Roseville breaks ground on new public school in honor of superintendent

More than 50 school and Roseville city officials celebrated the Rex Fortune Elementary School groundbreaking April 7 at 4601 Upland Drive near Fiddyment Road in west Roseville. According to Carol Hunt, the Center Joint Unified School District superintendent's secretary, Rex Fortune Elementary School is expected to open in fall 2023. Rex Fortune Elementary School, which will serve students in transitional kindergarten to sixth-grade, will be the fifth elementary school and the eighth school in the Center Joint Unified School District. "I'm really excited this (the school) is getting built because our neighbors here (in Fiddyment Farms) have often asked for it (a school)," said Roseville City Councilman Scott Alvord at the April 7 groundbreaking. At this time, Center Joint Unified School District officials are working on how many students will be enrolled and how many staff will be at Rex Fortune Elementary School. The new public school is named after Granite Bay resident Dr. Rex Fortune Jr. "I am delighted to see that this is (the school opening and being named after him) happening," Fortune told Gold Country Media on April 6. During the April 7 ceremony, Placer County Office of Education Superintendent Gayle Garbolino-Mojica, Center Joint Unified School District Superintendent Scott Loehr, Placer County Supervisor Bonnie Gore and others commended Fortune on his educational contributions to Placer County and his years of accomplishments. Fortune was Center Joint Unified School District's superintendent for 15 years, from 1988 to 2003. As Superintendent, Fortune created the Project Pipeline Teacher Credential Program, now known as Fortune School of Education. According to his son, Rex Fortune III, his father's goal of creating this program was to "develop the district's own pool of qualified teachers of diversity, as well as teachers of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), to serve the district's diverse population. "This took place during a time when Center Joint Unified School District was experiencing a shortage in staff, as well as difficulty in recruiting teachers of color and science-focused educators," Fortune III said. After retiring as Superintendent, Fortune made the Project Pipeline Teacher Credential Program a separate nonprofit entity with the help of his family. His family helped run the nonprofit organization's daily operations, recruit teachers and staff, train teachers, establish credentialing and expand the program. According to Fortune's son, the program has expanded to Sacramento, Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Project Pipeline is now known as Fortune Schools and includes charter schools throughout Sacramento and in San Bernardino. Fortune founded and is now CEO of a Roseville education research and publishing company, Fortune and Associates, which focuses on researching strategies on closing the academic achievement gap among low-income, minority school students. Together, Fortune and his son have written four books focusing on lesson plans, specifically on urban and minority education. The latest book is available at Amazon, Target and Barnes & Noble and teaches and provides lesson plans to teachers about teaching African American history. As a former intern teacher,. Fortune also developed a district-run teacher intern certification program at Center Joint Unified School District. Center Joint Unified School District Superintendent Scott Loehr began his career 25 years ago by participating in Fortune's intern program. "One thing I always admired and still admire of him (Fortune) was he was very forward-thinking," Loehr told Gold Country Media this week. "Dr. Fortune put us (the district) on the forefront of a lot of things, including technology and the internet within our classrooms and schools. The utilization of technology was always a big thing for Dr. Fortune. He (Fortune) really pushed getting technology in the hands of kids early on." Fortune hopes that the Rex Fortune Elementary School and its students will be able to succeed by offering resources from his company, Fortune and Associates. "We'd like to do what we can to help assure that all of the groups in the school achieve well on state tests," Fortune said. "Not only in reading but in mathematics as well. We'd be glad to be helpful in that regard and see the school moving in that direction."