Politics & Government

Wall of Fame Honoree: Amy Shinsako

The El Cerrito City Council named Amy Shinsako to the Wall of Fame in honor of her contributions as a teacher and volunteer for Harding School and for Sakura Kai, a senior center linked to Japanese and Japanese-American culture.

To both the 6-year-olds and 60-year-olds of El Cerrito, retired first-grade teacher Amy Shinsako has been a dynamic force in their lives.

For more than three decades, Shinsako has brought her enthusiasm to the halls of as a teacher and volunteer, while also dedicating her time as a leader for the Japanese-American senior center Sakura Kai

In appreciation for her service to both the elementary school and the Japanese-American community, the El Cerrito City Council last week .  

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The , is also a former Harding Elementary teacher and a friend of Shinsako for many years.

“I know what Jane Bartke does for the City of El Cerrito, so it’s really humbling to be selected at the same time,” Shinsako said. “It makes me think that I need to get out and go do more.”

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But her colleagues maintain that Shinsako has done more than enough to be worthy of the honor during the five decades she has been a part of the community.

The 67-year-old Shinsako grew up in the Bay Area, and since 1961, she has lived in El Cerrito. Her father was one of the original members of Sakura Kai, founded in 1973 by West Contra Costa Adult Eduation.

At the request of her father, Shinsako joined 35 years ago because the organization needed a certified teacher on its board. But over the years, her duties have branched out from teaching to encompass fundraising and even preparing food.

Shinsako has also become involved with more of the Japanese-American community by becoming a board member of J-Sei, a Berkeley-based organization focused on support for seniors.

To Shinsako, the importance of J-Sei and Sakura Kai is the opportunity for learning and socializing that the organizations provide seniors.

“We have a computer class, a ukulele class, line dancing, Japanese calligraphy, exercises classes, and more,” Shinsako said. “It keeps their mind active, they get to see their friends, they get to enjoy a good meal, and it provides them a place to gather.”

As a third-generation Japanese-American, Shinsako is not fluent in Japanese. But according to Sakura Kai volunteer Setsuko Doi, this has not hindered Shinsako from becoming a cherished volunteer in the eyes of the seniors. 

“She’s a leader and she gets things done,” Sakura Kai President Kimi Honda said. “She works very hard, and she’s very conscientious.” 

Hard work is a necessity for an elementary school teacher, but Shinsako’s colleagues say there was something magical about the way she ran her class and captivated her students. 

Shinsako began at Harding as a third-grade teacher, but after three years she left to focus her efforts on mothering her son. But when her son graduated from Harding, it was Jane Bartke who urged Shinsako to return to teaching.

After returning to Harding in 1985 as a long-term kindergarten substitute, Shinsako became a first-grade teacher, a position she fell in love with and held for the next two decades. 

“Teaching is one of the most creative professions possible—especially for elementary school,” Shinsako said. “You touch on so many different areas. You’re teaching children to read, you’re teaching math, history, various cultures, science—it’s never the same.”

This focus on creativity led Shinsako to keep silkworms in her class, cook green eggs and ham with her students, and grow a garden outside the classroom, and it is what her colleagues say set her apart from the crowd.

“She would fine-tune what she was doing to the needs of the class, and she would always look for projects that would fascinate the students,” fellow first-grade teacher Barbara McIntyre said. “She made learning really fun for a six-year-old.”

Having become a teacher at Harding in part thanks to Shinsako’s encouragement, McIntyre stressed Shinsako’s role as a mentor, and even more so, as a friend.

Even after formally retiring as a teacher seven years ago, Shinsako never truly left Harding. Every morning she volunteered at school to help struggling students to improve their reading, until this February when she stopped because of a disagreement with the principal. 

Shinsako’s passion and dedication are apparent simply from the way she talks about her years at Harding and the individual students she helped.

Her dedication to both Harding and Sakura Kai and her passion for helping others are the reasons second-grade teacher Alva Tamura nominated Shinsako for the Wall of Fame award. 

“She’s inspirational, not just to students, but to other teachers,” Tamura said. “She’s everything a teacher needs to be. I recognized that this award was fitting for someone who is synonymous with Harding School.”

Shinsako and fellow honoree Jane Bartke will be honored formally at a Wall of Fame induction ceremony on August 21. Their selection brings the total of honorees named to Wall to 19. Once inducted, the honorees' framed photos and commendations are placed on the wall of the foyer to the City Council chambers at . 

Correction: The original version of this story incorrection said Amy Shinsako volunteered after school at Harding. She volunteered in the mornings. It has been corrected.


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