 |
| David M. Sato |
David Masashi Sato (Poston 229-11-B) was born on August 9, 1938 on a farm near what is now Mather Airport near Rancho Cordova, California. He was the youngest of nine children born to Japanese immigrant parents, John Shinji and Mary Tomomi Sato.
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, his family was forcibly evacuated to the Pinedale Assembly Center. After a few months, they were transported by railroad to the Arizona desert and finally arrived to their desert living quarters on July 22, 1942 at the Poston internment camp block 229-11-B. His sister, Kiyo Sato, was fortunate to leave Poston early on October 7, 1942 to attend college in Hillsdale, Michigan. His brother, Sanji located employment in Hillsdale, Michigan and left Poston on August 18, 1943. The rest of his family left Poston together on April 11, 1944 and went to Keenesburg, Colorado to farm.
After the end of World War II, the Sato family was able to return to their home, and David attended the Edward Kelly School on Bradshaw Road, graduated from Sacramento High School and California State University, Sacramento.
David Sato devoted more than 43 years as an educator at Cordova Gardens Elementary School, Mitchell Jr. High School and Rancho Cordova Elementary School. He was the founder of a 5th and 6th grade summer camp at Redwood Glen in the Coastal Redwoods. He also developed a reading program at Mitchell Middle School for remedial students; was a facilitator for an intervention program at Cordova High School; developed both physical geography and cultural geography courses for the Sacramento County Office of Education. He also taught an all boys 6th grade class, bringing in an automobile engine for the boys to dismantle as a project, and was a "Tough Love" facilitator at Cordova High.
David Sato was presented the Gold Award by the Capitol Service Center Council of the California Teachers Association in 1983, and the George Beck Award for Community Service in 1986 by the Folsom Cordova PTA Council. David Sato died on August 13, 2008.
Source: http://www.indedicationof.com/DavidSato/AboutMe.aspx
