After a disastrous 2009 season, the Kennedy High Eagles are looking for redemption.  For months, the team has been preparing for Friday’s season opener versus El Cerrito, and now players and coaches are brimming with confidence.

“It’s not going to be a game,” Clyde Byrd, the new Varsity Football Coach and JFK Athletic Director, chuckled. “I really feel in my heart that it’s not going to be a game!”

Tough talk from a team that chose to forfeit its season last year after losing its only five games due to injuries and a lack of players, but it’s all part of the team’s — and perhaps the school’s — rebirth.

“There’s a new attitude at Kennedy High School,” said Byrd. The school’s football program, maligned by the previous year’s low numbers and morale, seems primed for a comeback. Byrd, the 20-year coaching veteran, chose Kennedy because, “It’s an area where nobody expects nothing out of it.”

The school board announced last year that it planned to shut down Kennedy High, but Byrd said the school has received enough funding to stay open for two more years. The city council and the West Contra Costa County Unified School District have not finalized the decision, and a city council source told Richmond Confidential that no decision will be made until the end of the month at the earliest.

However, Byrd said the community has already reacted to the news and that enrollment is up as a result.

Byrd and Junior Varsity Coach Mack Carminer have focused much of their attention off the field. The league mandates that students must have a GPA of 2.0 or above to play, and the coaches are doing everything to ensure they don’t lose any players to bad grades.

The students attend tutoring sessions before practice, and the coaches are working with counselors, teachers and parents to keep the players’ grades up.

“These kids needed a spark — the academics was bad,” Byrd said. “We came up with an academic game plan: we didn’t want to lose one kid, academically.”

Students appreciate the difference, said varsity player Ofa Vi, one of two girls on the team. “There’s like 60 some of us this year that are eligible and last year only 20-something that was eligible.”

That enthusiasm is already evident on the sidelines. The number of players doubles last year’s starting roster. Carminer said, “It’s like night and day compared with last year. The commitment and consistency is totally different. They’re buying into it.”

Behind the enthusiasm, grim circumstances hover; one player was conspicuously absent during Wednesday’s practice. The day before, the brother of a sophomore JV player was shot and killed.

“Those are issues we face on a daily basis,” Byrd said.

Despite the adversity, the players and coaches are ready for a fresh start. The JV game begins at 4 p.m., varsity at 7 p.m. at Contra Costa College.

“I think we’re going to go all the way,” Vi said. “This year, we’re coming out strong. I think we’re going to go to state. So if you see us there, holla!”

For two hours it was as if all that surrounded Joel Alcaraz, 10 and Greg Lope, 33, had disappeared. Divided physically by a chessboard and mentally connected by the game, they competed at the Contra Costa College Community Chess Tournament this past Saturday.

“If I beat him, he is just a kid, but if I loose, I got beat by a kid,” Lope joked lightheartedly after the game. Lope won, but it was tough and he knew it would be — he had seen Alcaraz play before.

The Chess Tournament had 28 participants from ages 6 to 50. Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

Lope and Alcaraz were two of the 28 participants of the fourth tournament organized by the West Coast Chess Alliance, a nonprofit community-based chess advocacy group. Co-directors, Trendell Ball and Will Delaney are promoting chess by teaching it in Bay Area schools, nonprofits and community centers. Some of the participants were their students. Contra Costa College supported the event by providing the facilities and the chessboards. Players all ages were welcome and registration was free.

The turnout at the tournament included a very diverse crowd of people: The youngest participant was 6 years old and the oldest was 50. Some were Richmond residents and some came from surrounding cities. “Chess is a great equalizer,” said Ball. “You can compete on an equal basis with anybody.”

The event was a “quad tournament” in which players are divided in groups of four. Each participant has to play all the members of their group, so they play three games. “The quad is a fun way to play,” said Ball because it’s a friendly format for beginners. “Players talk and get to know each other in their group. Plus you have more winners.”

Gabriel, 6, was the youngest winner. Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

There were seven quads (groups of four) and seven winners in this tournament. The kids who won went home with a trophy. “Young people love the trophies,” said Ball.

Jaqueline Leal, 10, didn’t win this time but she wants to compete again, “so I can win the trophy.” Leal learned to play at Girls Incorporated of West Contra Costa, a nonprofit involved in education and advocacy for girls. She says she likes how chess makes her focus and she likes the challenge of competing. At home she plays chess with her 13-year-old brother and she writes down moves and strategies to win.

