Memorial Honors Beloved Teacher
L-Building lecture hall renamed in tribute to World Languages teacher Mr. Frakes.
In February 2019, Yucca Valley High School suffered a great loss when foreign languages teacher Mr. Frakes passed away after thirty-one years of service to the school. Faculty and students came together to find a way to honor him so nobody would ever forget how he changed lives here on campus. The L-Building lecture hall was recently renamed as the John W. Frakes, Jr. Memorial Hall to do just that.
Social Science teacher Mr. Bolt submitted a letter on behalf of the effort. Renaming the hall in Mr. Frakes’s honor, he said, will allow the school “to communicate our dedication to fairness, justice and service.”
Former YVHS student and current educator Chris Fleischman wrote enthusiastically that “sanctifying a space of learning with his namesake for future generations” was the perfect memorial to the teacher that had made such an influence on him.
The memorial allows YVHS “to communicate our dedication to fairness, justice and service.” — Mr. Bolt
Principal Monical summed it up the purpose of the memorial well, saying that Mr. Frakes was “a leader among his colleagues, an advocate for his students, and a champion for all that was good at YVHS.”
Science teacher Ms. Zacks helped coordinate the effort to memorialize her colleague and friend. Sitting down to discuss the process of dedicating the memorial, she opened up about the friendship she shared with Mr. Frakes, how he changed her teaching experience, and why it was important to preserve his memory.
What was your biggest motivation to start this project?
I’m not quite sure that there’s anything to say other than just how much I love John and how much I respected him, and how much kids loved him. He deserved it.
What was the process like?
It was actually pretty easy. There was a form that we had to fill in and submit to the district. We had to have three or four letters of support by colleagues, [or] community members. I had some time on my hands last year because I was doing independent study, and so I just sat down and did it. It was that simple.
“He was just always supportive and friendly and kind and sweet, and just very animated, and a fun teacher, too.” — Ms. Zacks
How did you come up with the idea to do something memorable for him?
It wasn’t just me. There was a number of us that were trying to think of how we wanted to honor him…it just came up amongst a number of people about naming the lecture hall after him. There was a group of people that had kind of talked it over.
How did Mr. Frakes impact your experience as a teacher here at Yucca Valley High School?
I think the biggest thing was just his kindness — to not only kids, but to his colleagues, to everyone. He was just always supportive and friendly and kind and sweet, and just very animated, and a fun teacher, too. Whenever I did get to observe him [in the classroom] he kept kids captivated. So he was a role model for me, for sure.
What was the goal you had in mind for this memorial?
I just wanted him to be remembered. Every time we say to the staff, “We’re meeting in Frakes Hall,” — every time we say that, we remember him. We all just wanted to make sure that he was always remembered. I was stunned when I saw it go up. [The finished product] was just stunning.
What’s something you would want to tell the people who didn’t have the privilege of knowing him?
He was just a kind, loving, energetic, friendly person who cared about everyone and everything about everyone. I’m not sure how.
Emily Kime is a senior at Yucca Valley High School, and a member of the Class of 2022.
