There are two types of students who have passed through Union City's Pioneer Elementary School over the past three decades: those who have had Adrienne Alexander for second grade, and those who haven't.
To the first group, Adrienne is well-known as the "Baseball Teacher." To the second group, she is simply known as one of the best teachers they ever had.
To the staff of the Oakland A's, Adrienne is both. It is why the team asked her to throw out the first pitch for Thursday's A's game versus the Los Angeles Angels. "She has done so much for her students," says Detra Paige, Director of Community Relations, "and so much for us."
Twenty years ago, Adrienne was among the first group of teachers to sign up with the A's new educational program, "Home Run Readers." If students fulfilled a few simple requirements (reading a certain amount every week and visiting a library once-a-month) the A's would provide tickets to an A's game for the entire class.
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Up until then, Adrienne admits, she wasn't much of a baseball fan. "I didn't play sports," Adrienne says, "I played 'teacher' with my friends. That's all I wanted to be."
After starting to incorporate baseball into her lesson plans, though, she saw what a powerful tool it was to motivate her students. "It works with kids," Adrienne says, "They like sports and if you're excited about something, they get excited about it."
Adrienne slowly began to tailor an entire curriculum around baseball. Every Wednesday in her classroom became "Baseball Wednesday." She uses baseball to teach math, reading, geography, and any other subject that needs a lesson plan. Her classroom is also filled, almost floor to ceiling, with any manner of baseball memorabilia and books.
This year, however, is Adrienne's last as a second grade teacher. After 38 years in the profession she is retiring.
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When the A's learned of her retirement, they wanted to do something special to honor Adrienne, which is why they asked her to throw out the first pitch.
Adrienne said no. She insisted that a student do the honors, which he did, throwing a strike to A's catcher Stephen Vogt.