Do Nguyen, 17, who is from a family of Vietnamese immigrants, learned to play a year ago and has started studying chess moves, too. He sometimes plays Chinese chess with his dad or his brother. Like many other players he likes the challenge and the social aspect of the game. “You go to tournaments and you meet new people,” he said. “You get challenged pretty much every time you’re playing and every time is different.”

Joel Alcaraz, 10, was the only child who asked to be put in a quad with adults. Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

At this tournament, chess players were divided by age. Alcaraz was the only child who asked to be put in a quad with adults. He didn’t care about winning, “I want to learn,” he said. If Alcaraz had played kids his age or older, he would have definitely won said the organizers.

The parents of some of the participating children were at the tournament. Joel Alcaraz’s father, Noi Alcaraz, was one of them. He taught his son to play chess when he was four. “He used to play with me before, but I never win now,” he said, laughing, “I tell him, you’re not learning anymore when you play with me.”

For Alcaraz, it’s great to see his son be so passionate about chess — it was his dream to be a great chess player but “I didn’t have the chance to excel,” he said. Now his son plays chess online and although the family lives in Vallejo, his father takes him to the Berkeley Chez Club every Friday.

Family members take pictures and video of their children at the tournament. Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

Silvia Naldoza, the mother of 8 year old participant Vans Naldoza, said that her son learned to play just a month ago when she persuaded him to join College for Kids at Contra Costa College. Naldoza said her two sons play chess at home. “I know it really challenges their mind. It’s like a mind marathon and I want them to have their brain exercised,” she said.

“Chess can be used to promote positive self-esteem in a student because it’s a thinking game and a lot of the youth today aren’t being challenged enough in terms of thinking,” Ball said. His nonprofit is about promoting the positive values embedded in chess. “There are a lot of academic crossovers,” he said, but the group also wants to promote community and family chess playing.

Some family members competed at the tournament. Brother and sister Mauricio and Julissa Morfin from Peres Elementary School in Richmond both competed in different quads — Mauricio won the trophy. Father and son David and Gabriel McDonald competed in separate quads too, and both of them won. At six years old, Gabriel was the youngest winner.

Other adults who do community work with youth were there to support the kids, including Doretha Morris, the executive director of Girls Incorporated of West Contra Costa County. Eight girls, ages nine to 14, were competing.  For Morris, chess is a really positive thing. “It’s all about increasing their analytical and critical thinking skills. I know that chess will really help them in math as they go along with school,” she said.

One of the winners Mauricio Morfin, 11, and proud sister Julissa, 9. Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

Carlos Taboada, who runs the chess team at Richmond High School and is a school counselor, came to support two of the kids from the school’s chess club and his own son David. “It is very valuable activity to cultivate mental discipline in the students,” he said of chess.

“We think that chess can improve academic skills,” said McKinley Williams, president of Contra Costa College, who attended the tournament. Williams said he’s read research that shows how chess can improve mathematical reasoning, critical thinking and attention span. “It’s a great support for someone that is involved in academic pursues,” he said.

Williams is such a supporter of chess that now the campus has a few outdoor tables with chess boards. “We wanted to make the college a place where people can come and play chess casually,” Williams said. A couple years ago, he even invited to campus Maurice Ashley, the first African-American to attain the title of International Grandmaster of Chess in 1999.

According to Ball, on top of the academic values, chess promotes educational values that can be very useful to youth. “It’s about thinking strategically. You need those type of skills in general to navigate in life,” Ball said.

Laurel Darnel, 13, one of the winners. Photo by Veronica Moscoso

Laurel Darnel, 13 was one of the tournament winners from of Girls Inc. She enjoys basketball but she enjoys chess, too. She plays at the computer for two or three hours a week when she is at home. “You really need to know how to focus to play chess, and it’s the same in life — you need to focus on things and know where you want to be,” Darnel said.

According to Ball, some life skills can be taught through chess; for example, taking responsibility for your actions. “When you make a move on the chess board there are consequences that can be good or bad that you have to deal with,” Ball said. He said that chess can also be used to teach kids about being persistent. “If you keep playing and making moves, you can get yourself out of a bad situation.” One very important lesson, he said, is to think before you act. “Think about the consequences of your actions before you make a move that is going to be detrimental to yourself,” Ball said.

