May 18 – 31, 2013
www.SanTanSun.com
Charter and public schools: Local choices abound
By Alison Stanton
The school year is quickly winding down but already parents throughout the East Valley are looking ahead to next year. While some will decide to enroll or re-enroll their children in their neighborhood public school, others are looking at their options, including charter schools. Terry Locke, director of community relations for the Chandler Unified School District (CUSD), says that Arizona is the “parent choice capital of the world” when it comes to selecting a school for their children. “We recognize that parents have a lot
of options, ranging from home schools, private schools, charter schools, schools within our district and neighboring districts,” he says, adding that the number of available choices does slow the growth of CUSD. “We are fortunate to be attracting new students, which helps us sustain our effective programs. In districts with declining enrollments, they have struggled to keep successful programs and qualified staff.” For example, Locke says CUSD has approximately 3,500 students enrolled who live outside of the Chandler Unified
Sun Lakers ‘Welcome Back’ former prisoners to society
see Schooling options page 6
CHARMELLE’S ANGELS: Volunteers from Sun Lakes are part of Gina’s Team. The group works to collect needed items for women being released from Perryville Prison. Submitted photo By Tracy House
HAPPY TO LEARN: Chase McFarland is a kindergarten student in Kim Shuck’s class at Carlson Elementary School. The school, which is in CUSD, offers parents a choice between Chandler Traditional Academy curriculum or a rigorous typical curriculum under the same roof. Submitted photo
A group of women in Sun Lakes has joined Gina’s Team, a small nonprofit, to aid with the transition of women exiting prison. Charmelle’s Angels is a team of volunteers in the Sun Lakes community who is working to change the lives of women who have been incarcerated and have no one to help them once they are released. Gloria Richardson is one of 18 Charmelle’s Angels. After being invited to participate she says, “I thought it was a great cause and wanted to be involved.” She and the other angels are divided into teams to put together muchneeded items for the women helped by
Gina’s Team. Spending $20 to $25 of her own money, Richardson and the other volunteers buy food, hygiene products, personal items, gift cards and bus passes to help the newly released inmates’ transition back into society. Each of the volunteers spends what they wish. They are trying to expand the group beyond Sun Lakes. “We have clothing and shoes and somebody was buying them packages of new underwear,” Richardson says. “Most of them (the released women) don’t have enough money saved from their job inside.” Richardson has met some of the women she has helped. She mentions
HHS athlete builds on family legacy By K.M. Lang
Many a child dreams of becoming a professional baseball player, but few grow up with the sport the way Cody Bellinger has. Every February from 1996 to 2002, Cody’s parents, Clay and Jennifer, packed up their young children and moved from Chandler to the Spring Training destination where Clay, a pro baseball player, was practicing that year. Cody, 17, and his sister, Ashli, 20, watched their father take part in four World Series contests, three of them with the Yankees, and brother Cole, 13, was born during the 1999 World Series, “on an off day during the Texas Ranger series,” recalls Clay. Baseball is more than a game to the Bellinger family. It’s a way of life, a social network, a source of pride and the stuff of memories. Cody, himself, took to the game with an ease and avidity that didn’t
surprise his parents at the time, but was clearly a sign of things to come. “He picked up a ball and that’s all he wanted to do,” recalls Clay. “He’s been hitting bombs since he was in diapers. He had a great arm and a great swing. You can’t teach that.” “Most kids his age were either watching ‘Barney’ or ‘Blue’s Clues,’” adds Jennifer, “but most of the time he wanted baseball on. I knew that was a little different.” Jennifer and Clay have supported their son’s love of baseball from the beginning. The couple was unfazed when, at the age of 3, Cody threw a rock through a neighbor’s car window—the first of several windows that would be sacrificed to his talent. The Bellingers have installed a batting cage in the yard of their Symphony II home, and sports—Ashli is in college on
ROC: 280175, A Southwest Holdings Group Co.
16 SEER
High Efficiency A/C Unit 2-Stage Variable Speed Installed
480-584-3226 www.PetersonAC.com
BASEBALL IN THE BLOOD: Symphony II resident Cody Bellinger has inherited his talent and his love of baseball from his father, Clay, who played pro ball for 16 seasons. “I watched the best players as I was growing up,” Cody recalls. “Even when I was little, I learned to play the game the right way.” Submitted photo
see Baseball page 8
Any Residential
For a Cooler Arizona.
see Gina’s Team page 7
7,798
Only $
Includes: 10 year parts, 10 year labor and lifetime compressor warranty. *Plus tax. 16 seer Amana only. Some conditions apply. See dealer for details and not good with any other offer. This coupon has no cash value. Expires 6-30-2013.
F E AT U R E STO R I E S City Council invites budget comments . . . . . . . . . community . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4 Peterson Air Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . business . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Filmmaker reimagines ‘The Godfather’ . . . . . . . . . youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 24 ‘Twilight’ actor to appear at Ak-Chin . . . . . . . . . . neighbors . . . . . . . . . . . Page 41 TOPIA returns to gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 56
CLIP-IT Coupons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Center Section
More Community . . . . . . . 2-13 Business . . . . . . . . 14-23 Youth . . . . . . . . . . 24-34 Opinion . . . . . . . . 39-40 Neighbors . . . . . . 41-52 Spirituality . . . . . 53-55 Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . 56-61 Directory . . . . . . . 62-64 Classifieds . . . . . . 65-66 Where to eat . . . 67-70