By Mary O’KEEFE

It was a big secret … until it wasn’t. For a while the administration at Glendale Unified School District (GUSD) and Dunsmore Elementary School worked to get the LA Dodgers LA Reads program to come to their school. 

“It was during back-to-school night, which was also the night of a Dodgers’ game,” said Dunsmore Principal Kelly Worley. “We found most parents didn’t come [to back-to-school night because] their [family] went to the game. So we formed a Dodger Committee.” 

Though the colors of Dunsmore Elementary School are green many of its students are Dodger blue.

The Dunsmore Dodger Committee reached out to LA Reads, the Dodgers’ sponsored program that encourages kids to read, and the Japanese Consulate, Worley added. (Dunsmore is a Japanese Dual Immersion school.) The committee just wanted to find a way to match the kids’ love of reading with their love for the Dodgers. On Tuesday the secret Dunsmore had been keeping for quite some time was revealed to the students … Dodger pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was coming to their school and those in the dual immersion program would be invited to meet him.  

Worley said the secret was kept until Friday that the Dodger pitcher was coming. Teachers were told on Friday but the students weren’t told until Tuesday, just before the event. 

This is the second time the LA Reads program has been done in a Japanese Dual Immersion school and the very first time the program has been done within GUSD. 

Yamamoto read the book, “Hayao Miyazaki: A Story of a Little Dreamer Who Captivated the World with Animation” a biography for kids about the famous animator and filmmaker. He read the book to students in kindergarten to third grade, followed by a few questions asked of Yamamoto. Fourth to sixth graders spent their time asking questions. 

First graders in Audrey Shiomi’s class made signs with positive sayings like “Never Give Up.” Third grade teacher Kacy Duncan was on hand because she is a self-proclaimed “huge Dodger fan.” 

“We’ve had season tickets for 50 years. My grandpa [bought] them, then turned them [over] to my dad and my dad to my brother,” she said. 

The GUSD school board was on hand to show support for the school and its students … and the Dodgers. Superintendent Dr. Darneika Watson brought her energy and smile to the event, getting the kids to cheer for their school and for Yamamoto.

There were a lot of cameras too – a lot of media present – but none of that made any difference to the students. Every one of them was so excited when they walked into the Dunsmore Hilltopper Auditorium. They could hardly sit still in their “criss-cross-applesauce” position when they saw Yamamoto. 

They were excited about asking questions. One student asked if Yamamoto always wanted to be a baseball player. 

Yamamoto answered in Japanese, which was then translated to English by a Dunsmore teacher. 

“Yes, I knew that I wanted to become a baseball player since elementary school and then it eventually led me to wanting to be a major league player,” he said through the translator. 

Another student asked him what the most difficult part is about being a baseball player. What was the hardship? 

“My hardship has been communication. Communicating in English – that’s something I’ve been struggling with,” he said through a translator. 

Another student asked him the difference between Japanese coaches and American coaches. 

Yamamoto was very diplomatic saying that he found both coaches were “wonderful.”

The event was hosted by the LA Dodgers and Dodgers Foundation. LA Reads is a joint program with the LA Dodgers and Dodgers Foundation to address the literacy crisis in LA and motivate youth to read and build a lifelong love of reading. 

Students as young as 5-years-old can join the Dodgers Reading Champions through LA Reads by signing up at dodgers.com/lareads.

Dodgers Reading Champions is a literacy program that tracks the time children (grades K-8) spend reading and incentivizes students who record more than 30 reading minutes per day, according to the LA Reads website.