One of the outdoor tables with chessboards at Contra Costa College. Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

One of the missions of the West Coast Chess Alliance is to bring chess to minority groups. The alliance has programs at Perez Elementary School, Girls Incorporated, College for kids in Contra Costa College, Cornado YMCA and at the West Oakland Library. “A problem that youth has, and particularly those that are considered at-risk, is they aren’t making good decisions,” Ball said. “Chess, the game itself, is all about making decisions.”

Teenage singers, dancers, a saxophone player and a band gave their best at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium last Friday during the Richmond’s Got Talent show, a competition for a $500 first place prize. The event meant to inspire creativity and promote talent among youth.

Haley Slamon, second prize winner, singing “When You're Good to Mama” from the musical Chicago. Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

“Faith and hope is what we intend to inspire in our young people,” said emcee AJ Jelani, in a speech kicking off the event. Jelani, who was also the coordinator of the event, is the acting president of the Belding Woods Neighborhood Council, which organized the talent show in an effort to steer middle and high school teens away from crime and violence by giving them a peaceful, creative summer activity.

An audience of about 200 people cheered and applauded the fifteen performances, including some that went far beyond amateur level. One of them was the performance of Haley Slamon, who sang “When You’re Good to Mama” from the musical Chicago. She showed coolness in her singing and stage presence. “I started singing when I was three or four but I haven’t taken professional singing ever,” said Slamon who has performed in front of large audiences before.

Other contestants were very new at performing, including 16-year-old Derlante Sims. “I just wanted to try for the first time on the stage,” he said. Sims loves music and singing, and he chose to perform “Summer Time” by Sam Cook. “The song makes me feel warm on the inside, so I wanted to sing that and let everybody know how it made me feel,” Sims said.

David Hernandez, performing the choreography that earned him third prize. Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

David Hernandez, almost 12, was one of the youngest performers, and enchanted the audience with his hip-hop moves during a solo dance performance. “He created the choreography himself, ” said his mother, Patricia Valdivia after he finished his act. “I’m very nervous and very excited for my child,” she said, pointing out that her son was talented but he never had a mentor.

After he finished performing Hernandez said that he would be happy if he wins, but if he didn’t he’d be happy, too, “because I danced, and I’m happy when I dance.”

Although there was more hip-hop than any other music during the event, Kalin Freeman played Michael Jackson’s “I’ll Be There” on his alto saxophone, an instrument he learned to play at Richmond High School. “If I win this, it’s a step for me to do something better,” he said. Freeman dedicated his performance to his uncle Clinton, who had recently passed away.

Alia Washington co-hosting with emcee AJ Jelani. Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

Most of the contestants showed confidence on stage. Some singers came down to dance and interact with the public. The audience kept getting more and more enthusiastic as the event progressed, and a few even participated, like when one audience member stepped up to the stage to rap.

Spontaneous participation was encouraged. When Lady-T, a professional young singer from Oakland, performed, some dancers from the group MalFUNKtion, who were competing in the contest, volunteered to accompany her song with their moves. Jelani, the emcee, constantly made people laugh and made them repeat “faith and hope,” throughout the show. He called nine year-old Alia Washington up onto the stage to help him co-host, too. During the show, the competitors showed no sign of rivalry. They were supportive of each other, clapping, cheering and singing along.

The group Angels of Praise dance to the song "Make me Over." Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

When the time came to select the winners, the judges gave the third place prize to David Hernandez for his solo hip-hop dance. Second place went to singer Haley Slamon. First place went to MalFUNKtion, a hip-hop dance troupe of eight male dancers, whose elaborate choreography showed hard work. The winners received trophies as well as cash prizes.

In another spontaneous move, individuals from the audience donated money for a fourth, fifth and sixth prizes that went to saxophone player Kalin Freeman, singer Ramell Jones and Ponopoly, a hip-hop band composed of three boys and one girl. All of the participants got certificates for competing in the talent show.

The audience enjoyed the show and was supportive of the performers. Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

As she received her trophy, Slamon said how impressed she had been by the performances of those who had been onstage for the first time. “I’m so proud of everyone and so happy that I got to be a part of this,” she said as the crowd cheered.

