For those of us who love sports, it is difficult to back away and look at the bigger education picture. Believe it or not, there is more to school than passing, dribbling, batting and swinging.
This fall, I’ve often taken off my baseball cap, let my bald head shine and visited many of the Petaluma school districts. I’m not talking about city schools. I started with the small single (or the case of Waugh two) districts.
During my travels, I have come to a firm conclusion - I agree with Sheila Garvey, new superintendent of the Wilmar School District and principal of its one school, Wilson Elementary School. She told me: “There isn’t a bad school in Petaluma.”
Of the schools I’ve seen so far, she is right on.
During this brief timeout from sports, I’d like to acknowledge a few small districts that are sometimes caught between state financing and a continually changing educational environment. Not only do they survive, they thrive on the challenges.
Garvey inherits what is probably the prototype for a neighborhood school at Wilson. Wilson is one of those schools where second- and third-generation dairy families send their children, and graduates remember their elementary school classmates as readily as they do their high-school mates. It is the kind of school where board members show up to wash the windows before school opens. It is what community schools are all about.
Meadow and Corona Creek are the twin schools in the Waugh School District. They mix a hometown feel with growing robotics and technology programs under the direction of superintendent Rebecca Rosales. Corona Creek has an especially cool school student garden.
Liberty School, directed by superintendent/principal Chris Rafanelli, may be the best-looking elementary school in the Bay Area. It is also one of the best, period. Liberty emphasizes old-fashioned study and values and constantly scores highest in the county on the state standardized tests. It is a National Blue Ribbon School and a state Distinguished School. Of course, there is a waiting list to enroll.
New superintendent Betha Maclain, a former Casa Grande High School administrator, has a huge task at Two Rock Elementary School. The school is composed largely of children from families at the nearby Coast Guard training facility, although there are some children from surrounding dairy farms. That means there is little tax base and close to 50 percent of the students turn over each year. In addition, it has a high percentage of English learners. Still, Two Rock manages to be a community school and one with strong parental support. The staff and parents make it work. Talk about the little engine that could.
Cinnabar, with Sandy Doyle in her second year as superintendent/principal, has successfully made the combination of elementary and junior high school classes work. This is one of the most hands-on schools in the area, with each student treated for who they are - an individual person. A bond measure has allowed for many upgrades to the school facilities over the past few years.
That’s as far as I’ve gotten in my tours, but I’ll keep exploring. So far, I’m the Will Rogers of Petaluma education - I haven’t found a school I didn’t like.
Next week, back to sports.
(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscourier.com)
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