Fieldtrip to Shadow Cliffs a Splash with Special Education Youths

San Jose Mercury News - May 7, 2007

This is an experience common to many children, and making it happen here is the intention of the East Bay Regional Park District, which has long organized such field trips such as the one Bridgette and about 140 other local special-education elementary school students took Thursday. "A lot of these kids aren't appreciated for these abilities," said Elaine Deshaies, a park district administrative aide who coordinates the derby. "Unfortunately, they're looked at for their disabilities. "We want them to just go out and have a day in the park," she said.

Thursday's event at Shadow Cliffs was the first of four the park district will hold throughout the East Bay this year. The events are now in their 16th year at Shadow Cliffs and Temescal in Oakland, where a similar event will be held in a few weeks. In the fall, they will be held at Contra Loma in Antioch, now in its 13th year, and Quarry Lakes in Fremont, now in its fifth year. The program costs about $15,000 a year, which includes the buses to transport the students. Most of that money comes from donations, Deshaies said. Many volunteers serve the program, too.

The event at Shadow Cliffs brought together students from seven elementary schools -- Joe Michell, Jackson Avenue and Smith in Livermore and Hearst, Lydiksen, Donlon and Vintage Hills in Pleasanton. Trout, normally planted in the lake, were specially placed in an area enclosed by a net for Thursday's activities. Students waited to be paired up with a fishing guide, who cast for most of the participants, then handed them the pole.

It took just minutes for most bites. "You got one," one guide said as Hearst Elementary third-grader Dylan McKenna's pole began to dance. "That thing's hard," said Dylan, who had never caught a fish before.

Other volunteers gave words of encouragement. "Take your time," one man said. "You got the big one," a woman said. "Keep the pole up there. You're doing good," said another. After Dylan's trout was out of the water, he held it up for a quick picture. "Oh jeez, he's slimy," he said.

Tiffany Chapman, an aide in Dylan's special day class, which has students with autism and other behavior-related issues, said such events are good for the students. "It's such a self-esteem builder," Chapman said.

Besides fishing, there were many other activities for students, such as arts and crafts, face painting and games. The San Jose-based nonprofit group For Pits' Sake brought a dog named Dakota -- a pit bull that performed some 250 searches, including assignments involving Laci Peterson and the remains of the space shuttle Columbia in 2003, before she was retired.  Students were allowed to pet Dakota and the other two pit bulls, Cheyenne and Tahoe, and let them lick their faces in a mock kissing booth.  For Pits' Sake founder Kristine Crawford said her dogs, of a breed known mostly for its aggressiveness, show students that they're capable of the unexpected.  "They serve as role models," said Crawford, who has attended the fishing derbies for seven years and has seen some students grow up in that time and come back to look for the dogs.

Thursday's events ended with a hot dog lunch and an awards ceremony.  Denis Cho of Joe Michell Elementary had the biggest fish among the boys at 4 pounds, 10 ounces. Hannah Carroll, who also attends Michell, had the biggest among the girls at 3 pounds.

There also was another category, atypical of fishing derbies. Michael O'Connor of Hearst Elementary, with a 10-ounce fish, and Kaitlyn Kegel Martinez of Lydiksen Elementary, with a 14-ounce fish, were honored for bagging the smallest.