new business opportunities for skate shops,” he says.

Donations for the Argonaut Skate Park can be made out to “FROM” and mailed to Barbara Moore, 6013 McLaren Ave., Sacramento 95822. For more information on the Argonaut Skate Park, call Kathi at 392-0101 or e-mail Rosio Ruano in Councilmember Jay Schenirer’s office rruano@cityofsacramento.org.

Argonaut Park is located on Kitchner Road near Freeport Boulevard.

The Association of California School Administrators has selected five Sacramento City Unified School District administrators to be honored at its annual awards ceremony in May.

Congratulations to:  Becky Bryant, Special Education Administrator; Paula Hanzel, principal of Sacramento New Technology High School; Lilia Ibarra Pelegri, assistant principal at Hiram Johnson High School; Dave Rodriquez, principal of Sutter Middle School; and Rachel Lane, principal of Nicholas Elementary School.  They will be honored May 15 at the ACSA Region III Awards Gala of the Year.

The five were chosen for promoting the success of all students and for their commitment to educational quality and student achievement.

Also that night, the Sacramento Chinese Community Service Center (SCCSC) will be honored as an excellent community partner at Hiram Johnson High School and Nicholas Elementary.

For the last three years, the After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens Program (ASSETs) has helped support student achievement by developing and implementing multiple academic support programs geared toward student’s success.

The ACSA ceremony in May will start out with the C.K. McClatchy High School Jazz Orchestra performing the national anthem.

The Bret Harte community breathed a sign of relief after Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond announced on Feb. 21 at the dreaded board meeting that their school (along with Susan B. Anthony and James Marshall) would be pulled from his recommended school closure list.

Even though their school was spared from the cut-list, the Bret Harte community stood in solidarity with those families who weren’t so fortunate, saying they would support them because they know how scary it could be to lose a neighborhood school.

During public comment, office manager Jamillah Kirk warned the community that the struggle isn’t over for Bret Harte, as there has been fear that the school may turn into a charter in the future.

Raymond’s decision to pull Bret Harte from the list came after a community meeting there when a concerned parent spoke passionately about how the soon-to-be developed Curtis Park Village is expected to bring new families to the area.

Unless you’re a music teacher at Sacramento City Unified School District, chances are you’ve never heard of the district’s Music Library – considered a “hidden gem” tucked away in Leonardo da Vinci K-8 School in South Land Park.

Started in the 1950s, the library has continued to be a resource for music teachers, housing thousands of pieces of sheet music, both loaning and repairing instruments, and providing music teachers with a place for them to meet and network.

“This is the most wonderful resource,” says Ilda Ballin, who has been music librarian at the SCUSD Music Library since 1986. “I don’t believe there is any resource like this in the state of California.”

Music Maker

The Music Library is known for its vast collection of sheet music. According to Jennifer Nakayama – a music teacher at Leonardo da Vinci K-8 in Land Park, and Rosa Parks Middle School and Fern Bacon Middle School in South Sacramento – library houses music for all abilities from elementary through high school that music teachers can check out to use.

“We have thousands of arrangements here for both band and orchestra, and teachers are able to check out arrangements for their students to try and play,” she explains. “Students have been playing them for years and years.”

Ballin says the various arrangements are for orchestras, bands, and string orchestras, as well as choral music. She says many of the arrangements the library holds are permanently out of print, making them irreplaceable. Additionally, Ballin says music teachers can borrow method books for students.

Keeping track of the thousands of arrangements is quite a task, and it was learning more about the arrangements in the library that drew Nakayama to become a volunteer at the Music Library for the past three years, which just a few months ago became a part-time employment position for her.

“I really enjoy looking through the arrangements, and really enjoy being part of the upkeep and making it still accessible for all of the teachers,” she adds. “It’s really quite a place when you come in.”

Strike Up the Band

Another job of the Music Library is to send out the school’s instruments for repair, and provide loaner instruments for students who need them.

According to Ballin, each school in SCUSD has its own inventory of instruments that students can use.  However, if a school is lacking in a particular instrument, the music teacher can come to the Music Library to see if there is one available for the student to borrow. “We provide so many instruments and usually it suffices for everybody – it’s very seldom that a student goes without playing the instrument of their choice,” she says.

