John Kraiss still has vivid memories of the mix of excitement and trepidation on his very first day of kindergarten in 1988. Despite the fact that his two older sisters already attended Ohlone and they lived right down the street, he remembers walking “into that kindergarten classroom, it was right on the end. I think it was room one for me, and it was terrifying. I mean, I was just like I was beside myself. I didn't know what to do even though I was so familiar with the school."
Despite the initial fear, Ohlone provided a nurturing environment that allowed John to quickly come up to speed. The mixed classrooms, where leadership skills were encouraged among students, played a pivotal role in helping him overcome the challenges associated with being an introvert. As he recalled, “I'm more of an introvert, and so for me, it was difficult in kindergarten. But because of the way Ohlone fosters collaboration with children and also the way that they really tend to your needs as a unique individual, it really helped me learn how to talk to people, how to make friends, and work with people." John credits Ohlone with his ability to work with people and make friends even as an adult. “I think the Ohlone way has really just stuck with me my whole life,” he said.
Joh’s unique experiences with teachers had a lasting impact on his life. He fondly remembers his third and fourth grade teacher Bill Overton. "Bill used to sing in the classroom, so he'd get out his guitar and we'd sing various iterations of songs so they wouldn't be the original song, but they'd be similar to it and they would kind of elementary school-ize the song,” John recalled, continuing that “I didn't have a lot of exposure to guitars as a child, and so seeing the musical instrument brought in to the classroom was really cool to me. Cheeseburger in Paradise was one song…there's some things in that are more PG 13, I'd say. And so he would change the lyrics to be a little bit more G rated, and those was great. And I didn't know that til later in life when I actually heard the real song that he had changed the lyrics.”
In fourth grade John participated in the Gold Rush simulation at Ohlone, where students had the opportunity to pan for gold. The teachers spray painted rocks the color of gold and hid them in the farm. The student chose whether they want to be a gold miner or they want to be someone that that makes money off the gold miners, for example a shop keeper who made shovels to dig for gold, which the gold miners would buy with their fake gold nuggets. ”I remember being a hardcore gold miner in the simulation, and I was so hardcore that I didn't want to trade my fake gold nuggets for real smoothies that kids created to be sold for gold, these fake gold nuggets.” To this day John still wonders, “why did I not buy a smoothie with these fake gold nuggets?"
John’s journey through Ohlone unfolds as a tale of growth, overcoming fears, building lasting friendships, and participating in immersive learning experiences. From the initial terror of kindergarten to the thrill of panning for gold, Ohlone emerges as not just a school but a transformative community that shaped his life in profound ways.
Commentaires