The performers and the audience left the venue in high spirits. “I think events like this make the children feel that they are important,” said Patricia Valdivia, the mother of second place winner David Hernandez.

“Richmond needs to speak up and let everybody know that we have talent too,” said Sims.

Lu Parker, 82 came to see fifth place winner Ramell Jones perform—he is a friend’s grandson. Parker said there were more people that she expected and that she had fun. “I just enjoyed this show. It was beautiful to see all the talent,” she said.

Teens in the audience enjoy the performances. Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

Audience member Jackie Thompson said she was there to show support for the youth. “I know they need the support of the community,” she said. Thompson’s grandson was murdered in Richmond in 2003, and she said she is aware of the importance of networking with young people. “When they do something good we need to support them, so I’m here,” she said.

Mayor Gayle McLaughlin attended along with her husband Paul Kilkenny, as did city council member Ludmyrna Lopez and her baby son.

Officer Reyes-García of the Richmond Police Department, who was monitoring the site during the event, said, “It was a real joy to see the kids performing and do what they really enjoy.” Reyes-García thinks events like this bring the neighborhoods together.

All the competitors received certificates of appreciation for participating in the show. Photo by Veronica Moscoso.

“We need to show the world that the youth has talent, especially in a city like Richmond,” said Raina Hinchee, one of the singers from sixth place winning band Ponoply. “A lot of people when they hear ‘Richmond,’ they just want to push away, but showing that this city has talent is really, really crucial.”

When she was in the first grade, Yassna Ahmadi had a hard time understanding her classmates and teacher. At home her family only spoke Farsi. Now a third grader, Ahmadi just won first place in a writing contest and read her essay in front of an audience, speaking flawless English.

“As some of you may know, I was born in Berkeley, California but my parents came to the United States from Afghanistan many years ago,” she read from her essay. The child of immigrant parents, Ahmadi is not alone, especially in the West Contra Costa School District, where one third of the students are non-native English speakers.

Because so many of its students are English learners, the district organizes the Annual Reclassification Award Ceremony. This event celebrates the accomplishments of children have been “reclassified,” which means that the kids have become fully proficient in English and are no longer considered English learners. On Tuesday, hundreds of immigrant families supported their children at the 11^th such award ceremony. More than 900 kids received their diplomas this year and the winners of the 2010 school district essay contest read their work aloud at the Richmond Civic Center Auditorium.

Yassna Ahmadi reading her first place winning essay at the Richmond Auditorium.

“Proficiency in English as a second language is a great effort and shows hard work,” said Marin Trujillo, Community Engagement Coordinator for the school district. “This school district is the only one in California that organizes an event of this kind,” said Trujillo, pointing out that the achievement of English proficiency is often overlooked.

To achieve reclassification, the school district considers at a number of elements. “We look at the whole picture,” said Susan Dunlap, the district’s English Learner Service Coordinator.

The students have to pass the California English Language Development Test and the California Standards Test. The district requires an essay written at the fluency level of a native English speaker. The students also need to learn grade-level content taught in English and their parents are consulted about their kids being ready for reclasification.

“It’s challenging to learn math and science in a language in which you are not proficient,” said Dunlap. She explained that English learner students get academic support from the schools until they are reclassified.

Jose Navarro, 17 year-old, was the only student from Kappa High School who received a diploma during the Award Ceremony this year.

According to the 2010 school district census, 9,556 out of the district’s 30,000 students are considered English learners. There are 75 different languages spoken among them, but 82 percent of the students speak Spanish. The most commonly spoken languages after Spanish are Filipino, Vietnamese, Punjabi, Mien, Arabic, Cantonese, Lao and Urdu.

Students who identify themselves as Latino make up 52 percent of the district’s students. However, a student who speaks a language other than English as their native language does not necessarily need to be reclassified. Some students are already bilingual and proficient at both languages, explained Dunlap.

According to Dunlap, reclassified students from the West Contra Costa District do better on the California High School Exit Examination than all other student groups in the district. Last year 92 percent passed, the highest pass rate in the county and state for reclassified students. “We believe that they are well prepared to continue their studies,” Dunlap said.

At the award ceremony, the presenters spoke in both English and Spanish or used a translator, making it a bilingual event.

