Tony DeVille Sr. Memorialized at Marina Village

00:00 AM - November 01, 2018

Pictured (left to right): Tagg Neal, Rescue Union School District Board Member, and Tony DeVille Jr. cut the ribbon to dedicate the new building.

It was an idyllic fall evening at Marina Village Middle School on Monday, October 8, where educators, family, and the public gathered to remember an educator who made a profound impact on his students and the community. Tony DeVille Sr. passed away in March, and Rescue Union School District (RUSD) chose to dedicate their new two-story educational center to Tony for his contributions to the schools. During the ceremony, Superintendent Cheryl Olson expressed, “His life reminds us how important it is to think carefully about how we choose to live. Our lives impact others more than we may realize. Through the life of Tony DeVille Sr., I recognize we each truly can live our lives with integrity; we can each make a positive difference wherever we are, and in whatever position we have. We can hold ourselves accountable to be the best we can be and can live lives of love, passion, and service for others as Tony did.”

County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Ed Manansala, also spoke during the ceremony and said, “Tony DeVille Sr. helped shape this community’s belief and support of all children. Thank you to everyone involved in the dedication of this educational center.” 

Tony DeVille Sr. spent the greater part of five decades serving the students in the community. He started as principal at Jackson Elementary School in the 1975-76 school year and continued as a substitute teacher until he passed earlier this year. Heidi Hannaman, Field Representative for Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, and Trish Sweeney, Field Representative for Assemblyman Frank Bigelow, are well connected with the family and presented at the ceremony. Heidi noted, “Mr. DeVille was such a special person both personally and professionally. His impact on El Dorado County’s youth is immeasurable. As a former student, I was privileged to be at the building dedication and present his wonderful family with a Jt. Memorial Resolution from the California State Assembly.”

Trish added, “It was an honor to present the Joint Memorial Resolution to Mr. DeVille’s family. He was a pillar of the community and influenced so many young people over the years. We thank his family for his service to our youth.”

The new two-story complex of 12 innovative classrooms was made possible by tremendous community support provided by Serrano Development Mello Roos funds. The architect was Mitch McAllister from CA Design West, and the contractor was Carter Kelly Inc. Tony DeVille Jr., who has worked as an administrator for years and now serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources at the El Dorado Union High School District, noted, “It is fitting that a building housed on the grounds of a middle school has been named in honor of my dad as he did his best and most important work with middle school students. He was able to provide them with confidence, self-esteem, and support at a critical and difficult time in their lives: when they were trying to establish their own identities. This tribute is also fitting in that there is a sense of permanence to it. This building will outlast most of us and will to continue to honor my dad’s legacy for decades to come. Our family is honored that the Rescue Union School District has honored my dad in this way.”

The new building replaced several aging portable classrooms and was designed to enhance the already impressive campus. Marine Village Principal Levi Cambridge spoke with parents at and gave tours after the ceremony, “This building is so much more than just a beautiful structure and was crafted with one thing in mind, students. This focus on students was also Mr. Tony DeVille's focus when he served as the principal of this site. From the technology that allows digital creation and collaboration to the windows that are designed to provide natural lighting, everything is geared toward student success. Even the furniture is designed to help students focus and to encourage collaboration. Makerspace tools have been provided to encourage innovation, and there is one to one computer access in every room.”

Principal Cambridge added, “But more importantly than the equipment, we have filled this building with educators who are passionate about their subjects and the students they teach. This building has already seen robots being programmed, roller coasters designed and built, electric generating windmills created, mathematics competitions, and discussions about developing positive character traits and interpersonal relationships. Students are diving into and analyzing literature, making connections with world history, and receiving vital academic support. Our teachers are encouraging and inspiring Marina Village students to communicate, design, create, analyze, develop, and stretch themselves in ways that will help our them to become powerful contributors to our communities and nation. We are committed to doing more to remember Tony than to simply put his name on this beautiful building. We want to exemplify the qualities of this man who reached out to children to make a difference. We want the lives of those students who enter here to be changed in such positive ways that they go out from this building as forces for good in the world. It is in this way and for this purpose that we dedicate this building as the Tony DeVille, Senior, Complex.”

Nancy Brownell, Rescue Union School District Board President, expressed, "We on the Rescue Board are incredibly grateful to Tony and his family for his years of service and dedication to our students collectively and for several of us to our own children as well. His commitment to making a difference in the lives of so many students and families by developing our curiosity, character, and courage to accomplish great things for ourselves and others was remarkable."

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