Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/587184
Dale Kennedy sadly surveys the playing fields at Grant Elementary School, part of Kings Canyon School District in Fresno County. The once-green fields have turned brown and dusty. In the distance are farm fields that lie fallow and irrigation ditches filled with cracks and weeds instead of water. Smoke fills the air from the Rough Fire raging in the hills of Fresno County, which spread rapidly from bone-dry conditions. School staff and community members from "the hills" who have begun to evacuate to the lowlands drive past the school. By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Photography by Scott Buschman Dale Kennedy touches bone-dry dirt at Grant Elementary; the school's once-green baseball field. Devastating ripple effect on communities, schools and students 26 cta.org F E A T U R E BROWN IS THE NEW GREEN