Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

14 hours ago

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

15 hours ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

15 hours ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

16 hours ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

19 hours ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

20 hours ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

20 hours ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

20 hours ago
Fresno Zoo Becomes Classroom for Unique Charter School's Teachers
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 4 years ago on
July 12, 2021

Share

Fresno Chaffee Zoo will be a classroom laboratory for students at Golden Charter Academy, Fresno’s newest charter elementary school, and this week more than a dozen teachers from the school are at the zoo for training.

Animals facts that were dispensed Monday morning by zoo docent Cathy Walker and Dean Watanabe, chief conservation education officer, included:

  • A jaguar can kill a much-heavier crocodile by landing on its back and biting into its skull.
  • Flamingoes eat “upside down” — their upside-down beaks scoop up the shrimp that give them their distinctive pink color.
  • Fresno Chaffee’s male lion is allergic to beef.
  • A male babirusa’s tusks can continue to grow until they penetrate the brain.
  • Alligators can have more than 1,000 teeth in their lifetime.

But the teachers also will be learning about zoo operations, with behind-the-scenes looks at indoor animal spaces, the nutrition center, kitchens, and offices, where there are a variety of jobs that students might have some day.

Dean Watanabe

“One of the great goals of this program is to create this pipeline of conservation stewards, people that care about wildlife and care about animals,” Watanabe told GV Wire. “And of course, the hope is that many of them will come to work here at the zoo and maybe they’ll work in animal care. Maybe they’ll take my job. Maybe they’ll work in many of the other things that we have here at the zoo.

“But whether they do or not, one of the main goals is that they will just become better stewards of the natural world. And for the rest of their life, they’ll remember these experiences and they’ll apply it not only in their lives, but in their communities as well.”

Classroom at The Zoo

Watanabe’s presentation was made in the Simba Room, a conference room with a big picture window through which the school staffers caught an occasional glimpse of the male and female lions moving through their habitat.

Golden Charter Academy staff and president/CEO Robert Golden view a lion through a window of the Simba Room in Fresno Chaffee Zoo’s African Adventure. (GV Wire/Jahz Tello)

Watanabe reviewed the zoo’s culture and climate, ongoing construction projects, appropriate terminology (behaviors, not tricks; rewards, not treats; cues, not commands), and the importance of respect, even for the bones of former zoo animals now used for demonstrations.

He talked about the criteria established by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums for accreditation, including creating safe and secure habitats, and conducting wellness assessments of animals. The criteria might be somewhat technical, he noted.

But Principal Mandy Breuer said that having real-world criteria and assessments could be valuable teaching tools, with some modification to accommodate the learning levels of primary grade students.

School Gets Ready for First Classes

Golden Charter Academy will start its school year on Aug. 9 with students in transitional kindergarten through third grade, and then add a grade level in subsequent years until it enrolls students in TK-grade 6.

The school, which was chartered by Fresno Unified School District trustees earlier this year, has an environmental curriculum that highlights hands-on experiences. Students will learn through place-based education and “universal design for learning,” an educational framework that personalizes education for each child.

Robert Golden

Right now the school’s registration is full and there is a “huge” waiting list of students ready to enroll if space opens, the schools’ CEO and president, Fresno native and former NFL player Robert Golden, told GV Wire on Monday.

Each class will visit the zoo at least one day a week, and they may hold actual classes there instead of in the school building, a former parochial school on West Princeton Avenue that Golden Charter Academy is renting, Golden said.

The more exposure that students — many of whom are from underserved areas — can have to all aspects of the zoo, the better, he said.

“To be able to give children an experience where they can actually come outside of their neighborhood, have hands-on learning experiences, be able to see what different career paths could lead them to, is one of the main reasons why I wanted” to found the school, Golden said.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

DON'T MISS

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

DON'T MISS

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

DON'T MISS

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

DON'T MISS

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

DON'T MISS

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

DON'T MISS

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

DON'T MISS

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

DON'T MISS

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

UP NEXT

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

UP NEXT

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

UP NEXT

Riverdale High School Coach Arrested for Allegedly Arranging to Meet Minor

UP NEXT

After Record Democratic Speech, House Republicans Begin Final Vote on Trump Tax-Cut Bill

UP NEXT

Could Cuddly Colby Be the Darling Gem for You?

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Sandra Neredia Jaquez

UP NEXT

Trump Impounds Billions in Education Funding. For Fresno Unified, It’s $7.1 Million

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

13 hours ago

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

13 hours ago

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

13 hours ago

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

13 hours ago

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

13 hours ago

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

14 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

14 hours ago

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

15 hours ago

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

15 hours ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

15 hours ago

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

A two-vehicle collision sent a woman driving one of the vehicles to the hospital with a head injury Thursday afternoon in Fresno. Fresno pol...

11 hours ago

A crash causes a traffic jam in northwest Fresno on Thursday, July 3, 2025. (GV Wire/Paul Marshall)
11 hours ago

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned 52,593 acres with 5% containment, prompting evacuation orders in several San Luis Obispo County zones as of Thursday, July 3, 2025, afternoon. (CalFire)
12 hours ago

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

12 hours ago

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

13 hours ago

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

An ICE agent talks with migrants about their scheduled appointments with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Father’s Day, to learn about their immigration status, in Chicago, Illinois., U.S., June 15, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

Boeing logo and miniature satellite model are seen in this illustration taken, March 10, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

13 hours ago

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

Clovis Police are searching for Pathmani Goonawardena, 82, who went missing nearly three weeks ago and was last seen driving a white Volvo near Copper and Auberry, possibly en route to Coarsegold. (CHP)
13 hours ago

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend