BUILDING SCHOOL SYSTEMS THAT WORK

Dr. Joan Schumann has more than two decades of experience building systems that work - for students, families, and the educators who serve them.

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 
 

From classrooms in Salt Lake City to international schools in Singapore and Beijing, and then as a principal in California, Dr. Schumann's work has centered on one thing: equitable and effective education for all.

Today she runs Leading for Learning, the Chico firm she founded to coach school and district leadership teams. She is also the founding executive director of the International MTSS Association, the first professional association built around multi-tiered systems of support — the framework schools use to catch a student who is falling behind before they fall further. 

Her writing appears in the Handbook of School Psychology, the Handbook of Positive Behavior Support, and the Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.

She chairs the board of the Northern California Literacy Collaborative, which builds literacy partnerships and training across the region's rural communities. The Butte County Office of Education, Chico State, and the Butte County Library all hold seats on that board alongside her.

UPCOMING FIXTURES

  • Tue, Sept 8 - Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea

  • Sept 11-13 - Almanor Weekend - still a few spots open!

  • Tue, Sept 15 - Scott Dinits, Ability First

  • Tue, Sept 29 - Tim O'Connell, Rescue 42

  • Sat, Nov 14 - Surf & Turf Dinner (Club Work Day)

  • Subscribe to the Chico Rotary calendar

 → Click here for the Master List of Upcoming Events ←
 

TEAM LEADERSHIP 2026-27


 

THE STARTING LINEUP

  • Team in Charge: Autralia Wallabies & Wallaroos!
     
  • Reporter: Charlie Snyder
     
  • Microphones: Marci Ponder & Kevin Moretti
     
  • Thought of the Day: Warren Locke
     

TEAM REPORT

Charlie Snyder took the mic in a shirt he was careful to price at about $19 off Amazon — "I'm not sure it's official Wallaby gear" — plus a hat he bought, does not intend to wear, and handed straight to Beau. On every table: an Australian-style licorice treat, made in Minnesota, which he declined to vouch for. 

Since the last report the team has held two meetings at Kalico Kitchen, collected more than $200 in gift cards for CASA volunteers, donated to the Chico Community Food Locker and PolioPlus, worked Blue Bag, and thrown a joint social at Sierra Nevada with Los Cóndores. 

 

Ahead: tonight's joint social at the Elks with the Germany Black Eagles, collecting money and food for the Chico State Wildcat Pantry, Marysville Rotary's Sod Busters fundraiser, Pasta on the Plaza for the Boys and Girls Club, and a hand at the Durham Rotary car show.

President Beau on the Wallabies: The Wallabies are the men's side, and they have won two World Cups. The women have come into their own more recently (Wallaroos) — no World Cup in 15s yet, but extraordinary sevens players, with one Sevens World Cup and roughly three other tournament titles to their name. Beau's verdict: good, solid rugby folks.
 

VISITING SIDES

  • Mark Thorpe, Rotary Club of Paradise
  • Rex Moseley, Rotary Club of Oroville

 

IN THE GRANDSTAND 

  • Dean Fender, guest of Kiley Patterson
  • Julie Kistle & Tina Keene, guests of Greg Blake


 

FROM THE SIDELINE
 

 

Bill Chance reported 31 signed up as of the night before against a 40-person cap, with numbers moving both directions. 

The weekend is coming fast - so let Bill or Trish Dunlap know asap if you're interested!

 

 

 

Rose Krepelka reported that the Inspire School of Arts and Sciences annual fundraiser is set for Saturday, Oct 3, themed after Beauty and the Beast. QR codes were on every table and on the wine raffle. 

Click this image for the website. Tickets and tables are still available — "we haven't done our big push yet, so this is the start" — and she plans one more visit before the event.

 

Beau's Backyard BBQ - September 22 - at the Moretti's
 

September 22
5:30 p.m. - Drinks & Appetizers
6:30 p.m. - Dinner

Menu: Appetizers, Salad Bar, Ribs, Chicken, Portuguese Beans, Roasted Potatoes, Ice Cream 

Open Bar: Beer, Wine, Seltzer, Signature drink, sparkling water, water

$30 for Adults, $15 for Teens
FREE for children under 10.

We have a Square reader - bring your credit card or checkbook on Tuesday!

No noon meeting that day; the Barbecue is the meeting of record.

 

 

Melanie “Maddog” Bassett is taking time off August 27 through September 10. 

President Beau urged members to get anything you need to her before or after, so nobody has to bug her mid-vacation. 

Beau also reported she was unhappy with how her photo turned out, on grounds that she appears to be mugging somebody mid-stride.


 


TRIBUTES

Ed Anderson, at 90, shot his age or better for the 1,000th time. The club played the local news package on it: Friday morning at Butte Creek Country Club, a seven-over-par 79, and Steve Jovanovski standing by to record it. 