As a music teacher herself, Nakayama has used the instruments available through the library on more than one occasion and feels they are indispensable to making sure all students have an instrument to play. “If a student can’t afford an instrument, then there’s no way for them to be in a class,” she explains. “Most of my students use school instruments – it’s essential for us.”

Then if a school instrument needs to be fixed, music teachers can bring them to the Music Library, who then handles sending them out to various repair technicians, Nakayama says. “We have a repair technician we work with at Kline Music for band instruments, and then there’s a string repair technician as well,” she adds.

Having the Music Library take care instrument repairs has been a big help for George Miles, band director at John F. Kennedy High School in the Pocket. “It’s a really valuable thing,” he explains. “There’s a lot of accounting and dealing with that, dropping it off and picking it up at the repair shop that they handle there that we don’t have to deal with.”

Meet & Greet

And the other major role the SCUSD Music Library plays is one of a central meeting place for district music teachers.

Nakayama says music teachers will meet at the library to collaborate and plan events since they do not see each other throughout the day. “It’s a place where we can let our hair down and work together and really work for the kids,” she explains. “We’ve had some great ideas here over the years. It’s nice to be able to pull (an arrangement) off the shelf, show it to each other, and collaborate in order to make events like that happen.”

The Music Library is also a place where music teachers can receive further education, according to Gayle Carrick, fine arts training specialist at SCUSD, who says she conducts trainings there for the teachers.

And Miles says having a central place like this to network has helped him further his career during his past 26 years at the district. “(It’s) really a sounding board, able to provide a lot of ideas on how to deal with certain problems that come up in the classroom musically,”  he adds. “It’s just been a really valuable asset for us.”

Up Tempo

As with everything in schools today, the Music Library has also been impacted by budget cuts. Once open five days a week, Miles says, now it is only open two days a week on Monday and Thursday.

And Ballin says due to budget cuts, she has no longer been able to purchase new arrangements for the library, as her limited budget has been going to furnish supplies students need to play their instruments, such as  drumsticks, reeds, mouthpieces, and strings.

So how can the community help support this valuable resource?

Nakayama says they are always looking for donations of both music and instruments, from violins to even pianos. “You would be amazed how many instruments that somebody’s grandfather might have used and sat in a closet for years, somebody found it and brought it to the library,” she says. “If there’s repair work that needs to be done, it’s done and it’s put into use.”

Carrick – who is currently working on grants to find additional funding for the Music Library – says in addition to monetary funds, they are looking for volunteers to help keep the library organized and extend its open hours. “People who have been involved in the music program and have been involved with the music library really have an understanding and attachment to what it represents, and a lot of people have been happy to add their energy to keep it going,” she says.

And Miles hopes the Music Library continues to keep its doors open, as it provides the educational materials, equipment and support music teachers need to be successful in the classroom. “Without it, it would really make it difficult to do our jobs,” he adds.

Measures Q and R were local school bond measures to upgrade and renovate local school facilities that were both passed in the November election. According to the Sacramento City Unified School District, the average age of the local schools is 50 years and need significant updating.

All money raised by Measures Q and R will stay in our community and cannot be taken away by the State. No money can be spent on school administrator salaries. An independent citizens’ oversight committee will monitor expenditures and ensure all funds are spent properly.

If you are interested in being on the committee, contact Gabe Ross, Chief Information Officer at 643-9145 or email improvesacramentoschools@gmail.com

Here are breakdowns of how your neighborhood schools fare and how they should be improved.

DAVID LUBIN

David Lubin Elementary School was constructed in 1975. During the 2006 modernization, renovation and upgrades were made in the following areas: health and safety, site exterior and miscellaneous upgrades. The school’s facilities received high ratings for completion of maintenance and safety procedures. The frontage street inhibits ability for a gracious welcome. The unsafe environment posed by overlapping bus and parent drop off leads to unsafe arrival and departure. There is no flashing light to indicate a pedestrian crosswalk.