“Kathryn got into first grade and she didn’t know any English,” María Anchante, a Peruvian seamstress and single mother said in Spanish, of her 8-year old daughter Kathryn Navarro, who got a diploma at the ceremony. Anchante said that she speaks “very little” English, but that her daughter had a teacher who helped her after school. “She’s a great student. She’s always reading and writing,” said Anchante.

“In the future, I would hope to be a writer. I want to write biographies,” said Navarro, satisfied with their achievement.

Kevin Fereidooni and his father after the ceremony.

Sometimes students get more help at home. That’s the case for Kevin Fereidooni, an 11-year-old student who is now officially proficient in English. His father, Nader, an Iranian immigrant would speak English to him as a baby and encourage him to watch cartoons on American TV.

In the case of 5th grader Jan Charlie Sanchez, his father and sister speak English but his mother doesn’t. “During first grade I understood a little, but by second grade I understood everything, ” Sanchez said. His little brother Anthony is bilingual at the age of 6.

During the ceremony family members cheered when each child got a diploma. “We are very proud that our son speaks perfect English,” Affra Valencia, Sanchez’s mother said in Spanish.

While a band of mariachis played in front of the new Walter T. Helms Middle School, some teachers, city officials, parents and children were lining up to get meat and frijoles at a buffet. Others were touring the brand new campus under a cloudless blue sky.

This Saturday, the Contra Costa Unified School District invited the community to an open house showcasing the new campus of Helms, the only middle school in San Pablo. The 140,000 square foot facility had been under construction for almost three years next to the old facility and it will be ready for the kids in the fall.

The new facilities of Helms Middle School. (Photo courtesy of West Contra Costa USD.)

“We invited the community to see what all the traffic, dust and noise were about,” said Bill Fay, Chief Operations Officer, who was responsible of the construction. Fay said that the old campus was built fifty to sixty years ago — the electrical system was old, the roof needed repair and there was no infrastructure for computers.

Now at the Helms Middle School all classrooms and offices are fully wired for Internet access. There are three computer labs and a computer lab area in the library. The school includes “Green Schools” elements such as lighting efficient controls and a storm water treatment system.

For the first time the community was invited to tour around the facilities. “It’s very important for me to know the place where my kids are coming to school,” said Richmond resident Xiomara Diaz, the mother of 11-year old twins William and Walter.

Security is an issue that concerns many parents. “I like the fact that there are going to be security cameras because they are going to be checking out what the kids are doing,” said Paula Soltero, whose child will attend the school this fall. The school will also have a full surveillance camera system that the San Pablo Police Department will be able to access via a web-based coordination system.

Brian Tibbot, the school’s life science teacher who was attending the event, said that his students were eager to leave the old campus and would regularly ask him during the school year, “When are we moving?”

The brand new gym at Helms. (Photo courtesy of West Contra Costa USD.)

“In this new school there are way more things to do, like a big gym, basketball court, auditorium and even a dance room,” said 12-year-old Yomani Mapp. The school includes a multi-purpose room that has a stage for events and performances, and a full-service kitchen, with interior speed line system for service and multiple snack bar locations.

“It’s clean and it looks new, ” said 11-year-old Jonathan Dueñas after looking at the facilities.

“Hopefully there won’t be graffiti everywhere,” said Tamisha Walker, Yomani Mapp’s mother.

Jorge Flores, father of a 13-year-old student, said he hopes everyone will make a collective effort to take care of the school and keep it new. “We hope that the kids, feeling more secure and motivated, will try harder,” said Flores.

The Measure J Bond, approved by voters in 2005, provided the $70 million needed to rebuild the school, including  $54 million for the main campus and $16 million for demolition of the old campus and new field construction. The old school building is currently standing, but the last step for completing the new campus will to demolish it and build an integrated recreation area that can be used by the community.

Like many Richmond middle schoolers, Katie Hueso went to Helms. Now a Richmond High senior, she visited the new campus on Saturday with her family. Her little sister Nancy will come to Helms in August. Katie said that she liked the new facilities a lot. “In the old school you couldn’t even go to the bathrooms—they didn’t even have doors and there was no privacy. Here everything is new,” she said.

This June, the West Contra Costa Unified School District will be going back to the funding well, and hoping it hasn’t dried up.

With West County taxpayers having already shouldered close to $785 million in school-related bond debt over the past 12 years, the school district is asking for another $380 million on the June 8 ballot through Measure D, a bond measure that would pay for renovations and upgrades at 11 of the district’s schools. Measure D would charge homeowners roughly $48 per $100,000 of a home’s assessed worth, according to ballot language.

The district began last school year with a $16 million budget gap, and several campuses – many 30 or 40 years old – still in need of seismic upgrades.

While the district’s voters have been willing to reach into their pockets to support school projects in the past, it remains to be seen whether the toll of a stagnant housing market, an abnormally high unemployment rate, and the national recession will do anything to change what has been a tax-friendly history in West County.

“People’s homes are going down in value, and there just doesn’t seem to be a willingness [from the WCCUSD] to accept that,” said Kris Hunt, the executive director for the nonprofit Contra Costa County Taxpayers Association, which opposes Measure D. “It just isn’t good government on the part of the district.”

Despite the already-existing bond debt, the school board is hoping district constituents will appreciate the need for seismic retrofitting and other repairs at some of its worst-off campuses, including Richmond’s Valley View Elementary School and Richmond High. In all, the measure promises to include renovations at 11 of the district’s 57 campuses, plus system-wide security upgrades that will include installing cameras and better lighting around the schools.

“People can relate to the importance of rebuilding schools,” WCCUSD board member Tony Thurmond, a former Richmond City Councilman, said. “The measure’s got a very concrete purpose. When you ask for a parcel tax that’ll go into the general fund, that seems to be of less interest to voters, especially if they don’t have strong feelings about the credibility of the district. And let’s face it, this district’s had its problems over the years.”

Julie Vantilburg works the phones during a volunteer phone-banking night to gauge support for Measure D. Photo by Ian A. Stewart.

Indeed, the school board has endured criticism recently for delays in erecting surveillance and lighting equipment, particularly at Richmond High, where a student was raped during a homecoming dance last fall. At the time, members of the board said that the state’s Department of Architecture dragged its feet in green-lighting those projects. The department has since approved the plans, and the board expects the surveillance equipment to be installed over the summer.

Financial woes, however, are nothing new to the district. In 1991, the district filed for bankruptcy following the messy implementation of its open-choice plan, which allowed students to go to the campus of their choosing. The bankruptcy disqualified the district from applying from any state funding for seven years, according to board member Charles Ramsey. Four bond measures and a parcel tax later, the district still appears to be in need of capital.

But taxpayers seem willing to at least consider more funding: Thurmond said the school board conducted a poll of the district’s voters, and found that while sentiment had turned against passing another parcel tax, enough people found a bond measure tolerable.

Bond measures require a 55 percent majority to pass in California. Parcel taxes require a two-thirds majority.

“There’s been neglect [of these schools] for decades,” Thurmond said. “But there just isn’t any money to fix them. You can’t do that out of the general fund. But floating these bonds does give us an opportunity to rebuild. … We realize that we’re counting on the generosity of local voters, and they’ve been very generous in the past.”

Counting Measures E (1998), M (2000), D (2002) and J (2005), the district has floated more construction-bond measures than any state school district other than San Diego and Los Angeles over the last decade. According to a recent column in The Contra Costa Times, the owner of a $500,000 home in West County paid $615 in bond payments in 2009: “By 2010-2011, that’s expected to increase to $955. If voters approve Measure D, the annual payments would reach $1,195 in 2010-11, or nearly double what they were two years earlier,” columnist Daniel Borenstein concluded.

In addition, district taxpayers in 2004 approved the Measure B parcel tax to limit class sizes, and renewed the tax in 2008, then under the ballot name of Measure D.

Despite the long history of bond measures, supporters think Measure D is necessary.

“A lot of people see the cities in this district as generally dangerous,” said Raquel Romero, an El Cerrito High alum who is now managing the Yes on D campaign. “Some of these schools are in violent areas, and the kids can feel it, too. They need to be able to feel safe at their schools. People in the cities with brand-new schools can feel safer.”

Previous bond measures have resulted in major renovations at several of Richmond’s public schools including Nystrom Elementary School, athletic field improvements at Richmond and Kennedy high schools, and the construction of Lovonya DeJean Elementary School on MacDonald Avenue.

