It’s been nearly three decades since a racially motivated stabbing on the Davis High School campus left one student dead and a community in shock.

The murder of Thong Hy Huynh, who was stabbed to death near the science quad at the high school on May 4, 1983, led to much soul-searching throughout the city. Responses included the creation of city awards in Huynh’s name that annually honor residents who make contributions toward resolving or improving civil and human rights, as well as a memorial in the high school’s science quad — a large planter dedicated to Huynh, where his memory is honored in ceremonies every year.

But recently, construction projects on campus cut off water to the planter, and despite the best efforts of nearby teachers to hand water everything, the plants in the memorial slowly died.

Lately, said paraeducator Leslie Null, “it’s just been a bunch of dead plants,” and not much of a memorial at that.

So Null, who like the other paraeducators and inclusion specialists on campus are always looking for projects for their special-needs kids, took action.

She approached Hines Nursery in Winters with her plans to restore the memorial.

“I told them what our plan was, and that we’d like color out there, and they said, ‘OK, come back in two days.’ And when I did, they had 25 plants for us,” Null said. “They were great.”

Last Thursday, seven students, along with peer helper Sara Albertson, a handful of paraeducators and DHS inclusion specialists Debbie Covert and Ryan Carr, were busy during third period planting
the new one-gallon perennials.

Previously they had removed all the dead plants and prepared the soil.

There is still no irrigation system in place, but that’s just fine by Covert.

“My kids will water it,” she said, gesturing to her class of special-needs kids. “I don’t want sprinklers; I want them to do it.”

Covert and colleague Carr are frequently looking for jobs on campus that their students can take on. Though their students are in general ed classes for part of the day, about half are significantly impaired, and focus more on practical life skills.

“These kids like to be busy,” Covert said. “Sitting in general ed classes for a long time can be challenging for them.”

So in addition to the watering they’ll be taking on now, students do other projects around campus, like caring for the FFA chickens and helping run the recycling program. Inclusion specialist Carr even took on the position of RISE leader, something he says he stumbled upon while looking for jobs for his students.

Now his students can be seen in the morning putting out the big red recycling cans, and later emptying and sorting.

Students also venture off campus as well. One group goes to SaveMart every week to clean the freezer doors in the grocery store and sweep up. While there, a handful of students will do the grocery shopping for the food they’ll prepare later in the day. On Thursday, it was to be grilled cheese sandwiches.

The Soroptomists donated a washer and dryer to the program, so students can launder the rags they use at Save Mart, as well as the shirts they all wear when they’re working there. Carr is looking into expanding their laundry services to include the physical education department’s loaner P.E. uniforms, and maybe even sports teams’ uniforms.

“We’re constantly looking for ways they can work on their skills,” he noted.

The program also regularly rewards the students as well. Each can earn the department’s own “Davis dollars” for good behavior and getting through classes. They redeem the funny money for “Dollar Store-type things,” said Carr, including trinkets and cosmetics, as well as Davis High merchandize like jerseys and other Blue Devil apparel.

Staff and parents donate many of the items.

As far as their next gardening project, Null has plans to put students to work in the school’s greenhouse.

— Reach Anne Ternus-Bellamy at [email protected] or (530) 747-8051.

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