{"id":244071,"date":"2010-12-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-24T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/franklin-elementary-third-graders-recognized-and-rewarded\/"},"modified":"2010-12-24T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-24T08:00:00","slug":"franklin-elementary-third-graders-recognized-and-rewarded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/franklin-elementary-third-graders-recognized-and-rewarded\/","title":{"rendered":"Estudiantes de tercer grado de Franklin Elementary reconocidos y premiados"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Christy Scannell | Reportero SDUN<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Franklin<\/a>
The pleasantly surprised third-graders at Franklin Elementary pose in the school auditorium with their shiny, new bikes. (Christy Scannell\/SDUN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Third-graders at Franklin Elementary School in Kensington gathered in the auditorium on Dec. 6 for a bike safety lesson from a San Diego police officer. Behind him was a black youth-style bike with a big bow on it. Someone would win the bike at the end of the workshop, the kids were told.<\/p>\n

After the policeman finished, a man in a business suit who had donated the bike came forward. A name was drawn and all the kids clapped enthusiastically for their fortunate classmate.<\/p>\n

Then the man\u2019s wife wheeled in a second bike\u2014because the kids had done such a good job in school, the man said. Another name was drawn and another winner eagerly claimed his prize.<\/p>\n

By the time the third bike was rolled in, the kids were chanting, \u201cOne more bike! One more bike!\u201d The prize was granted to the third name drawn.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s when things really got good.<\/p>\n

After the children quieted down, the man in the suit smiled and said, \u201cYou know what? I think everyone here is going to get a bike today.\u201d<\/p>\n

The curtains on the stage flew back to reveal 40 shiny, new bikes \u2013 one for each third-grader at Franklin Elementary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a very, very special moment,\u201d said Jean Small, Franklin\u2019s principal. \u201cSome kids were hugging each other and high-fiving. Teachers started crying. Even the police officer teared up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The surprise giveaway was coordinated by Bikes for Kids, a foundation that financial planning guru Bill Pollakov\u2014the \u201cman in the suit\u201d\u2014and his wife, Debbie, started in 2001 to reward high-achieving schools in disadvantaged areas. To date, the organization has donated 23,000 bikes in San Diego County, including 1,500 this holiday season.<\/p>\n

Small said the recognition was a fitting cap to what has been two years of growth for the 250-student school. A former San Diego County teacher of the year, Small arrived at the school to find only 35 percent of the students were reading proficiently. That number is now 54 percent. Meanwhile, the school\u2019s Academic Performance Index \u2013\u00a0which measures a school\u2019s progress based on student testing\u2014rose 54 points, from 768 to 822. In the last year, 40 of the 200 students classified as English learners have advanced to being proficient speakers and writers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have a long way to go because we won\u2019t be happy until we have 100 percent of our students at proficient and advanced,\u201d Small said. \u201cBut the achievement gap is narrowing and we are quite proud of that at Franklin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of the challenge arises from the school\u2019s location. Although Franklin is geographically in Kensington, Small said most of the school\u2019s students come from City Heights. Seven languages are represented among the students, of whom 49 percent are Hispanic and 27 percent are Indochinese, with the rest falling into the variety of races that makes up the neighborhood known as San Diego\u2019s melting pot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are getting new students all the time from all walks of life,\u201d Small said. \u201cWe recently registered two students from Haiti. We get kids from homeless shelters and battered women\u2019s shelters. And just a lot of single families trying to make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

With so many needs, Small said she and her staff encourage anyone who wants to help Franklin students, whether that be with learning or with life\u2019s basics. Price Charities provides an onsite family counseling and student mental health office. Big Brothers\/Big Sisters is also active at the school.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel very successful at motivating kids and focusing on the specific needs of our students,\u201d Small said.<\/p>\n

Franklin Elementary is just the type of school Bikes for Kids looks to identify, Debbie Pollakov said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are really targeting the area of great kids who are needy in schools that are showing improvement,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Pollakov and her husband, who live in Poway, launched the charity as a straightforward way to give back to the community. Every year they seek money from friends and accept donations via their website. A board chooses the schools that will receive the bikes, and then the surprise visits are arranged, usually as part of a bike safety seminar similar to the Franklin event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided on third-graders because that\u2019s just a great age to get a bike,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great program because the kids have no idea and they are so grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bikes for Kids works with a Chinese manufacturer to supply the bikes and helmets, whose total value is $75. However, the bikes are delivered in boxes and require assembly, which creates another opportunity for outreach, Pollakov said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real beauty of this story is the community building of the bikes. Parents, custodians, military and community members all come together to help,\u201d she said. \u201cSo it becomes their project as well, giving to these third-graders. It is so beautiful how it trickles down and ties so many community layers together to support these kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monetary donations are rolled 100 percent into purchasing bikes and helmets.<\/p>\n

Pollakov said the organization has never found raising funds a difficulty.<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly think that\u2019s because it\u2019s so simple and everyone can identify with a bike,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople can give at any level, whether that is a few dollars, a big check, building bikes or helping children ride them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why bikes? Part of the reason is personal\u2014Bill Pollakov was raised by a single mother under meager conditions and didn\u2019t have his own bike until he was 16. But the other is practical.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something [the recipients] have pride of ownership over and a sense of responsibility. It\u2019s also the opportunity to maybe get away from a home that\u2019s not a good place to be and go to the library or the Y or to an after-school program,\u201d Debbie Pollakov said. \u201cA bike is a ticket for them to open their wings and have that wind blowing in their hair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lalique Wilson was one of the third-graders who received a bike at the Franklin assembly. But instead of selecting a color she might like, she chose red for her brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave my brother Salik a bike for Christmas because he never had a bike before,\u201d said Lalique, who is one of 11 children in the family. \u201cI knew as soon as I saw it that I wanted to give it to him. His favorite color is red. So I picked a red bike.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother said she was proud of Lalique\u2019s selflessness toward her 6-year-old brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has a bike so she came home with a red bike and said she had picked it out for him,\u201d she said. \u201cI told her that was nice. Christmas is about giving, not always about getting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Principal Small said she was thrilled to watch as parents accompanied their third-graders to pick up their new bikes after school.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot one person turned the bike down,\u201d she said, explaining that she had been worried some families might decline the free bikes out of pride or embarrassment. \u201cI\u2019m sure for some this might be their only present for the holidays.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a wonderful experience we\u2019ll never forget here at Franklin.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Christy Scannell | SDUN Reporter Third-graders at Franklin Elementary School in Kensington gathered in the auditorium on Dec. 6 for a bike safety lesson from a San Diego police officer. Behind him was a black youth-style bike with a big bow on it. Someone would win the bike at the end of the workshop, […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1287,"featured_media":244072,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Franklin Elementary third-graders recognized \u2014 and rewarded","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-244071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1287"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}