My Passion for Lifelong Teaching and Wellness

I retired in 2015 from a 40-year career teaching general education for grades K through 6 in New York and California. Last summer I signed up to teach art at ACC Senior Services, which turned into an unexpected reunion with people from my distant past.

Dani Lee, the Program Manager for ACC’s Lifelong Learning and Wellness, recognized me immediately. She attended first grade across the hall from my classroom at the time. She arranged for me to teach “Art for the Ageless” and coordinated with ACC Rides to provide me with transportation to and from ACC. That’s when I met Virginia Wieneke. It turns out that she is the parent of one of my then-first graders, Nia Campbell. The coincidences did not end there.

When the first session was ready to begin, I was greeted by Jeanne Mae Wong, who works in ACC Donor Services. Her son, William, played the King in one of my classroom stage shows. Jeanne was a professional photographer at the time and took wonderful pictures of our production. Now I felt I was home, surrounded by friends and connecting with enthusiastic new students. With Sean Hidalgo  livestreaming my class on the Internet, I felt I was stepping into a new adventure and a new life. “Art for the Ageless-Expressions & New Explorations” will be the next phase of our artistic journey. Classes begin February 15th and will run through March 22nd, Wednesday afternoons.

I share with ACC Senior Services my philosophy of bringing art education to others. Art creates positive experiences and improves the quality of life. Art can heal by affirming one’s sense of self. It can fulfill the creative need present in all of us as we express our feelings and emotions without words. Art brings comfort and helps to fill the void that constantly separates us from humanity.

At age 15, I was fortunate to be awarded a three-year scholarship to study at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in Massachusetts. After graduating from State Teachers College at Boston in 1960, I spent 17 years in New York City trying my hand at the theater arts while taking art classes at local colleges, universities, and the Art Students League. Eventually, I became a teacher in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens. In 1977, I moved to Palo Alto, California with my daughter, Erika. I found employment as a commercial artist and later worked for Stanford University Libraries. Wanting to return to teaching, I acquired a position as an acting and stagecraft instructor at a local high school and directed several dramas and musicals. In 1984 we moved to Davis, where I became an executive secretary at the West Sacramento Land Company. I got to see first-hand the land development of the Greenhaven-Pocket area.

I was eventually accepted into employment by the Sacramento City Unified School District. I worked full-time as a Kindergarten and First Grade teacher at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, where I developed an art program, in addition to teaching several staff workshops to enable my colleagues to integrate art offerings into their educational programs. I held school-wide art classes in the afternoons and conducted two age-level art clubs after school. To showcase the talents of the students, I spearheaded annual art exhibitions. Further aiming to provide the students with a full visual and performing arts experience, I wrote and directed many children’s plays for classroom and on-stage use, as well as taught basic acting to upper grade students.

Once the pandemic advanced onto Sacramento in early 2020, I began a period of isolation, and started to paint images from my past. I envisioned them from a different perspective, often finding new freedom through abstract interpretations. Through the assistance of my daughter, and grandson, Ryan, I became savvy enough to establish an art website, sponsored by Fine Art America: francesca-schomberg.pixels.com. I donated my first painting to PBS KVIE TV on-line auction in October 2021, and was thrilled when it sold. That same month one of my abstracts was featured on the front cover of Inside Sacramento. Currently, the painting Bridges will be on display at Blue Line Arts in Roseville through January 14, 2023, alongside the Crocker-Kingsley Exhibition. “Lottery for the Arts,” a fundraising event from January 21st through February 10th, contains additional artworks.

ACC has become my adopted family, where my age, skills, and life experience have been greatly appreciated. I enjoy painting in my home studio and thank ACC for giving me the opportunity to share my passion for the arts with others, and help them discover their own natural talent.