The Zehnder family has been an integral part of the Elk Grove community in agriculture, business and community services for nearly eight decades. The Zehnder Ranch was located along what are now Highway 99 and West Stockton Road, near what is now the Auto Mall. Alfred Zehnder purchased the property in 1939 and established a dairy there. Later, the property expanded to 210 acres and was sold to and
operated by his brother, Louis. Their sons, John and Louis Jr., and daughter Joanne, all attended Elk Grove schools and graduated from Elk Grove High School (Classes of 1945, 1946, 1952)
In 1961, John and his wife, Nancy and their sons, lived on the ranch. All seven of them are graduates of Elk Grove High School, and they all live in the Elk Grove area. In 1982, the dairy business ended, and the ranch was converted to a beef cattle operation. Later, the property was purchased for a school and for development. John Zehnder, Sr. has supported and contributed to the Elk Grove community for nearly 70 years. He and his wife Nancy are Elk Grove High School graduates, and so are all their sons, John Jr. (Linda), Tom (Nancy), Mike (Kathy), Dan (Richelle), Steve (Paula), Bryan (Colleen), and Paul (Shelly). All of the sons have pursued careers and raised their own families in Elk Grove, continuing their father and mother’s tradition of community involvement and passing it on to their children. All of the 23 grandchildren graduated from Elk Grove schools. Currently 6 of the 18 great-grandchildren attend Elk Grove schools. John, Sr. has tremendous loyalty and pride for Elk Grove. He is past president and lifetime member of the Elk Grove Lions Club which recognized him with the Melvin Jones Award. He has been an Elk Grove Fire Department volunteer for 43 years and was president of the Firemen’s Association. John Sr.’s love of sports is reflected in his active involvement with Elk Grove High School football for over 60 years operating the scoreboard clock during Thundering Herd home games. He has been president of the Elk Grove Softball Association; a Cub master for Boy Scouts of America; has coached Pop Warner, Little League, soccer and basketball; and helped start the Western Festival Parade. John is a member of the California Cattlemen’s Association and the Knights of Columbus. John served on the Board of Directors of First Security Bank of Elk Grove for 20 years, and was a member of the Cosumnes College Agricultural Board and the Northern California Peace Officer Association. He was named Elk Grove’s Citizen of the Year in 1969 and is in the Elk Grove High School Hall of Fame. Additional examples of the Zehnder family community involvement: John Zehnder, Jr. 15 a 34 year retired Elk Grove High School teacher and has coached football for 40 years; Dr. Tom Zehnder designed and developed the Franklin Ranch Pet Hospital which he currently owns; Mike Zehnder is a retired Battalion Chief after 36 years at the Elk Grove/Cosumnes Fire Department and his wife Kathy retired from the Office of the Superintendent after 36 years serving EGUSD; Mike and Kathy’s daughter, Kelly Zehnder-Olson is a counselor at Sheldon High School and her husband Jason Olson is and engineer at the Elk Grove/Cosumnes Fire Department; Mike and Kathy’s daughter Julie Zehnder Steffen is a teacher at Elitha Donner Elementary School and her husband Matthew Steffen is a teacher at Cosumnes Oaks High School; Mike and Kathy’s son-in-law Tim Lesher is a Fire Fighter/Paramedic at the Elk Grove/Cosumnes Fire Department; Dan Zehnder’s son, Scott, is an engineer at the Elk Grove/Cosumnes Fire Department; Dan’s son, Brandon, is an automotive technology teacher at Florin High School; Dan’s son, Tyler, is a teacher at Markofer Elementary School and his wife, Amanda, is a teacher at Carroll Elementary School; Dan’s daughter, Danelle Zehnder Smith, is a teacher at Elitha Donner; Steve Zehnder is a retired Captain at the Elk Grove/Cosumnes Fire Department; Bryan Zehnder is a current Captain at the Elk Grove/Cosumnes Fire Department and his wife Colleen is a teacher at Ellen Feickert Elementary School; Paul Zehnder is a current Battalion Chief at the Elk Grove/Cosumnes Fire Department. John Zehnder Sr. and his son, Mike, have been honored as Elk Grove’s Citizens of the Year and both currently serve on the Board of Directors of the Elk Grove Regional Scholarship Foundation. The contributions of the Zehnder family to the Elk Grove area will always be remembered at Zehnder Ranch Elementary School. Nondiscrimination Statement: The Elk Grove Unified School District (District) is committed to providing equal opportunity for all individuals in District programs and activities. District programs, activities, and practices shall be free from unlawful discrimination, including discrimination against an individual or group based on