Ed shot 38 on the front nine and put his first tee shot on the back into a creek — a playing partner told him he was working on his handicap, and Ed agreed. Asked what has kept him at the game, he pointed at the men he plays with: competition and camaraderie, and after 35 years pitching fast-pitch softball he needed the pressure. Asked what has kept him good at it, he pointed at his short game. "I don't hit it that far anymore. So if I don't get it on the green, that's fine."

He plays three times a week, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and sometimes Sundays if Connie wants to go out. The last time he shot over his age was five years ago, in the rain. The club put out a cake for him, and the members he plays with came to watch him par the last hole. He also mentioned, mid-conversation, that he had forgotten about the hole-in-ones: his tenth in June, his eleventh about four weeks later, his ninth five years before that. "They come in bunches. It has nothing to do with skill." Next up is the Rotary International Golf Show, in Toronto this year, which he noted may cost him a tariff in each direction. Eight bells.

 

 

Rose Krepelka was kept on her feet after the Inspire announcement, in front of a photo Beau admitted he had simply found and used. 

Maui with three friends — "no husbands, no snoring." Then the picture that needed explaining: Rose in full pirate costume, on horseback, on a treasure-hunt trail ride up at Meadowbrook with her friend Tammy, where riders dress the part, hunt buckets in the woods, and stamp a card at each one for a prize she rated as dorky. 

 

 

 

Retired three years, and full. She bought a place in Butte Meadows and had to buy her horse a companion, because he could not be up there alone. 

Asked for the thing she is proudest of, she did not go to the horses: Inspire has a campus, after years of work, and she thanked everyone who helped get it. Eight bells.

 

THE ACADEMY: Prospective Members

The following candidates have been proposed for membership by the Board of Directors, attended the Rotary Information Meeting and agreed that their names may be published in Oakleaves. 

If no objections are filed with the President within seven days after this publication, these candidates will be considered as having been elected to membership in the Chico Rotary Club.

Sean McCreary
Sean is the owner and CEO of Urban Design Renovation & Construction and has lived and worked in the Chico Area for 28 years. His business is a service focused company committed to reliable solutions, quality workmanship, and helping homeowners achieve energy independence. He is currently an active Commissioner on the Butte County Planning Commission. He is very involved with the North State Composite Mountain Bike Team as both a sponsor and a volunteer.  He has raised four well adjusted children while helping others succeed in their careers and community.

Dean Fender
Dean owned a business for twelve years in Paradise and is now retired from Sierra Technical Computers. Dean has been a member of the Paradise Rotary Club for 29 years. He served as President in 2012-2013 and 2023-24 as well as in several additional Club positions. He served as a Board member of the Paradise Chamber of Commerce for 12 years, serving as Treasurer for 9 of those years. He moved to Chico in 2018.

Michael Dominick II
Michael is part owner of Coastal Business Solutions and is tasked with hiring and developing talent, community involvement, and partnerships with organizations. He has been with the company for 21 years. He volunteered for Southwest Rotary in Eureka and is the recipient of a Paul Harris Award. His father Mike Dominick has been a Rotarian for 30 years in the Eureka area. Michael served on the Board of Governors for the Greater Scottsdale Boys & Girls Club and transferred to the North Valley Boys and Girls Club. 
 

RUGBY KIT BAG

The prize was a $50 gift certificate to Rugby Best, the Etsy shop run by Greg Schneeweis, who was a guest at the club last week. It is rugby-focused, mostly shirts and sweatshirts, and the certificate expires at the end of the month. 

Rick Nielsen drew the winning ticket and was wearing his Rotary pin, which put the club's donation in play. Beau offered up the Food Locker, the one he uses for speaker donations, and that was that.


 

MATCH OF THE DAY

Greg Blake re-introduced Julie and Tina and then handed the floor over immediately: you want the experts, not me. 

Julie Kistle walked the bond program from phase four into phase five — transitional kindergarten classrooms at Little Chico Creek, Emma Wilson, and Marigold, then the big three at Rosedale, Chapman, and Parkview, funded by the $239 million Measure C passed in 2024. All three share one prototype design, so the maintenance crews will not have to guess what is behind a wall. 

Tina Keene made the case for reading. Five percent of students find it effortless; 40 to 50% need explicit, sequential instruction. "Brains are not wired to read" — humans have been reading about 5,000 years and speaking for more than 50,000. She closed on Reading Pals, now spreading to Shasta County and Tahoe, and the volunteers who need none of the science to change a kid's year.

Blake's last word was to turn and find Kelly Staley in the back of the room, and thank her for the groundwork he inherited.

The club's thank-you donation was made to the Catholic Ladies Food Locker.

 

Photographer: Luke Miliron
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