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Encinal marching band on new track at ribbon cutting
Encinal Field Opens; Naming Process Begins
 About 200 people attended the opening of the new athletic field at Encinal Jr. & Sr. High School on January 9. The short ceremony included a performance by the Jets Marching Band, several short speeches, an official cutting of a red ribbon, and tours by Encinal leadership students.
 
Board President Ryan LaLonde, Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi, Encinal Principal Kirstin Snyder, architect John Dybczek, and Senior Construction Manager Monty Patterson all gave short remarks in which they thanked the community for voting for Measure B, expressed appreciation to the designers, contractors, and staff who brought this project into being, and extolled the benefits of having a modern, functional field.
 
The new field, which looks over the San Francisco Bay, features a multi-sport synthetic turf field, an 8-lane competition track, and dedicated areas for shot put, discus, pole vault, and jumping events, as well as new bleachers and lights, and a state-of-the-art scoreboard and PA system.
 
The new stadium confers a number of environmental benefits, as well. Using turf instead of grass, for instance,
  • Save approximately 1.5–2.5 million gallons of water per year - enough water each year to supply dozens of homes or for  3–5 million showers per year
  • Eliminate mowing, fertilizers, pesticides, and gas-powered equipment
  • Reduce fuel use and chemical runoff
  • Avoid air emissions roughly equivalent to 100–150 cars per year, every year the field is in service
A sophisticated drainage system will also prevent puddling on the field, which reduces field closures and allows for more practices and games.
 
Board Seeks Name Suggestions for the Field
At its January 13 public meeting, the Board of Education announced the start of a formal process to name the new field. (This just for the field; the track will remain the Don Grant Track and the baseball field will still be named for Willie Stargell.)
 
Board Policy 7310 encourages community participation in school and facilitiy naming and re-naming processes. The steps to naming a new facility are:
  1. The Board and AUSD formally announce the search for names
  2. The principal or designee forms a naming committee
  3. The naming committee reviews the community’s name suggestions and its top three choices to the Board of Education.
  4. The Board holds a public hearing at one of its public meetings.
  5. The Board votes on the name at its next public meeting.

The same policy mandates that AUSD schools and facilities be named after:

  • Individuals or entities that have made outstanding contributions to schools or district;
  • Individuals who have made state, national, or global contributions;
  • The geographic area in which school or building is located; or
  • An educational value or area of curricular concern.
Students, staff, families, almuni, and community members can submit names via the Encinal Jr. & Sr. High School Field Suggestions form; the deadline is February 16.