Sunset Stories
Nicki McMahan: From Kindergarten to High School, Sunset School Was a 'Great School to Attend'
It's funny how memory works. Sometimes it's not a specific incident or occurrence that sparks a memory, but senses like touch, sounds and even smells that are tied to memories.
That was the case with Nicki McMahan, who is one of a handful of Carmel residents who attended the Sunset School from kindergarten through high school (save for one year at Santa Catalina School), graduating with 150 other seniors in 1960. Her mother, Helen Wilson, a co-founder of the Carmel Heritage Society, attended Sunset School in the 1920's.
McMahan recalls an astounding amount of detail about a school she left 66 years ago, from where specific classrooms were located and who taught in them in the current Sunset Community and Cultural Center (or simply Sunset Center), to what events were held there and which classmates who became prominent Carmel citizens.
For example, she remembers the sound of children singing carols walking down the aisles during the annual Christmas pageant held in the auditorium (now the Sunset Center Theater); where each of the school's playgrounds were located (boys, girls and kindergarteners) and what condition they were in (the boys playground was basically a large dirt field, she recalls), and the smells seemingly still emanating from what is now Carpenter Hall.
"Until a few years ago it was almost as if you could smell the cafeteria food when you walked into Carpenter Hall," says McMahan about the current meeting hall facing Mission Street on the east side of the center.
When asked if elements of the school are still recognizable, she says "Absolutely. The classrooms around the upper patio, we all know. 'That's where (teacher) Mrs. Ray was or that's where Mrs. Sproull taught. The kindergarten room — now the yoga room — we all know that. And on the Mission Street side, they were all classrooms. It's basically the same place."
McMahan left Carmel after she graduated and attended Stanford (with four other classmates) majoring in history, but returned full-time in 1974, and is currently living in the same house she grew up in Carmel.
But she took a roundabout way to return to the town where she grew up (she was born in Berkeley). After getting her master's degree in elementary education at Stanford, she met and married her husband Mick, lived and taught in southern California and New York City, returned to Berkeley for a few years, had a daughter Michel (pronounced "Mi-kel") and found her way back to the city by the sea.
She became the first Director of Development at Santa Catalina School, then in 1983 she and educator/tutor Judy Lewis co-founded the Chartwell School, a small independent, nonprofit school dedicated to students with learning differences such as dyslexia.
Starting with eight students, two teachers and a small board, Chartwell School, with a current enrollment averaging around 160 students, has become one of the most respected learning institutions of its kind, helping — and in many cases, saving — hundreds of children. With the right educational approach these bright, creative students have gone on to college and successful careers, lives that Chartwell has helped make possible.
And this year, Chartwell established the Nicki McMahan Founder's Award, which honors students whose journey reflects extraordinary growth, perseverance, self-advocacy, and steady determination.
That could even describe McMahan's own educational journey and extraordinary growth. Her husband Mick has been involved with Chartwell for more than 40 years, including as a board member. And she doesn't seem to recognize the word "retirement." She's still involved with Chartwell.
She says she's looking forward to all the centennial celebrations, both the school and the center, that are upcoming and hopes to see displays of vintage photos and share stories with fellow students.
"Sunset School was just so fun because you knew everybody and it really was the center of the town," she says about the school's close ties with the community, including a close relationship with the hometown newspaper, the Pine Cone, which covered the school extensively. "Carmel was a great place to grow up and Sunset was a great school to attend. Our teachers were wonderful, instilling a joy for learning and inspiring me to become an educator."