But according to Hunt, of the Taxpayers’ Association, the district’s bond measures have succeeded in the past in large part because many people don’t fully understand how bonds work, and also because school issues remain one of the most important to district parents. “The district always issues a list of schools the measures will affect, and it includes almost every school in the district,” Hunt said. “It’s a Christmas tree measure: Here’s something for you, and something for you, and something for you. And people don’t often understand … they think bonds are free. They have their property tax bills sent directly to their mortgage companies, so they never even see the fees.”

Ramsey, however, pointed out that the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, as well as all five city councils in the district’s sphere, have all come out in support of the measure. “We’re not putting this on the backs of future generations,” Ramsey said. “We’re not putting this off for 40 years from now. Nobody’s saying it’s not expensive, but remember, we went 30 years without any facility upgrades. We can’t afford to wait any more.”

For the teens and young adults who gathered on a rainy day last week in North Richmond, life has been a succession of struggles and temptations.

Jobs are nearly nonexistent in this forgotten neighborhood, which straddles city and county dividing lines. But violence and crime are omnipresent. Shootings occur almost daily. A local market’s wall serves as a makeshift memorial to those who have been felled by local violence.

But on this day, the future seemed a little brighter.

“One decision can be the wrong decision anytime in life out here, and that’s it,” said Darvone Crenshaw, who has lived all of his twenty years in North Richmond. “But right now I am feeling like I can get through the obstacles in my life.”

Crenshaw was one of about 15 local students honored May 17 for completing a three-month  life skills course taught by instructors from Project IMPACT, an empowerment group was launched by ex-inmates of California penitentiaries in the late 1990s. The program is funded by the Operation of Neighborhood Safety, a city agency established in 2007. Its curriculum ranges from human nature and ethics to violence prevention, addiction and healthy relationships, said Project IMPACT staff member Leonard Neal.

Inside a small community center in the 1600 block of N. Jade Street, youths sat around tables adorned with paper hats and decorations congratulating grads.

Several of the instructors for Project IMPACT, which stands for “Incarcerated Men Putting Away Childish Things,” addressed the graduates. “We are here to give back, and the first place you go to give back is in your home community,” Neal told the graduates. “This is where we can make a difference.”

Mayor Gayle McLaughlin was also on hand, and addressed the program graduates before certificates were handed out. McLaughlin talked about when she lived in Chicago and Jesse Jackson’s Operation PUSH, a social justice and jobs program, rose to national prominence in the 1970s and 1980s.

“I remember when Rev. Jesse Jackson said to the crowd ‘I am somebody! We are somebody!’” McLaughlin said. “And that’s what we in Richmond have to remember. We are somebody … we together are somebody, and we’re somebody special.”

North Richmond is one of the most depressed and crime-plagued sections of the Richmond, which in 2009 FBI records revealed was the nation’s second-most dangerous city. On the day of the graduation, a curbside memorial for 23-year-old Sharanda Thomas, a pregnant mother of two who was shot and killed in February, still stood on Seventh Streets, a few blocks south of the ceremony.

But at the event, Gary Griffin, 21, was as happy as he could remember, he said. A high school dropout and father of an infant daughter, Griffin said the program had given him new optimism. He has lived in North Richmond all his life.

“This program has helped my confidence,” Griffin said. “It’s made me want to do something more than what I have been doing, and that’s a big change for me.”

Will Haynes has no problem telling you what’s on his mind. Just ask him.

Or don’t. He might tell you anyway.

“What am I concerned with?” Haynes asks rhetorically, “I am concerned with getting myself out there to change the world.”

No aim is too high for the brash, quick-witted 16-year-old, who is a junior at Kennedy High School. He loves history (“my favorite, no doubt,” he says) and is inspired by the titans non-violent resistant.

“I read about Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Ghandi, and yeah, I want to be that kind of person,” Haynes says. “When we talk about people like that those guys, I pay attention to that.”

Haynes admits his attention has wavered on a few other subjects. His grade-point-average is about 2.5, he sheepishly confesses, glaringly-low for someone of his sizzling intellect.

“I am not even sure why it is where it is, but it won’t be there much longer,” he assures.

While Haynes has some work to do on his grades, no one can consider him to be underperforming in another pursuit: Writing, filming, producing and distributing Web videos.

