Today was Alvin’s last day at Chandler High School! He has been an Art teacher for a total of forty years. I believe he has taught the longest of any other teacher with CUSD. It all started in 1970 when he graduated in August from ASU. At the time he had a choice of teaching art in a Mesa Jr. High or teaching Art at Chandler High School. The decision wasn’t hard to make. The Mesa school district had a higher starting salary but Chandler caught up with their salary schedule and exceeded it down the road with a few years of experience. Plus, teaching junior high age students probably wasn’t the idea age group in his mind so it wasn’t hard to choose CHS.
His graduation caused problems with the draft. At the time they had a lottery drawing for who they would take and his number was “6” from the 365 days of the year. A definite slot that would make him definitely in line for a job other than teaching. The school administration was patient while he worked things out that made him able to accept the position just days before the first day of school.
Returning to the school system where he grew up in, having graduated in 1963, was strange as I remember. His art department consisted of Gwen Jordan and himself in a typical hallway room in the south end of that beautiful main building. They together expanded that department and years later (sometime in the late 70's) when the school built a new gym they turned the old one into an exciting art building. Two stories, lots of room, a new ceramic facility with a huge amount of space and his own office. He built tables, shelves and a gas kiln by laying one brick at a time. It was definitely an exciting time. His fellow art teachers became our friends and still today are a fun group to be around.
Chandler High School grounds were pretty much given a new look in 1996 and most of the back buildings were torn down and his next new place became the old Cleveland School. The three wings of that elementary school were transformed into the Fine Arts Department and they shared their space with the band and coral departments. Alvin’s ceramic room was even grander with a kiln they purchased that had a railroad type track that made kiln loading so much easier on the back. Thru the years he expanded that ceramic department into one of the finest of Arizona schools. A fun thing to note is Alvin attended that Cleveland Elementary School when just a kid and returned years later as a teacher in the same rooms.
Those forty years have been busy ones. He had a desire to earn his Masters Degree as quickly as possible so in four years that was accomplished by night classes and summer sessions. His Master of Fine Arts from ASU was a 60 hour degree so his accomplishments in that short of time were remarkable. It was good to have the major part of his education completed but of course there have been lots of other necessary classes he had had to take along the way. He was busy and he had no free time.
At our first home in the 70’s he built a ceramic studio and brick kiln on the back of our large lot and worked afterschool, holidays, weekends and summers making potter to sale at craft fairs. He belonged and held positions in Arizona Designer Craftsmen and Clay Club and that was an exciting time for him to get his name out as a potter and teacher. He was active in a Chandler service group, Chandler Compardes, served at least 15 or so years on the Chandler Fine Arts Commission. He was the fine arts department chair from 1975 to 2006. He has been an adjunct faculty member for the community colleges since 1974
Our second home built in 1980 had an attached 600 square foot ceramics studio with a purchased gas railroad type kiln. He was better assessable to the family having his studio part of the home. He still spent all the hours he could making pottery to sale at the craft sales. He had back surgery (call it wear and tear) in the late 80’s and after that started teaching so many hours for the community college plus the high school load he pretty much abandoned the home studio. We no longer did craft fairs. He now has a rep that sales his pottery pieces – a much better way!
He has loved his profession and feels that forty years of teaching is good time to call it quits. What will keep him busy after today? Stay tuned for the next episode of his life!
