www.fresnobee.com/263/story/57672.html -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 6/14/2007
Last Visited: 6/14/2007
I said 'Julio, why are you crying?' And he said he was crying because he can't let go of Dailey."Julio Alexander went to 10 different schools before coming to Dailey last year."I was always moving around.
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I said 'Julio, why are you crying?' And he said he was crying because he can't let go of Dailey."Julio Alexander went to 10 different schools before coming to Dailey last year."I was always moving around.
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I became a better person when I came to Dailey," says Julio, who plans on becoming a pro basketball star.
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But it's a very old school and it has something about it."In May, there was a tea for former students and teachers of Dailey.
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"I met grown-ups who went to Dailey and you could see that, deep down, Dailey closing hurt them too.But at least they could come back [after graduating].What am I going to go back to?It's so sad that no one else is coming to school here."People did often come back to visit Dailey.Principal Rob Gaertig (Mr. G. to students and faculty) says that sometimes people just driving through Fresno would swing by to see the school they once attended."They'd say they went to school here in the '50s, '60s, and even '40s," he says.
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The permanent structure was one of three -- Dailey, Fremont and Franklin schools -- all built under a single contract using the same plans with funds from a bond issue passed in 1925.Fresno was growing rapidly and spreading north, even then.Dailey was named for Dr. Morris E. Dailey, superintendent of Fresno City schools from 1897 to 1899.Dailey went on to become vice president of San Jose State Normal School, the first campus in what would become the California State University system.
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Take one and go," says a choked-up Mr. G.Julio drags his feet about leaving Dailey for the last time.He hangs around tidying a classroom, until he hears about the free ice cream."When I graduate from high school, I'm going to be thinking about Dailey," he says."When I graduate from college, I'm going to remember Dailey."Then he grabs a Fudgsicle and goes. The reporter can be reached at dmarcum@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6375.