Visitor and staff parking is inadequate. Accessible parking stalls and path of travel needs reconfiguring/relocating. Irrigation and drainage at the play fields needs to be reworked to resolve flooding and muddy conditions. Refurbishing of the blacktop, shaded small group seating areas, and clear definition of specific hardscape uses based on age-appropriate activities would be a positive upgrade. Providing a shade structure would improve the stage presence and encourage additional activity use such as outdoor learning and lunchtime dining.

Poorly patched flooring needs new finishes at Kit Carson Middle School. This is one of many examples of physical improvements that can be made because of the passage of measures Q and R. / photo courtesy

KIT CARSON

The site is just more than nine acres in a fully developed residential neighborhood just off Folsom Boulevard. The site is small but appears adequate for this school that was built in 1976, This existing Middle School campus is in generally fair condition and has been looked at as a viable candidate to be converted into an IB Program to support Grades 7-12.

The buses currently bring about 70 percent of the students to school and create some traffic issues within the neighborhood. The buses must route through the neighborhood to enter and exit the school but are able to loop from Folsom Boulevard and back with reasonable convenience. There are, however, no designated passenger loading and unloading zones, no separation for parents and buses and no barrier free drop off spaces.
Drop offs take place along the “N” Street frontage and in the staff parking lot at the west side of the campus. Both locations currently generate traffic conflicts and unsafe conditions. At a minimum, a barrier free drop off space is required and a designated drop off lane is recommended. The public and main entrance to the school and administrative offices is located along “N” Street and at some distance from the available visitor parking.

Additional parking area is recommended and should be located in reasonable proximity to the school’s entrance and administrative office. There have been recent path of travel upgrades to the staff parking lots but more is needed to be fully code compliant.
The campus is a pleasant homogenous design with good internal circulation and the core secured by ornamental steel gates. The campus is well planned for a compact facility and suited to the neighborhood. However an updated color scheme would be more appropriate for the age group. Some modernization has been completed to upgrade restrooms for code compliance but has left unsightly patches in tile finishes. Additional upgrades for code compliance are needed throughout the campus.

The school buildings were built with little consideration for energy efficiency and improvements could be made through the use of more efficient windows and mechanical systems. Benefits could also be gained through more efficient lighting and effective energy control systems. The student gathering areas of the campus are primarily associated with the Quad. This area is well located, adequate and in reasonably good condition. The student snack bar is adjacent to the Quad.

The athletic fields and paved play courts are adequate for the current enrollment but in fair condition. Resurfacing is needed for some areas of the courts and water efficient irrigation recommended for the play fields.

Based on the opportunities, facility conditions and code issues identified in this report, the Kit Carson School appears to be a fair candidate to support the facility and programmatic transformation to a 7-12 IB School.

SUTTER

The site is 7.5 acres in a confined fully developed semi-urban location and is unsuitably small for this middle school. A typical suburban site for this size school would be at least twice the area. The school was built in 1958 and serves just more than 1,200 students with most of the classrooms on second and third floors.
Access to the campus is along I Street just off Alhambra Boulevard. A drop off lane was added along “I” Street but conflicts with traffic into and out of the parking areas remain. There is no convenient turn a round or loop routing for buses. Parking is less than adequate and adversely affects student circulation. In addition to street, parking and drive conflicts there are significant “path of travel” issues around and within the campus. While the area is served by public transportation, there is no fully compliant path of travel to the campus. These are apt to become major circumstances with future modernization.

The upper floors are served by stairs and a single elevator. The fifty plus year old school was built with little consideration for energy efficiency and improvements could be made through the use of more efficient windows, wall systems and mechanical systems.

Benefits could also be gained through more efficient lighting and effective energy control systems. The structure is primarily steel and masonry with large areas of window wall systems including awning windows and spandrel panels.

The condition and age of the windows and window system shows signs of deterioration and has numerous leaks. In addition to the overall condition issues, the windows and panels are single glazed un-insulated and inefficient. The interior corridors on the second and third floors of the main classroom building are wide and lined with lockers, but access to and from the classrooms does not comply with code.

These conditions will likely require significant upgrades with any future modernization. The design of the school is dated and the classrooms and amenity areas reflect the age of the school with some deterioration and many barrier free access issues. The student snack bar has access to the Quad for outdoor eating. The gathering areas of the campus appear adequate and in reasonably good condition. The campus core has a small “Quad” area that appears underutilized.
The campus core is secured by unsightly ornamental steel gates and fencing.

THEODORE JUDAH

Theodore Judah is a historical structure built in 1937, and is the oldest continuously used elementary school in the district. The original building has been renovated to improve HVAC, technology capability, and classroom casework / sink accessibility, but a considerable amount of site and building accessibility non-compliance issues remain. Outdated and unused heating radiators in classrooms could be removed to gain additional casework and storage.

The buildings, including the portable classrooms, are in need of renovation and repairs. The cafeteria, kitchen, staff lounge, auditorium, and administration area all require refurbishing and modernization for code compliance.

The core of the campus has many instructional gardens and potential outdoor learning areas. Efforts are in progress to improve landscaping, but irrigation and drainage is in poor condition at the entry turf areas and playing field. The current orientation of the
portable classroom buildings makes site supervision difficult. Bus and parent drop-off is provided curbside only. The absence of accessible paths of travel should be resolved.

Information for this story is courtesy of SCUSD.

Hey you, what’s on your plate?
“Really good chicken fajitas, salad, strawberries,” said Allie Stewart, freshman at CK McClatchy High School bright and early on Thursday, Sept. 20.

You’d think she got her meal from off campus at a nearby restaurant, but no, she was one of many other students who taste-tested food off the school’s new cafeteria menu, which included freshly picked produce from local farmers.  The food served at McClatchy is representative of the new meals being served at schools across the district.

The quad was set up before school even began with cafeteria workers grilling up meat and warming corn tortillas, as students and invited community members ate and listened to brief speeches by their principal Peter Lambert, Sacramento City Unified School District Trustee Patrick Kennedy, and Christine Tien, Program Manager for The California Endowment.

While this is the first time the food program has been reformed in 30 years, Kennedy said just three years ago, a group of educators were at a farm with chickens running around. He said at that moment, they decided to focus on a goal to deliver more sustainable, local foods to district schools.

“What you see here today is the culmination of that dream,” he said.

Besides the warm tacos, students got fill their plates with produce from two salad bars: one dedicated to veggies and the other to fruit.

“Tell your friends. The food’s better here now. We don’t need open campuses anymore because we want to stay on campus. We have grill stations. We’ve got good food. It’s not only better for you, it’s better tasting,” he said.

The district’s focus on improving the food at its schools began in 2010 with the formation of the Healthy Foods Task Force, which has already, according to a press release: added fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms, expanded “from scratch” style entree items and involved students in taste-testing menu items.

The SCUSD cafeteria menu was revised to adhere to new federal guidelines for school lunches as part of the federal Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, which was signed into law in December 2010, according to a press release. The new guidelines were developed by nutrition experts at the Institute of Medicine and the United States Department of Agriculture. The guidelines must be followed by all schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

The new guidelines include:
-Increased produce options, ensuring that students receive both fruits and vegetables every day of the week
-A ban on unhealthy trans fats
-Portion size guidelines and calorie limits based on the age of children served
-Increased emphasis on whole grain products
-Limits on the types of milk served, with an emphasis on low fat (1 percent) and non-fat varieties
-Reductions in sodium levels to be phased in over several years.

editor@valcomnews.com

Bob Priestley, the new woodshop teacher at Sam Brannan Middle School, stands with a drill press. He is excited that the school is bringing back wood shop for the students to take and is requesting the public donate tools and other items to help out the program. Caption: Students enrolled at Sam Brannan Middle School have the option to take woodshop as an elective this year and will be able to try out the class’s jigsaw. // Photos by Sally King

Sam Brannan Middle School is starting its 50th year by bringing back something old and making it new. Woodshop is an elective class this year and it has been awhile since Sam Brannan offered this class. The students are excited to get started.

Bob Priestley, who has taught science the past seven years at Sam Brannan, is especially excited because he is the new woodshop teacher. Priestley said this elective is fun, teaches life skills and it involves a lot of planning on behalf of the student.

