Jim Shipp, Neighbor

Jim Shipp is a third grade teacher at Bryn Mawr Elementary School in Loma Linda.  He&#39;s been teaching third grade since 1997, when he first became interested in local history.  Learning about the history of their local community is the main substance of Social Studies in California third-grade classrooms, but there is very little written for eight and nine-year olds on the subject.<br> <br> Jim began studying histories of the San Bernardino Valley, and adapting the information there for his students.  He has created a printed curriculum in newspaper format, called &#34;Valley Times&#34;, which is used by all the third grade classes at Bryn Mawr.  He participated in a statewide website-creating project, building a website about Loma Linda and area history.  It can be seen at http://rims.k12.ca.us/foot_prints/index.html.  The site is hosted by the state of California, hence the bureaucratic web address.<br> <br> In 1999 Jim was appointed to the Loma Linda Historical Commission, which oversees historic preservation in the city.  For the last eight years, Jim has chaired the Commission.  The group also plans and presents a yearly History Fair, which spotlights the history of the valley from Native American villages to the present.  Last May the City celebrated the bicentennial of the naming of the San Bernardino Valley with events at the Loma Linda Senior Center, Main Fire Station, and the new Heritage Park on Mission Road.<br> <br> In 2005 the Historical Commission published its first book, entitled Loma Linda, published by Arcadia Publishing as part of the Images of America series.  Jim is also president of the Loma Linda Parks and Historical Society, which has lobbied for the protection of the Loma Linda South Hills Preserve, a 1700 acre wildland park in the south hills of Loma Linda.  The Society also is pursuing development of a museum and historical archives in Heritage Park on Mission Road.<br> <br> Jim is married to Faith Shipp, also a teacher and author.  He has three adult sons, a writer, a biologist, and an actor, who live in the area.