From Rolling Stones to teaching

It was 20 years ago when Sunday Heppner decided she had enough.

“I went to the principal and told him that if I had another class like this I’d have to quit teaching,” she said. “I’d be a nervous wreck.”

Her class of third-graders at Gilbert Elementary in Buena Park was like a runaway train, she recalled. The kids were more than just rowdy: They were unmanageable, she said.

That was, until Heppner, a Huntington Beach resident, decided to take matters into her own hands.

“I knew I’d have to finish the year out with the children,” she said. “And the curriculum I was given to teach them was not working.”

So she decided to write up her own.

As a professional singer who once opened for the Rolling Stones before her career as a schoolteacher, Heppner naturally drew from her previous career to energize her students. She wrote jingles to get them singing, and had them snap their fingers and clap their hands to keep them active. She incorporated these activities into full-blown lesson plans, which she said were an instant hit.

“The kids just loved it,” Heppner said. “They could not get enough of it so I kept on writing and writing [lesson plans].”

Heppner saw so much success in the classroom that she wrote a book featuring her lesson plans, which she called “Creative Teaching for All.”

More than anything else, Heppner’s program focuses on bringing a positive, fun-filled environment to the classroom. After that, she said, everything seems to take care of itself.

“If children are enjoying what they’re doing, they’re going to have better test scores,” Heppner said.

“I think it makes sense,” said Nancy Rios, principal of Beatty Elementary in Buena Park, where Heppner now teaches second-graders. “We all know that when we find a task enjoyable we’re more likely to repeat it again. That’s certainly true of children.”

Heppner is the author of three books and has released DVDs for parents and teachers when it comes to keeping kids under control and learning effectively. Though Heppner’s lessons center on rhythm and movement, the results speak for themselves: She has seen a concerted improvement in her students’ standardized test scores over the years.

Heppner has been holding seminars throughout California and will be at the Newport Sports Museum from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Aug. 10.

Though she may eventually leave teaching if her company, Standard Based Teaching Revitalized, takes off in terms of business, the bubbly Heppner will always be a teacher at heart, hoping to inspire kids with her presence.

“[I want] to let them know that there’s something more,” she said. “There’s so much more that you can create for yourself.

“It’s my passion,” she said. “I truly believe that I was born to be a teacher.”

SUNDAY HEPPNER

 Performed on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand at 16.

 Originally from Yakima, Wash.

 Met Elvis Presley at 15.

 Enjoys ballroom dancing in her spare time.

 Has been teaching at Beatty Elementary in Buena Park for 14 years.