“The biggest reason woodshop classes should be offered, it helps students understand math,” Priestley said. “They learn fractions, ratios and the concept of 3-D.”

The Sacramento City Unified School District and teachers at Sam Brannan are in support of adding back woodshop 100 percent. Priestley added that the machines and equipment are coming from other schools that no longer offer this elective.

District maintenance workers have volunteered to bring their working knowledge to the students. Electricians, plumbers and maintenance workers are helping get the shop room ready for the students.

Principal of Sam Brannan, Greg Purcell said the staff and students are anxious to get this class going.

“Over the years, schools have struggled to provide a variety of electives for the students,” Purcell said. “We anticipate a growth in enrollment with our electives enrichment.”
Purcell and Priestley see this class as coming full circle.

“What’s old is new,” Priestley said. “We took a woodshop and made it into two classrooms and now we are taking two classrooms and turning them into a woodshop.”

Priestley, who became an industrial arts major, did so because he wanted to help kids become aware of what they could accomplish. In woodshop, students learn how to visualize the finished project and are given many options on which they base their decisions.

“It is exciting to see the students’ accomplishments,” Priestley said. “Everybody needs to take a shop class.”

Safety is the first thing taught in Priestley’s class. Students learn how to use a saw and other basic tools. Priestley said students take with them memories of accomplishing something. The students have something physical they can touch and see and with that they develop pride in the fact they made something they can share with others.

Adding woodshop as an elective is just one of the many changes taking place at Sam Brannan as the school prepares to celebrate 50 years of teaching. The staff and faculty want to give the students more choices for electives. Priestley said many younger students want to attend Sam Brannan because it is being viewed as a school where the students receive a well-rounded education and they can feel safe.

Purcell said in addition to starting up a woodshop class again, he is planning small celebrations throughout the year acknowledging the 50-year anniversary. Purcell said this school is on the rebound and he’s excited about the school’s academic growth and the enriched curriculum it has to offer its students.

There isn’t a lot of money to spend on tools for this class, so Priestley is looking for any size of monetary donations from the community and tools for the students to use.  What is needed at this point are screwdrivers, both Phillips and flatheads, turpentine to clean brushes, sandpaper and any type of hardwood.

For more information on donating, please contact Sam Brannan Middle School at 254-4350

With the 2012-13 school year fast approaching, incoming high school freshmen often face that sometimes-difficult transition from middle school with a mixture of wonder, fear and trepidation.
To help alleviate a little of that fear, 16-year-old Shia Streator, McClatchy High School senior and WayUp facilitator, volunteered her time during the first few days in August for a three-day/two-night leadership camp.
Nearly 400 incoming 9th graders within the Sacramento City Unified School District converged upon Sacramento State for the Sacramento WayUp Youth Leadership Program Summer Camp, which was held July 31 to Aug. 2.
The goal of the leadership program was to build a bridge that dilutes freshmen fears and makes students more comfortable with the transition to high school, Streator said.
“When I came in as a freshman, I didn’t have anybody really to teach me anything social wise,” Streator said. “This three-day leadership program is designed to give the freshmen an essence of accomplishment and friendship during and after the camp. Because freshmen are usually alone the first couple of months, this summer program gives them an opportunity to know 300 freshmen who feel the same way as they do.”
Streator says programs like WayUp have helped her build her own leadership skills.
“When I entered my junior year last year after participating in the camp, I did come out of it with a lot more confidence and assurance of who I am and what I can do,” she said. “I have just become captain of my criminal justice academy, so it really applies to what I am doing in school.”
The Sacramento WayUp Youth Leadership Program Summer Camp teaches kids how to stand as leaders in their schools, communities and within their own lives under the camp theme “Evolution 2 Revolution: Leadership is Not an Option.”
Students participate in a variety of activities from team-building exercises to developing strategic-thinking and problem-solving skills.
“The three-day event nurtures, guides and grows the next generation of leaders,” said WayUp Sacramento Program Director Talia Kaufman. “This year’s tracks are specifically ‘change yourself, change your community and change your future.’ It’s teaching young teens to assert themselves and give them self-empowerment along with thinking about community change and how we as individuals can help.”
This year Streator taught her own track.
“I talked about life values and planning your own life future,” she said. “It’s a way to help freshmen discover their own passion and help them carve what they want their high school and college experience to be like. For example, if they want to pursue more art, music, sports, academics, it will help them understand their own passion and encourage them to go for it.”
Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond said programs like these are more vital than ever, especially given of the city’s limited resources.
“Our goal is to give kids … rich summer learning experiences so that all of our students return to school is September ready for the new school year,” Raymond said.
Years of state budget cuts have forced the school district to reduce traditional summer school program to remediation classes only, Raymond said.
“We simply don’t have the money to offer the summer school programs that students enjoyed in the past,” he said. “But we are enriching the lives of thousands of kids this summer with our Summer Matters programming.”
In one year, the WayUp camp has gone from mentoring 40 kids to nearly 400 this year.
“When this initiative started a year ago, we never imagined it would grow so fast,” Raymond said. “The rapid expansion of this program is a testament to the kids and everyone involved who has worked tirelessly to give our youth the tools they need in order to become the next generation of great leaders of this community.”
WayUp Sacramento is funded primarily through grants received from the California Endowment, as well as through contributions from numerous businesses and community-based organizations throughout Sacramento.
“To see these kids interacting, learning, growing, smiling and laughing together is truly inspiring,” Kaufman said.

