PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, AUGUST 31, 2018
KeizerCommunity
KEIZERTIMES.COM
From Berkeley to Clear Lake
New principal wants
students to feel safe
By DEREK WILEY
Of the Keizertimes
Artonya Gemmill, Clear
Lake Elementary’s new prin-
cipal, was planning on going
to graduate school for psy-
chology when she got a job as
a live-in nanny for two boys
with special needs.
“I knew I wanted to work
with kids in some capacity,”
Gemmill said. “I just fell in
love with teaching.”
Gemmill, who grew up in
Southern California and got
her bachelor’s degree in social
work from the University of
California in Berkeley, went
back to school to get her mas-
ter’s in education from San
Francisco State.
After fi ve years teaching at
an elementary school in Cali-
fornia, she followed her then
husband, a Keizer native who
attended the original Clear
Lake Elementary, to Oregon.
“He convinced me to
move up here and I just kind
of fell in love with Oregon,”
Gemmill said. “Once I was di-
vorced, I wasn’t moving back.”
Gemmill’s fi rst job in Or-
egon was as a special educa-
tion teacher at an elementary
school in McMinnville. She
then accepted a position with
McKay High School, work-
ing with students with serious
emotional behaviors.
She blended right in.
“I think the part that was
the biggest hurdle for me to
overcome was the fact that
I looked like the students,”
Gemmill said. “Things they
would not normally do in
front of an adult they would
do, not realizing I’m a teach-
er.”
Inspired by her principals
in California and McMin-
nville, Gemmill decided to get
into administration.
With the principal at
McKay as her mentor, Gem-
mill enrolled in Salem-Keiz-
er’s inspiring administration
program.
Taking classes at Willamette
University in the summer
and evenings, Gemmill be-
gan working towards her ad-
min license. When Willamette
closed its school of education,
she fi nished at the University
of Oregon.
After three years as a high
school administrator at West
Salem and two at South Salem,
Gemmill became the principal
at Brush College Elementary
in West Salem in 2013.
Being in an elementary
school is where she belonged.
“I knew that I’d always
wanted to go back to being
at the elementary school level
but I also knew that I needed
to get some experience as an
administrator,” Gemmill said.
“It’s where I wanted to be but
it just took a couple of years to
get back into the elementary
school mindset.”
Gemmill,
who
lives
in South Salem with her
13-year-old son, wants to
build relationships with par-
ents and students.
“I tend to be the type of
person that pretty’s outgoing,”
she said. “I like to be inclu-
sive. I like to just make sure
KEIZERTIMES/Derek Wiley
Artonya Gemmill comes to Clear Lake Elementary School in Keizer after fi ve years as the principal at Brush College Elementary
in West Salem.
that people can feel safe and
comfortable coming into the
building, that students can feel
safe being at school and not
feel like I’m not friendly.”
She wants to spend more
time listening and learning
about Clear Lake before mak-
ing any changes.
“I don’t necessarily want
Secure your identity–
shred your documents
Join us for a free community Shred Day and food drive.
New n
io
Locat
to rock the boat right now
because I don’t know what
things are like just yet,” Gem-
mill said. “Whatever’s work-
ing, let’s continue to make it
stronger and whatever’s not
working, let’s go back to the
drawing board and see what
we can do to make this more
effective. I’m not coming in a
bulldozing everything, not my
approach.”
Clear Lake Elementary’s
fi rst day of school is Wednes-
day, Sept. 5.
We are
Everything
Except
Overpriced
Simple
Cremation
$875
Inexpensive Burial
and Funeral Options
Saturday, Sept. 15
Pre-Planning Available
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
On-Site Crematory
Volcanoes Stadium Parking Lot
6700 Field of Dreams Way NE, Keizer, OR 97303
Secure, convenient shredding
4365 RIVER RD N, KEIZER
503.393.7037
Se habla español
Bring up to three boxes of outdated documents to
our Shred Day for hassle-free, no-cost shredding.
Just drive up and drop off your documents at the
Volcanoes Stadium Parking Lot on September 15
until 1 p.m. or until the shred truck is full. Open to
the community.
What to bring
BAND DAY 2018
McNary Band & Colorguard
Old checks, charge receipts, credit applications,
insurance forms, physician statements, monthly
statements (fi nancial and utility) and more.
FOOD
Bring a nonperishable food item to
donate to the Marion-Polk Food Share.
Visit oregonstatecu.com/shred-day
for more information.
Saturday, Sept. 8 is Band Day! The McNary Band & Colorguard
would like to invite the people of the city of Keizer to help participate in Band
Day. Please be on the look out for students in your neighborhood collecting
refundable cans and plastic bottles. The band will also be stationed at McNary
High School to accept bottles, cans and fi nancial donations.
The money raised will kick off a year of competitions, concerts and education.
Your support in the past is greatly appreciated. Help this year’s band students
reach their goal and achieve excellence.
If you’re not going to be home on Sept. 8, please leave a bag of refundable cans
and/or bottles on your door step marked for McNary Band.
FOR MORE INFO VISIT
M C N A R Y H S B A N D . O R G