Smith: Roseland’s very own schools, and a camp called Hope

There was a big problem in Roseland.

Children of the largely Latino community in southwest Santa Rosa attended preschool and grade school in Roseland, then left the district for middle and high school.

Many didn’t do well. Dropout rates were high, and the percentage of Roseland kids who went on to college was low.

This didn’t set well with Gail Ahlas, the now-retired superintendent of the Roseland School District, nor with community activist Susan Moore and certain other forward thinkers.

They set out not long ago to change the paradigm of the public education made available to Roseland’s children.

They created a vision for Roseland secondary schools that would encourage and challenge students to prepare for college, and would actively support them to achieve the goal. Ahlas, Moore and others were relentless in their pursuit of the buy-in and resources they needed to make their dream for Roseland students real.

Look what’s happened.

In 2001, the district opened Roseland Accelerated Middle School. In 2004, Roseland University Prep. And in 2012, Roseland Collegiate Prep.

Students of Roseland University Prep moved into a stunning, $17 million, state-of-the-art campus off of West Avenue less than two years ago. Current district superintendent Amy Jones-Kerr pledges that Roseland Collegiate Prep, damaged when the Tubbs fire struck the former Ursuline High School campus, will be rebuilt and the property off Old Redwood Highway purchased.

The three Roseland charter schools are succeeding at keeping students on the track to college. And - the district has renewed and expanded a partnership with Sonoma State University and SRJC.

It pledges to “make higher ?education an attainable goal for every student in the Roseland School District.”

It’s astounding, what can be done.

HHHHHH

CAMP HOPE is another haven for young people that’s worth knowing about.

It’s a healing, therapeutic getaway into nature for Sonoma County children recovering from family violence or abuse. Supporters of the county’s Family Justice Center put up the money to send them to a camp in Siskiyou County.

This year, the center in Santa Rosa treated 22 kids aged 7 to 16 to the camp. One of them, 15-year-old Meghan Cresci, told me it changed her life.

“I feel like I have a more positive attitude about everything,” Meghan said. “And I’m more comfortable trying new things and meeting new people.”

Said her mom, Shannon Cresci, who serves on the Family Justice Center board said, “I tell you, she came back a completely different person.

“Honestly, she’s not in her room, she’s not in the dark. She’s so much healthier and so much happier.”

Some of the things that happen at Camp Hope are outdoor adventures, opportunities to speak safely and freely, team-building activities, campfire songs.

Fabiola Espinoza, a survivor of domestic violence and coordinator of the Family Justice Center, said that after the camp there are follow-up reunions. Espinoza’s daughter, who’s 11, was a camper this year and according to her mom came home smiling and clearly feeling more confident.

“She wants to go every year,” Espinoza said.

You can reach Staff Writer Chris Smith at 707-521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.