Elizabeth@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.

It’s no secret that football foes within the same conference can play fiery games with big hits and smack talk, but there is a breaking point that always looms in these games. Kennedy and McClatchy high schools witnessed that breaking point in the Sept. 30 varsity matchup between the schools.

With about five minutes left in the fourth quarter (McClatchy led 14-0 and had the ball), McClatchy quarterback Nick Modar scrambled and was then lifted up by several Kennedy players. When the players didn’t let go, a brawl shortly followed. Before long, the benches cleared and punches were reportedly thrown.

By the time the dust had settled from the controversy, a coach had resigned, students were removed from playing, and both teams forfeited games (Kennedy against Valley; McClatchy against Rosemont).

The game sanctions were handed out by SCUSD Superintendent Jonathan Raymond.

“I believe this action is necessary to ensure that an incident of this sort is not repeated in Sacramento City Unified,” Raymond said in a press release. “This kind of behavior is against the tenets of good sportsmanship and will not be tolerated in our community. There is no excuse for what transpired. Both teams need to earn back the respect they lost on the field last weekend. I feel strongly that athletics in our district is a privilege not a right.”

Coaches, athletic directors and team captains from both schools met at a sportsmanship summit to discuss a community service event in which to jointly participate in order to put the incident behind them. Rob Feickert, athletic director at McClatchy, said that the teams decided upon tutoring students at Jedediah Smith Elementary School. The teams met at the school on Friday, Oct. 7 to help out.

Each school was responsible for doling out its own punishment for individual players, according to the release.

Nine players in total were kicked off the teams for their roles in the melée. Kennedy took the worst of it with eight players being dismissed while just one McClatchy player was removed. The names of the players were not released by the schools and the precise reasons for their dismissal were not given.

Adding to the fallout of the brawl was the sudden resignation of Kennedy head coach Henry Lusk. Lusk, who profusely apologized for his team’s role in the fight, stepped down as head coach amid a scandal involving a picture of the former coach in a thong that found its way onto Twitter. It remains unclear how the picture surfaced.

As of press time, Kennedy had not named its new head coach, but it is believed that it will be one of the assistant coaches who worked with Lusk, according to Sacramento City Unified School District Chief Communications Officer Gabe Ross.

Both teams forfeited their games this past weekend but the season will press on as scheduled. How the teams fare without players (and coaches) remains to be seen.

“This is an embarrassment for our community and we are all anxious to put it behind us,” Raymond said in the release. “The best outcome is that we use the incident as a teachable moment, and that these teams, schools and all of our students emerge as champions of good sportsmanship.”

The Sep. 30 game will go into the books as a 14-0 win for McClatchy, as it has been decided that picking the game up where it left off would not be a good decision.

This article was updated on Oct. 12, 2011