Ledger-Dispatch

By Helen Bonner=20

Lee Winton and his fire technology = students stand=20 outside the Amador Learning Center.

Photo by: Helen = Bonner
Those=20 dreaded midterms.

Students and professors at Cosumnes River = College have=20 been working almost every night since September at the Amador Learning = Center.=20 Midterms are usually a high stress time for college students, so the = Ledger=20 Dispatch visited the classrooms to see how serious claims that the = county is=20 ready for a permanent community college presence really = were.

Overall=20 effort is earning A's from many of the 134 students in the six new = classes.=20 Professors were enthusiastic as well.

First-time instructor Lee = Winters,=20 newly retired from CAL FIRE, was excited about his fire technology = course, which=20 offers three college units and prepares students for careers in fire = protection=20 and related fields. Although the class is listed as a lecture class, = Winters has=20 called on Jackson fire Chief Mark Morton to provide more hands-on = learning. For=20 example, Winters said, "bringing out the fire engines to teach the = students how=20 to use the equipment."

Professor Tares Marchack said his English = writing=20 and composition class was "working out very nicely."

Local = student Helen=20 Keller said she wanted to see "more classes for serious students, like=20 pre-algebra and algebra." Others said they wanted psychology and = "serious art=20 for credit."

Some students in professor Markus Geisler's computer = survey=20 course were struggling with the complex technology, and would have = preferred a=20 class familiarizing them with the basics. Geisler has responded by = offering more=20 one-on-one time to keep them hanging in. "That's the advantage of land = classes=20 over online classes," Geisler said. "We are present to encourage and=20 explain."

Other students were eager to take the next step up, no = matter=20 how technical. One student asked about Linux systems, for example. CRC's = main=20 campuses in Sacramento offer that and more than 40 other computer = classes, from=20 Web site development and advanced operating systems to programming. = Other=20 students in Geisler's packed class anticipated getting into advanced=20 mathematics.

Professor Linn Violett has been teaching early = childhood=20 education at the Amador Learning Center since fall 2005. "Half of my 21 = students=20 were my students before this, taking other core classes for college = credit," she=20 said. "Some are referred to me by HRC Child Care Resources of Amador. = Some are=20 already working with pre-schoolers, infants and toddlers or the three to = five=20 age group. Others plan to go on to additional classes to become = elementary=20 school teachers. One out of every four will be a certified teacher in a = child=20 care center. They can also get credit for work experience."

One = of the=20 biggest employers locally is the Jackson Rancheria, Violett added, which = provides 24-hour child-care for employees. Another is the = state-sponsored=20 preschools.

"All my students are extremely dedicated," Violett = said.=20 "Absenteeism is rare."

For student Amy Martz, this was her first = college=20 class. "If it weren't for CRC being here, I wouldn't be able to do it," = she=20 said.

Another ECE class is scheduled for = January.

Professor Scott=20 Wreyfords's class in digital photography originally had 30 students, but = lost=20 some when he had to change the time to teach a class in Placerville on = the same=20 days. Most of Wreyford's students are taking the class for their own=20 enjoyment.

"It's a lot of fun," said Karen Smart of Pioneer. "I = take a=20 lot of classes, but more out of Placerville and Stockton. I would sure = like to=20 take them here."

At least 10 of Wreyford's students said they are = planning to go into careers like advertising or communications. One = enthusiastic=20 student, Charleton Churchill of Jackson, plans to take his camera with = him on=20 mountain climbing expeditions. Churchill recently was featured in the = Ledger=20 Dispatch when he climbed Alaska's Mt. McKinley. Proudly displaying a = black and=20 white photo of his new son, Churchill, who also has a 5-year-old in a = Jackson=20 elementary school, wants CRC to keep growing.

"A lot of young = adults are=20 moving into the county because they want to raise their children in this = small-town environment," he said. "Our local churches now are bringing = in lots=20 of young families. We need CRC."

Wreyford is optimistic about the = growth=20 of CRC in Amador. "CRC's satellite campus in Placerville has more than = 2,000=20 students now," he said. Asked if he thought CRC growth would come with = more=20 classes, he said, "It certainly happened with this = class."

Students in=20 emergency medical technology were taking midterm exams, so Capt. Anthony = Mathos,=20 an EMT with the American Legion Ambulance service, turned the class over = to his=20 assistant, CRC adjunct instructor and paramedic Michelle Moreno. The = class=20 started with 45 students, Moreno said, and has lost a few, but 75 have = already=20 signed up for the next class beginning in January. Moreno said some of = the=20 students plan to be nurses, so she would like to see more classes in = anatomy and=20 physiology next semester.

The EMT class requires "a lot of work, = more=20 hands-on than text," said student Tim Carrington. "At least 72 hours of = lecture=20 and 72 lab, and most of us are are also working."

Jake = Elizarraraz is=20 taking the class to start a career, then move up to better jobs in the=20 community. A former member of the Coast Guard, he heard about the class = from=20 friends. "Medics get good pay," he said. "Mathos is an awesome teacher, = awesome=20 and thorough."

To qualify for this class, one must take CPR and = First Aid=20 for Professionals, one day each, Moreno said. Registration for these is=20 online.

Professors Marchak, Geisler, Violett and Wreyford all = come from=20 Sacramento, Elk Grove or Stockton, and all say they enjoy the local = student=20 body.

"They are somewhat different than those in my other = classes,"=20 Marchak said. "I like the small-town feel."

"Because the classes = are=20 smaller, the students are not so anonymous," Geisler = added.

Violett=20 remarked that, because most don't come straight out of high school, = students=20 were more "settled down, ready to be serious."

Next semester CRC = will=20 offer Basic Emergency Medical Technology, Creative Writing, Fire = Technology,=20 Photography, Early Childhood Education and Economics, most of which are=20 transferable to California State Universities. Sprinq semester classes = begin=20 Jan. 17 and run through May 20. Students may apply and register online = at=20 www.crc.losrios.edu/ or call 223-6330.

Helen Bonner
Ledger Dispatch Contributor=20