Lone Star Elementary School

Lone Star Elementary School is located at 2617 S. Fowler Avenue, Fresno, California 93725 between Jensen Ave. and North Ave. Part of Sanger Unified School District, with Grades K-6 (formally K-8), the school is attended by 530 students.

Influence on "Outsiders" film

Librarian, Jo Ellen Misakian wrote a letter, in 1980, to Francis Coppola. She told him that the students and faculty of her school wanted him to make a movie from a book they all loved very much, "The Outsiders", by S. E. Hinton. Jo Ellen, was not sure of the director's current address, so she sent the letter, along with a copy of the book and a petition signed by the youngsters, to the New York offices of Paramount Pictures. This was the studio that had produced two of Coppola's best-known films, The Godfather and its sequel. Missives such as this often get lost, but this one didn't. It was duly forwarded to Coppola's Zoetrope Studios in Los Angeles and, lo and behold, actually read. Not only read, but investigated by the director's long-time associate Fred Roos. Mr. Roos learned that the book was a bestseller in the field of adolescent literature and was taught in school systems throughout the country. It was dear to the hearts of thousands of school children, as well as their parents and teachers, but only the kids at Lone Star did something to see it transformed into another medium. One thing led inevitably to another, and two years later Francis Coppola began filming The Outsiders in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A long talent search had preceded the selection of a cast he considered one of his finest ever, and all, with one exception, under twenty years of age. The best known were Matt Dillon and Leif Garrett, who played poor boy and rich boy respectively, and Diane Lane, who took the only substantive role for a girl. Seventeen-year-old Darren Dalton, from Albequerque, New Mexico, and Michelle Meyrink of Vancouver, British Columbia, made their professional debuts, but all of the others were experienced: C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez and Tom Cruise.

"The Outsiders" is proof that kids can make a difference. [ [http://www.zoetrope.com/zoe_films.cgi?page=films&action=show_one&film_id=25 "The Outsiders" comes to the screen through school petition] ]

Other achievements

More recently, Lone Star Elementary School "was selected as a 2006 California Distinguished School." [ [http://teacherweb.com/CA/SangerLoneStar/Principal/SDHP1.stm Lone Star Elementary School] ] In 2008, Lone Star Elementary school was recognized by The Bonner Center for Character Education at California State University with a Virtues and Character Recognition Award. [ [http://www.fresnostatenews.com/2008/04/CharacterEdAwards.htm Sanger, Clovis schools top list of Character Education Awards] (April 17, 2008).]

References

External links

* [http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/ca/943 Lone Star Elementary School]
* [http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/dqreports.asp?cdstype=S&cdscode=10624146007173 Lone Star Elementary - Reports]