Dozens float around youtube.com, amassing thousands of views. Haynes has taken on prejudice, violence, stereotypes and other weighty topics. Sometimes, his videos are spare and hard-hitting, focused solely on his face, a curious mix of youth and wisdom (Think a young Lawrence Fishburne), enhanced by his sweatervest-and-bow-tie ensemble.

Haynes inside the RYSE Center for youths in Richmond.

Other times, he stretches his multimedia skills to create visually-appealing effects.

Most of the filming takes place in his bedroom.

Haynes is one of the promising young Richmond students who frequents the RYSE Center off of McDonald Avenue in Richmond. The center was selected for the location in late 2005 when Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, youth nonprofit groups and others settled on a 6,600 square foot vacant county building.

Today, it serves hundreds of kids as a comprehensive youth center, including education programs for media arts, where Haynes unsurprisingly excels.

Haynes was born in Oakland, but his family moved to Richmond when he was a small child. Two years ago, they moved to Hercules, but Haynes insisted on staying in the local school system. The youngest of four, Haynes gives a reason for commuting back to his hometown to attend Kennedy grounded in a sense of dedication beyond his years.

“I’d really rather be here in Richmond than making a change somewhere else where I am not needed as much,” he says. “I want to do more with my life, and I want to do it now and in the future.”

Haynes says his inspiration for his anti-violence – or, as he prefers it, “pro-peace” – video was Dan Reilly, a multimedia instructor at the RYSE Center.

“There was a lot of bad news about violence in Richmond, and he said ‘hey, do a video about this, about stopping the violence.’”

Reilly remembers it similarly. As someone who has worked closely with Haynes for more than a year, Reilly said he knew his protege had the flair and panache to make an impact.

“Violence in Richmond is a serious issue,” Reilly said. “And strong voices speaking out against it are important. Will is very adept at delivering messages about serious issues in an appealing, powerful way.”

Despite the sometimes solemn subject matter, Haynes maintains that his real forte is comedy. Chris Rock and Bill Cosby are his idols.

He hopes to go to UCLA to study film.

But for now, Haynes says he still has work to do in Richmond – and on raising his GPA.

“A lot of people my age aim to do a certain job, but I am not doing that,” he says. “I am aiming to be a certain kind of person.”

Visit www.rysecenter.org to see more work by local youths.

Go here for more work by Will Haynes.

It’s been a long process, but tonight marks a new phase in the innovative effort to improve life in a long under-served local community.

A “Community Engagement Roll-Out Meeting” is set to start at 6 p.m. tonight in the Nystrom Elementary School cafeteria at 230 Harbour Way South.

The community meeting for the roughly 40-square block area in the southern section of the city’s Iron Triangle is a major step, said Margaret Gee, Neighborhood Development Director for the Bay Area Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).

“Tonight is reporting out the action plan and the initial activities that are going to be done,” she said. “It is the beginning of the implementation of the action plan which will commence within 30 days.”

A literacy festival is scheduled for June 5 at 11th Street and Florida Avenue. It will feature free books, games and performances based on the book “Richmond Tales.” Author Summer Brenner will also attend.

The meeting is a culmination of a long-developing local effort led by Bay Area LISC, a nationwide neighborhood community development intermediary, and the Richmond Children’s Foundation. The foundation has conducted a “listening campaign” in the neighborhood, which comprises about 14,000 mostly low-income residents, to gather information about what resources residents need.

“This is collaborative,” Gee said. “It’s vital that it is collaborative with organizations and the community.”

The effort is called NExT, which stands for “Neighbors Excelling Together.”

Beginning last spring, the Richmond Children’s Foundation began conducting the listening campaign. The results of the interviews were compiled into a comprehensive report, according to Gee, which identified five key pillars needed to support a healthy community: Public safety, jobs and economic development, education, health, and physical environment.

The effort is being funded by the Richmond Children’s Foundation and Bay Area LISC, which pays for two AmeriCorps staffers and a community organizer.

All area residents are invited to tonight’s meeting, and several neighborhood council representatives will deliver presentations.

“Our intent is to update our plans every year based on information, feedback and progress,” Gee said. “This is a living process.”

For more information, call:
Margaret Gee, Bay Area LISC at 415-397-7322, extension 25; or Jim Becker, Richmond Children’s Foundation at 510-234-1200; or visit: www.bayareanext.org