Extra Credit : Schools Paying Tribute on Day of the Teacher

An apple for the teacher and a certificate, too. That’s how the Orange Unified School District will mark the statewide Day of the Teacher today.

School board members and other administrators will visit every classroom in the sprawling district, bringing an apple and certificate of appreciation to each of the 1,150 teachers.

At Santa Ana Unified, meanwhile, the district’s 53 administrators will journey to the classrooms.

Working as Aides

“All of us, including Supt. (Edward) Krass and two of our board members, will be working in the classrooms today as teachers’ aides,” said district public information officer Diane Thomas.

Most of the county’s 28 school districts have scheduled some sort of event to honor their teachers today. The statewide day of recognition was established by the Legislature and a governor’s proclamation.

Robert D. Peterson, Orange County superintendent of schools, said a Newport Beach resident, Galal Kernahan, 60, initiated the idea for the Day of the Teacher.

Kernahan, a planner with the county Community Development Council, said Tuesday that he got the idea from Mexico, which celebrates a similar day on May 15. He added that Sen. Joseph Montoya (D-El Monte) agreed to sponsor such a bill, and it was later signed by Gov. George Deukmejian in 1982.

“This is the fourth Day of the Teacher, and participation this year is all over California, from the Oregon border to Mexico,” Kernahan said. “It’s one more idea our state has received from the Mexican culture.”

Big Effect on All

Ed Dundon, superintendent of the Garden Grove Unified School District, the largest in Orange County, said the day honors a profession with profound impact on everyone’s future.

“The product of the teachers will have more to do in deciding how this democracy survives than the product of any other profession,” Dundon said.

In the Capistrano Unified School District, parent-teacher organizations are sponsoring a variety of activities, including a potluck buffet at one school and gifts of corsages and boutonnieres to teachers at another, said spokeswoman Corene Barr.

The Capistrano Unified Education Assn., the teachers’ union in the district, issued a resolution noting that events like Day of the Teacher help bring “public acknowledgement of the value of teaching.” That, in turn, “encourages talented high school and college students to consider careers in teaching,” it said.

Teachers Are Key

In Santa Ana, Krass said the structure of the school system depends heavily on teachers. “I am a strong believer in a reverse organization chart that shows the board, superintendent and staff at the bottom, supporting the schools and classroom teachers,” he said.

A former high school football coach and Marine officer in Vietnam, Krass said he will spend the Day of the Teacher working as an aide in a kindergarten.

“Our spending some time as aides is a way to demonstrate this commitment and say thank you for excellent classroom teachers,” he added.