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Mr. Thompson speaks: I would like to introduce Mrs. Helen
Reynolds who was the first principal of Vieja Valley. She's
a very special person and an inspiration to all her teachers.
She was the principal for 26 years. I've asked her to come and
share with you the history of Vieja Valley.
Mrs. Reynolds said that she had a dream as a child to become a
teacher and she was a teacher for 13 years before she became the
principal of Vieja Valley.
Do you remember the first day?
Hope School became too big and the new school was built. It wasn't
ready until October so Hope School was on double sessions. There
were just a few of the buildings, grass but no trees. Parents
planted the trees on the campus.
What makes a great teacher?
A good teacher puts the children first. Lets children participate
in classroom and learning process. Makes school exciting and makes
students want to come to school.
Did you have resource and GATE when Vieja Valley opened
GATE was begun at Hope School. Some of the programs were after
school and there were many field trips. After school programs
were put on by parents so all students could have enrichment programs.
There was always Resource. GATE and Resource are required by law.
What problems did you face when the school was first opened.?
There was just a building and no play equipment. Children had
to make their own games. Play equipment was put in slowly.
How did the school change in the 26 years that you were
here?
The one thing that didn't change was that we always had excellent
teachers. A lot of the changes I saw were in the boys and girls
because we had a democratic school and students would come in
and visit with me so I was able to watch them grow. We also got
new students when Hope School was closed because of declining
enrollment.
Who hired you as the principal of this school?
The school board is an elected group. They interviewed several
candidates. They were asked how they felt about children, what
they thought about the importance of education, what kind of school
would they build, what kind of teachers would they hire and would
they be democratic with them. The board liked my philosophy of
education and they selected me to be the first principal of Vieja
Valley.
Who was the first Superintendent of the District?
Her name was Margaret Kindred and our Library is named in honor
of her. She had vision of what she wanted the District to become.
What are some incidents that stand out in your memory?
The logo on our sweatshirts was a "Charger" and some
of the younger students thought that it meant that they had "charge"
accounts. A memorial plaque was set up in memory of Mr. Randolph,
who was a teacher at our school, and many of the students thought
that he was buried on our campus. We had a wooden crossing guard
named "Safety Sally" who looked like a little girl and
we kept it in the parking lot to slow cars down when they drove
in. A parent came in and told me that he had run over the little
girl and I was terrified until I found out that he meant that
he had run over the wooden cutout. A sad incident was the assassination
of President Kennedy. We were all very sad. The next week was
our Thanksgiving assembly and I read the "Proclamation of
Thanksgiving", that President Kennedy had written before
he died, to our children. That was a very difficult for everybody.
Another sad time was when the Challenger space shuttle blew up.
It was very sad for all of us, especially because there was a
teacher on board. The whole space program at that time was very
interesting for everybody at the school. Children would stay up
late to watch rocket launches on television and would miss school
because they hadn't slept.
What problems did you face when you opened the school?
The District did not have enough money to give us everything that
we needed so we brought things over from Hope School. The furniture
was ordered from New York and our children were bigger than the
grade sizes in the catalog so our sixth graders could not fit
into the sixth grade furniture. We had to adjust all the new furniture
to fit our children. We saved the too small furniture for when
the school expanded. The second biggest problem was waiting to
get all the playground equipment installed.
What was your last day here like?
I didn't want to leave but my husband was ill and I needed to
be with him. It was very sad for me because Vieja Valley was like
family to me. I still feel a part of Vieja Valley and am glad
that I'm able to visit now.
What was your first salary?
My first salary as a principal was $8,000. My first salary as
a high school teacher was $2,700; the year before I became a principal
I earned $5,000. By the time I retired as a principal, 26 years
later, I was earning close to $50,000 a year. Did you start
the Jog-a-thon and why?
The Jog-a-thon was started by the parents in the PTA. It didn't make very much money in the beginning. The Jog-a-thon was started to raise money for items that there wasn't money for. I'm happy to see that the Jog-a-thon continues to be a successful fund-raiser.
Did Vieja Valley have Art and Music like we do now?
In the beginning the teachers had to teach Art and Music in the
classrooms. We always had an orchestra because we started that
at Hope School. Later on our Board helped us hire our first art
teacher. Mrs. Krebs was our music teacher and later she became
one of our fourth grade teachers. Mr. Vander Ark, who was the
music teacher at La Colina Junior High School, became our instrumental
music teacher.
What problems did you face when you opened the school?
The District did not have enough money to give us everything that
we needed so we brought things over from Hope School. The furniture
was ordered from New York and our children were bigger than the
grade sizes in the catalog so our sixth graders could not fit
into the sixth grade furniture. We had to adjust all the new furniture
to fit our children. We saved the too small furniture for when
the school expanded. The second biggest problem was waiting to
get all the playground equipment installed.
Were you the only lady principal in the District?
No, there were three. Margaret Kindred, Frances Learned, and me
What did you dread the most as a principal?
The buses. Children did not always behave well on the bus and
I would have to deal with the problems. It was a worry to get
the children on the right bus. I would have to drive them home
if they missed the bus. I was happy when we stopped using buses.
What were the changes in the Hope District when Vieja Valley
opened?
When Vieja Valley opened, half of the Hope School students changed
schools. The new boundary was at State and Hollister and then
all of Hope Ranch. When Monte Vista opened, the boundary was changed
again. When Hope School closed, the students were divided between
Vieja Valley and Monte Vista. I understand that there will be
new boundaries when Hope School is reopened.
What are you most proud of about Vieja Valley?
The pride that the students and their families had in their school.
The families worked on the grounds to make them more beautiful.
I was always proud of how well-behaved our students were at school
and away from school on field trips. People in the community were
impressed by how nice our students are. Former students speak
with pride of their time at Vieja Valley.
Mr. Scarpino, our current principal, speaks.
The highest compliment I can pay to any educator is the quality
of the work that they have done. The greatest testament to your
good work is this school. It has the neatest culture where kids
care about other kids, teachers care about students, and involved
parents. All toward the end of educating kids superbly. It's interesting
to me that what you were most proud of was the thing that I was
most impressed by when I first came here and am still impressed
by every day. Congratulations on your good work and congratulations
to this class for bringing this important person here today.
