Comstock's magazine 1117 - November 2017 | Page 95

Special Promotional Section
WHITNEY YAMAMURA TAKES THE
HELM AT FOLSOM LAKE COLLEGE
This past July, Whitney Yamamura be-
gan his new position as president of
Folsom Lake College. His almost 30-year
tenure with Los Rios Community College
District includes jobs as interim president
of Sacramento City College, vice president
of instruction at Cosumnes River College,
founding dean of American River College’s
Natomas Center, American River College’s
dean of Behavioral and Social Sciences,
and professor of economics at Ameri-
can River College. He is also the second
Asian-American college president in Los
Rios District’s history.
With the new school year well un-
derway, Yamamura is looking to improve
the campus through facility and structure
upgrades, program expansions and finan-
cial strategies. “Folsom Lake College will
double in size, even triple, in the blink of an
eye,” he says, adding that a comprehensive
college experience should include a sol-
id career education program for students
looking to transition from the community
college system into the workforce. “As we
grow, we will need to follow our facilities
plan by finishing the expansion of the main
building, building a science and career ed-
ucation building and adding at least one
more building to the Rancho Cordova Cen-
ter. At the same time, we need to continue
to support the Harris Center for the Arts
while building up its financial strength.”
Among his top priorities, he says, is
to support all students through the edu-
cational process by working to close the
achievement gap for historically underrep-
resented students.
Making these changes at Folsom Lake
College will have a great deal to do with
faculty, staff and administrators. “The
faculty are hardworking and engaged in
college service outside of the classroom in
committees,” he says. “The dedication of
the staff to serve students and their sun-
ny outlook and helpful can-do attitude are
true exemplars. The administrative team
is equally dedicated … As the newest col-
lege in the district, there is an openness to
experiment and try different strategies to
support student success.” n
- Jennifer Snyder
NEW CHILDREN’S ACADEMY IN
FOLSOM ADDS ART TO THE STEM
CURRICULUM MIX
The Full STEAM Academy, a preschool
and daycare which opened in Folsom ear-
lier this year, is taking early childhood ed-
ucation programming to new heights by
adding art education to its science, tech-
nology, engineering and math curriculum.
STEM programs groom students for
future careers, but many educators are
now looking beyond these four areas of
study and adding in subjects that have
been left behind. “Art is an important part
of the social and emotional development
of preschoolers allowing for creativity, self
expression and imagination,” says Doug
Quiroz, the academy’s CEO. Integrating a
full STEAM model into our early childhood
curriculum enriches the educational expe-
rience. Our children learn through fun and
exciting activities, while building a robust
vocabulary at an early age.”
The academy is specifically designed
for children ages six weeks to five years of
age and revolves around learning through
play, which is implemented through hands-
on activities that relate to lesson plans. Chil-
dren have access to a dedicated Da Vinci
STEM lab and a Picasso Art Studio onsite,
which allow students to explore by doing.
“For example, when learning about the
parts of the body, our 3-year-olds placed
a piece of bread in a clear plastic bag then
added soda to watch how the stomach
works to break down food through diges-
tion,” Quiroz says. “This experiment allows
us to teach to the five senses, while intro-
ducing life science and chemistry vocabu-
lary and concepts.”
The Folsom center is considered the
academy’s flagship location and has al-
ready seen a high level of interest since
opening for enrollment in April. Quiroz
says they’ve added about 30 children to
their enrollment base for a total of 105
children now in their care. n
- Jennifer Snyder
November 2017 | comstocksmag.com
95