CISA Partner Schools Participate
in Kids Going Gonzo for School 2006

May 25, 2006
Three CISA Partner Schools participated in this year's Kids Going Gonzo for School program which is sponsored by Luis Gonzalez and made possible through a partnership with the Arizona Diamondbacks, CISA and Teach For America.

Bret R. Tarver Elementary is the newest partner school to participate in this program. Teachers’ original attraction to the program was the opportunity for students to attend a game. They later realized Gonzo’s rules would have a tremendous positive effect on the students.

Students were given activities focused on how to respect themselves, teachers, and their peers. One very real example the students were able to relate was an exercise dealing with respect for the property of others. Earlier this year, Tarver Elementary and other schools in the Cartwright District displayed artwork during their annual Young Artist’s Exhibit at a local mall. One student, who did not participate in Kids Going Gonzo, defaced another artist’s work. Students learned first hand the disappointment and hurt that others can cause when they do not respect the property of others. The principal recommended that all classes review the Gonzo exercise as a lesson everyone should learn.

The reward for all students successfully completing the curriculum was to attend Gonzo Game Day on May 5, 2006. On that day more than 3,100 students, teachers & chaperones proudly walked into Chase Field Stadium after receiving lunch, courtesy of Fry’s & Fry’s Marketplace and Cold Stone Creamery.

In the weeks following the game day, selected schools also received a special Arizona Diamondbacks presentation. Tarver Elementary School earned this honor and Diamondbacks Organist Bobby Freeman and team mascot “D’Baxter” visited the school on May 15, 2006. The musical presentation included themes like “rules have reasons”, “don’t make fun, make friends” and “losers try to make you lose too.”

“It was a special treat for students and reinforced all the lessons the students learned during the Gonzo program. Our students loved the chance to be silly, loud and have fun while learning import rules of life!” says CISA site coordinator, Rhonda Bowman.