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When it comes to education and kids in Fremont, there is no job
too big or too small for the lanky, bespectacled husband and father of
two.
In addition to his planetarium work, which is ongoing, Salvaggio
is a volunteer at Maloney Elementary School; works on three education-related
wetlands projects in the city; and teaches a class at the Math/Science
Nucleus, a Fremont-based non-profit organization that helps local schools
with science, math and technology studies.
``He never seems to run out of energy; he always has time to do
anything,'' said Linda Garbarino, director of instructional services for
the Fremont Unified School District. ``He's there, he sees it, he does
it.''
Salvaggio, 47, leads what he considers a charmed existence, teaching
children about math, science and technology -- subjects he loves.
``I enjoy what I do. . . . It feels good, it feels right, it's
an appropriate use of my lifetime,'' said Salvaggio, who speaks passionately
about his involvement at a mile-a-minute clip.
Until about a decade ago, Salvaggio and his wife, Francine, were
a two-career, childless couple. He was a real estate broker and commercial
appraiser. Salvaggio said he was hustling all the time in the stressful
real estate business.
But when the Salvaggios had the first of their two children, they decided
one of them would stay home. In what is becoming a more common choice,
Michael Salvaggio stays at home with their two children and Francine Salvaggio
continues to work as an oncology nurse.
He could have spent his free time tinkering and surfing the Internet
on his computers -- he has a PC and an Apple. Instead, he threw himself
into volunteer work, starting with his children's classrooms at Maloney.
From there, Salvaggio branched out all over the Fremont Unified
School District. At the Math/Science Nucleus, he teaches an Internet class
and takes kids on field trips.
An avid camper, outdoorsman and environmentalist, Salvaggio also is
involved with the Stivers Lagoon, Laguna Creek and Tule Marsh wetlands
projects in the city.
With the Math/Science Nucleus, Salvaggio co-founded an Adopt-A-Wetland
environmental program, which seeks to develop a connection between students
and local wetlands. With support from Xerox Corp., he developed a field
guide that students can use to identify plants and animals.
Underlying his efforts are an unbridled enthusiasm and a sense of humor.
``Bill Nye, the Science Guy, and Miss Frizzle from the Magic School
Bus are some of my heroes,'' Salvaggio said. ``Those two and Steve Martin.''
When he teaches a class at the Math/Science Nucleus, Salvaggio
often dons a white lab coat with the name ``Prof. Salvaggio'' and several
plastic bugs attached to it, and cracks jokes with the students.
``He's just fun to be around,'' said Brandon Amaro, a 15-year-old
Irvington High School student who has assisted in cataloging the 3,000
Hopkins planetarium slides. Brandon and Mission San Jose High School student
Bill Manegold, 15, another planetarium volunteer, agreed that Salvaggio
would be a cool science teacher.
Salvaggio gives much of the credit to his wife, who works the
late-night shift at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley. Without her moral
support, he said, he would not be able to devote a tenth of the time that
he does to his volunteer endeavors.
``I can't complain,'' Francine Salvaggio said. ``We often think
we're so lucky.''
She isn't sure who has the better deal out of their marriage.
She loves her job and is assured that their two daughters are taken care
of when she's at work. At the same time, they are showing their kids that
a man and a woman can do anything.
While she has a good-natured attitude about her husband's volunteerism,
she isn't beyond kidding him at times about his commitment.
Recently, when Michael Salvaggio was talking to a neighbor about
the planetarium project, Francine Salvaggio quipped: ``I'm not a golf widow,
I'm a planetarium widow.'' |
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