race, color, ancestry, nationality, national origin, immigration status, ethnic group identification, ethnicity, age, religion, marital status, pregnancy, parental status, physical or mental disability, s*x, s*xual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or genetic information; a perception of one or more of such characteristics; or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. For questions or complaints concerning student against student incidents, please contact: Dr. Bindy Grewal, Assistant Superintendent, PreK-6 Education/Title IX Coordinator - 9510 Elk Grove Florin Road, Elk Grove, CA 95624, (916) 686-7795 x 67149 | [email protected] or Chad Sweitzer, Assistant Superintendent, Secondary Education/Title IX Coordinator - 9510 Elk Grove Florin Road, Elk Grove, CA 95624, (916) 686-7795 x 67149 | [email protected]. For questions or complaints concerning employees, please contact: Elena Duenas, HR Compliance Coordinator/Title IX Coordinator - 9510 Elk Grove Florin Road, Elk Grove, CA 95624 | (916) 686-7795 x 67149 | [email protected] or [email protected]. For questions or complaints concerning Section 504, please contact: Don Ross, Director of Student Support and Health Services/504 Coordinator - 9510 Elk Grove Florin Road, Elk Grove, CA 95624, (916) 686-7568 | [email protected]. EGUSD Comment Policy
Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) welcomes the community’s contributions to its official page (e.g. post comments). This Facebook site intends to inform and engage with EGUSD students and their families, staff, residents and other interested persons to provide current and useful information regarding district programs, activities and operations. Such information shall be appropriate for both internal and external audiences. The intent of this policy regarding participation on EGUSD’S official page is to maintain a positive and informative flow of communication while protecting the privacy and rights of our community. With these aims in mind, posting on EGUSD’s official page constitutes acceptance of the following terms of use and protocols:
• Participants are encouraged to submit comments, questions and concerns; however, EGUSD’s official page is a moderated online discussion site that constitutes a limited forum, the contents of which are at the discretion and control of EGUSD;
• EGUSD will exercise its rights within the law to regulate speech within this limited forum on the official page;
• All posting of comments on this page are at the discretion of the EGUSD’s official page administrators;
• EGUSD’s official page administrators will review all postings to make sure they are appropriate, constructive and abide by EGUSD’s Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 1113 regarding internet access and practices;
• EGUSD official page administrators will not restrict speech on the basis of a disagreement with the opinion expressed;
• Once posted, the EGUSD official page administrators reserve the right to delete submissions that contain vulgar language, personal attacks of any kind, or offensive comments that target or disparage any ethnic, racial, gender or religious group; and
• EGUSD does not allow postings of photographs or videos by anyone other than by official page administrators or other specifically authorized EGUSD personnel. Further, EGUSD official page administrators also reserve the right to delete comments on the official page that:
• contain spam, advertising, solicitations or include links to other sites;
are clearly off topic, and/or disruptive;
• cause or are reasonably likely to cause substantial disruption to EGUSD’s educational environment or operations;
• are obscene, vulgar or s*xually explicit, including masked words (***), acronyms and abbreviations;
• violate a person’s privacy;
• abuse, harass, stalk, threaten violate the legal rights of others;
• are libelous or slanderous;
• are likely to incite students and create a clear and present danger to the operation of the schools;
• interfere with the educational mission of the EGUSD;
• are endorsements of any product, cause, political party, or political candidate, which are all forbidden;
• are chain letters, pyramid schemes or fraudulent or deceptive messages;
• promote particular services, products, or political organizations or campaigns;
• infringe on copyrights or trademarks;
• contain links to inappropriate websites;
• advocate illegal activity; and/or
• violate any EGUSD policies. Please note that the comments expressed on the EGUSD official page do not reflect the opinions and position of EGUSD or its employees. EGUSD thanks you in advance for your contributions to the official page, and for the help in creating a safe and vibrant online community. For more information, contact Communications at (916) 686-7732 or email the Communications Department: [email protected].
