For Eisenhower High School senior Erica Quevedo, Charles Grande represents everything a teacher should be: dedicated, selfless and caring. Erica says he's the type of teacher who inspires students and changes lives - an educator who should be remembered and revered.
To get Grande the recognition she believes he deserves, Erica has collected 500 signatures from Eisenhower students who say the want Rialto's newest high school to bear his name. Construction on the school, going up between Linden and Maple avenues, is set to begin in August.
Erica will present the petition to the Rialto School Board when trustees select a name for the new school this fall. "I think that the school should be named after someone who contributed to it," Erica said.
Students say its Grande's commitment to his profession that makes him one of the most popular teachers at the school. "Some teachers just teach because it's their job," 17-year-old Eisenhower senior Phil Bleach said. "But he takes it personally."
In 1983 and 1994, Grande was the Rialto Unified School District's nominee for a National Teacher of the Year award.
"Rialto could choose no more honorable man to name a school after," Eisenhower world history teacher Monte Skidmore said. "He's not out for the honors," he explained. "That's the reason I think it would be very appropriate."
Naming the high school after an educator who is still teaching in the district would show how much importance Rialto places on classroom learning, said Howard Baker, Eisenhower's assistant principal. "If I had the option of naming a school after him, he would be one of the first people on my list," Baker said. "He seems to be a very dedicated person," he said. "Dedicated to staff and dedicated to students."
"(The school board) needs to recognize the teachers who put so much effort into this district," said Bleach, who as a junior had Grande for advanced-placement U.S. history.
"There are nice teachers and good teachers, but none as dedicated as him."
San Bernardino County Sun