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2 The Bakersfield Californian Sunday, November 4, 2012 Share stories, photos, blogs ■ Submitting your stories for The Bakersfield Voice is simple and FREE! Just go to: bakersfieldvoice.com and create a profile. ■ Choose what you’d like to contribute (an article, letter, picture or community event listing) and post it yourself. ■ Still need help getting your contributions onto our website? E-mail Sandra Molen at [email protected] ■ Circulation: If you would like to receive our weekly publication or cancel delivery, please e- mail: [email protected] or call 392-5777. Be sure to include your request, con- tact information and address. YOUR SCHOOLS Hard work pays off for Ridgeview High student, athlete T here is occasionally a student who comes through a class- room who is truly amazing. Erica McCall arrived in my class four years ago, and while courteous, attentive and kind, she did- n’t knock my socks off until after the first major writing assignment. Erica was not well written. Some teachers use red pens — I generally use green and Erica’s paper was cov- ered with green. Now that didn’t knock my socks off, but what happened next did. Erica never made the same mis- take twice. She noted what suggestions I had for her, took the rubric and all instructions, studied them and turned in excellent essays from that point on. I don’t think I’ve ever had a child take my instructions to heart like Erica did. She had her mind set on doing exactly what I expected of her and I’m sure it was no easy task. But the differ- ence is she worked exceptionally hard, dredging up old, corrected pages, and reviewing my corrections to make sure she always submitted her best work. I’m sure that Erica’s passion was not writing essays, but she turned in some 25 essays that year giving her absolute best. Imagine what she could do if some- thing was her passion. In hindsight, I realize she’s a coach’s dream. I’m sure that child listens precisely to what every coach says and takes it to heart — just like she did with my essays. She works so hard to make sure her best advice is incorporated into her play. Ridgeview High School basketball coach Michael Martin said Erica focuses on what’s impor- tant. “Her contin- ued hard work in the classroom has made her a complete basket- ball player,” Martin said. “What has truly set Erica apart from most stu- dent athletes is her work habits in the classroom. A lot of kids can play the game but don't have the grades. One thing I have always stressed to Erica is that, ‘Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn't work hard’.” That hard work is paying off. Uni- versity officials throughout the nation are begging this kind, gentle girl — who has played on the U.S. national girls’ basketball team for two years — to come to their schools to play basket- ball. Recently, Stanford University, home of one of the best women’s bas- ketball teams in the world, invited Erica to tour. They pulled out the stops when they asked Erica and her family to meet with professor Condoleezza Rice — more commonly known as the former U.S. Secretary of State. Her next visits will be at the Univer- sity of Connecticut and UCLA. Erica will announce where she’ll study — and play ball — on her signing day in November. Peggy Dewane-Pope is an eighth- grade teacher in the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District. BY MANNY RIVERA Community contributor T he California Endowment recently awarded the “Health Happens Hero” award to Arvin Union School District Superintendent Michelle McLean, honoring her for bringing healthier meals to students, and providing them with the nutrition they need to succeed in school. McLean leads a district team responsible for producing more than 800,000 meals per year. Arvin Union has long been recognized as a model for improving school meals in rural areas. In prepa- ration for the 2012-13 academic year, the district reformulated menu options to add more vegetables and increase servings of whole grains. And the dis- trict began serving breakfast in the classroom. It also became one of the few districts in Kern County to limit chocolate milk in an effort to lower sugar consumption among students. The district cur- rently receives a grant to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to students throughout the day, and extra nutrition education. “During ‘National School Lunch Week,’ we honor champions who understand that healthy meals lead to healthy kids and improved performance in the classroom,” said Robert K. Ross, president and CEO of The California Endowment. “These are true heroes, proving every day that California schools can serve their students delicious, nutritious, and rea- sonably priced school meals. They are the reason we say, ‘health happens in schools’.” School menus in Arvin and throughout the nation were overhauled this year to meet updated nutrition guidelines developed by experts at the Institute of Medicine and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 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. • Increased emphasis on whole grain. • Limits on the types of milk served, with an empha- sis on low-fat and non-fat varieties. • Reductions in sodium levels to be phased during several years. Under McLean’s direction, the district recently developed and adopted a comprehensive school well- ness policy. It focuses on improving the health of students by emphasizing healthier school meals that meet or exceed the new nutritional guidelines, nutri- tion education, physical activity and other school- based activities that are designed to promote student health. The new policy was developed by the dis- trict’s new health and wellness advisory council that includes McLean, teachers, parents, students, the director of food services, the Arvin Union Family Resource Center coordinator, school administrators, the school nurse, and community members. “At Arvin Union, we engage students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members for a comprehensive approach to nutrition and nutri- tion education,” McLean said in The Bakersfield Cal- ifornian earlier this year. We truly believe that ‘Health Happens Here’ and that teaching children to make healthier choices sets them up for a lifetime of success. With the help of the new school meal guide- lines, we can continue providing our students with nutritious meals, while also having the flexibility to create menu items that our students will enjoy.” In addition to recognizing outstanding leaders during National School Lunch Week, The California Endowment encourages parents to learn if their chil- dren qualify for free and reduced price school meals. Families with incomes up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level may qualify — a family of four with a household income of about $42,000 quali- fy, for example. An estimated 170,000 Kern County students qualify for free or reduced price lunches, but many are not participating in the program. In Arvin Union alone, 95.5 percent of students live at or below the poverty line and are eligible. For more information on The California Endow- ment, go to www.calendow.org. COURTESY OF NEW LIFE RESIDENTIAL AND TRAINING CENTER N ew Life Residential and Training Center has announced the grand opening of its transi- tional housing facility. The new state-of-the- art residential facility — built by Bakers- field native Derrick Dickerson, CEO of DOD Construction — will provide much needed housing, vocational training and employment oppor- tunities for up to 40 men, 18 years and older. The opening came at a time when affordable tran- sitional housing for males is at a premium. The hous- ing will target men who are transitioning from foster care, military service, or correctional facilities and is geared toward helping residents become self-suffi- cient. In addition to housing, the facility will provide vocational training in construction and food services industries, and employment development opportuni- ties as core support services. New Life Residential and Training Center, at 3501 Edison Highway, is a non-profit organization that has provided vocational training and employment services to the community since 2006. The organiza- tion is a member of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools’ Project 180 and the Bakersfield Safe Streets Partnership. These agencies and services will help form an extensive network of public and community support programs at the facility to make it a “one-stop” center. Proposed on-site services will include: • 24-hour supervised transitional housing • Case management • Vocational training and employment development • Substance abuse awareness and sobriety support • Access to health and social services • Life skills and character development • Family reunification and community re-integration • Referrals to education and community support programs • Assistance with permanent housing placement More information: 366-8003 or www.newlifetrain ingcenter.org. PHOTO PROVIDED Erica McCall, left, a student and basketball player at Ridgeview High School, and her family meet former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, center, during a college tour at Stanford University. PHOTO PROVIDED Arvin Union School District Superintendent Michelle McLean was honored by The California Endowment with the “Health Happens Hero” award for bringing healthier meals to students. New Life opens transitional housing facility to serve men in need YOUR HEALTH EXTRA EXTRA PEGGY DEWANE- POPE Education columnist Superintendent awarded for bringing healthy meals to students
