News | Article from Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

By Joe Nelson, Staff Writer

Fontana school gets makeover from United Way, volunteers

Fontana (April 22, 2007) - South Tamarind Elementary School was built in 1951, but on Saturday, it appeared as though an entirely new campus were being constructed there.

Dozens of Home Depot volunteers in bright orange T-shirts crouched in front of the school, laying brick for a new walkway. Out on the field, other volunteers used a gas-powered auger to bore holes into the ground for a new outdoor classroom.

Cans of paint dotted the grounds, while dozens of more volunteers scraped rust and corrosion from tetherball poles, painted murals on buildings and blacktops, and built benches and tables. They painted modulars and awning support poles in coats of bright red, purple, yellow and blue.

"It's all about just giving back to the community, especially when you're taking care of the kids," said Raul Magana, who led a team of Home Depot volunteers in the building of the outdoor classroom that features an elevated wooden platform ringed by benches on the school field.

The school underwent its makeover Saturday thanks to the combined efforts of the Inland Empire United Way's Hands On program and about 400 volunteers who gave up their Saturday to revitalize the school.

"The whole school will be so vibrant by the end of the day," said Jan Stephens, community resources manager for Hands on Inland Empire, which coordinated Saturday's event.

South Tamarind was one of seven schools from across the country selected to undergo refurbishing Saturday through United Way's national Hands On program, said Kimberly Boyd, director of Hands On Schools' national office.

Volunteers from Home Depot, Dave and Buster's, Costco, El Gallo Giro Corp., the Fontana Chamber of Commerce, Albertsons, Starbucks and Rockview Farms partnered with parents, teachers, students and other members of the community to participate in the event.

Andrea Hanna and her 13-year-old daughter, Jessica, hunkered on a blacktop on the school's playground and worked on a mural of the U.S.

"We've done a couple of these. We did one at Franklin Elementary in Redlands a couple of weeks ago," said Hanna, 39, of San Bernardino.

She said she was looking for activities she could do with her daughter and found out about Hands On Inland Empire through its Web site.

Jessica said she enjoys art and painting and the feeling of accomplishment the community service gives her.

"Whenever you drive by (the schools), you could say you've painted it," Jessica said.

More than 900 students are enrolled at the school originally designed for 450. Over the years, the school has endured extensive wear and tear. Economically, the school struggles. About 86percent of its students qualify for the federal free- and reduced-cost lunch program.

"It's an indicator of the level of need of the community," Boyd said.

Over the next two years, Hands On Schools, funded by a $3 million challenge grant from Home Depot, will renovate 100 schools across the country, Boyd said, adding that 22 schools have so far been renovated nationwide since September.

An Earth Day mural on one building was among the improvements. It depicts a boy holding a spade and a girl holding a watering can. They stand before a picture of the Earth, a swirl of bright hues encompassing them.

In the lunch quad, volunteers coated tables with chartreuse paint.

"You come to a school that's bright and cheerful, and that's going to have a tremendous impact on (the students' learning experience)," said Arlene Piazza, a Fontana Unified school board member.

Inside a classroom, children vigorously hammered rubber mallets into wood, crafting small toolboxes and birdhouses.

Azalea Ortega stood over one of her daughters and helped her assemble a toolbox. Her whole family - husband Jose, daughters Azalea, 8, and Bella, 6, and son, Jose Jr., 3 - got involved.

"It's exciting for the children," Ortega said. "They'll have a nice school to come to."

Joanne Thoring has been the school's principal for nine years. This is her last year at the school.

"It's like icing on the cake," she said. " I couldn't have left on a higher note."

Contact writer Joe Nelson at (909) 386-3874 or via e-mail at joe.nelson@sbsun.com.

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