DC SCORES: Service-learning

Showing posts with label Service-learning. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

You helped kids create change on Do More 24!

UPDATE: Thank you to all of our donors for helping us raise $11,046 during Do More 24! Scroll to the bottom to see our high five list of everyone that contributed!

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Today is Do More 24, the biggest day of giving in the DC area for more than 700 local nonprofits. This is a day to celebrate and support the hundreds of incredibly important causes in the region, and we hope you'll support DC SCORES to help us achieve our goal of $10,000 raised during 24 hours!

We're so inspired by the desire to help create change in the community from all of our DC SCORES participants. During the spring SCORES season, we've witnessed a wide variety of service-learning projects including toy making for local animal shelters, educational skits for parents, healthy lifestyle awareness campaigns, Barnard Elementary School holding a march for immigrants' rights, and many, many more!

Please help kids create change with a gift today, Thursday, June 8!

As with each giving day we participate in, we understand the impact of every single donation. To show this, we will track and update the list of donor High Fives below during the 24 hours! We will also give shout-outs on Twitter and Facebook throughout the day! You can CLICK TO TWEET, too.

High Fives List!, time
Dahna Goldstein, 11:48pm
Heather Copeland, 11:31pm
Melanie Fineman, 11:31pm
John Lloyd, 11:28pm
Martin Palacios, 11:23pm
Emily Schulman, 11:12pm
Anonymous, 11:10pm
Heidi Hochstetler, 11:06pm
James Armold, 11:02pm
Maryann Jacobsen, 10:45pm
John Guzman, 10:22pm
Kelsi Moran, 10:16pm
Emma Peterson, 10:04pm
Phillip Knight, 10:00pm
Carlos Fonseca, 9:47pm
Aleta Greer, 9:31pm
Katherine Makris, 9:30pm
Madeline Harrington, 9:14pm
Cal Klausner, 9:09pm
Stanley Kober, 9:04pm
Ryan Kelley, 8:56pm
Simon Landau, 8:42pm
Nick DiMarco, 8:39pm
Launa Hochstetler, 8:35pm
Leah Hochstetler, 8:34pm
Mary and Terry Fairbanks, 8:25pm
John Kemp, 8:24pm
Felix Lloyd, 8:22pm
Christina Tunison, 8:21pm
Sharon Plonsker, 8:19pm
Judith Kemp, 8:14pm
Jessica Rosen, 8:08pm
Shayna Tivona, 8:06pm
Jesse B. Rauch, 8:05pm
Martha Kirk Richardson, 8:03pm
Greg Sisson, 8:02pm
Chester Pennock, 7:55pm
Anonymous, 7:51pm
Jacqui Kemp, 7:50pm
Andrea Custis, 7:48pm
Dimi Venkov, 7:47pm
Mary Kusler, 7:46pm
Anonymous, 7:40pm
Angel Horacek, 7:38pm
Beth Hofer, 7:30pm
Greg James, 7:26pm
Daniel Henderson, 7:24pm
Lucas Eckman, 7:21pm
Anonymous, 7:16pm
David Owens, 7:13pm
Zach Warren, 6:48pm
Kemba Ford, 6:43pm
Sharyn Sutton, 6:41pm
Ignacio Stearns, 6:38pm
Aya Takeuchi, 6:28pm
Anonymous, 6:04pm
Charlie Davis, 6:00pm
Nigel Stacey, 5:59pm
Jacqui Kemp, 5:59pm
Jeremy Rupp, 5:58pm
Sara Kushma, 5:56pm
John Lingerfelt, 5:54pm
Lily Goldstein, 5:53pm
Kelly Sheehan, 5:51pm
Jeffrey Koung, 5:47pm
David Sheon, 5:39pm
Chloe Doto, 5:33pm
Rob Freeman, 5:27pm
Marisa Joelson, 5:27pm
Will Sutton, 5:19pm
Sunithi Hindagolla, 5:14pm
Brian Sanker, 5:13pm
Anonymous, 5:05pm
Karen Sutton, 5:03pm
Anne Copeland, 5:03pm
Nicholas Poitras, 5:02pm
David Goodwin, 5:00pm
James Frison, 4:58pm
Bob and Patty Watkins, 4:46pm
Lauren Bateman, 4:45pm
Chris Richardson, 4:43pm
Sean Hinkle, 4:36pm
Joshua McGee, 4:33pm
Samuel Healy, 4:26pm
Elizabeth Watkins, 4:25pm
Tony Francavilla, 4:24pm
Jess Trevelyan, 4:21pm
Deeana Klepper, 4:19pm
Traci Lee, 4:19pm
Michael Riggins, 4:17pm
CJ Trevelyan, 4:17pm
Peña Madridista, 4:13pm
Ella Trevelyan, 4:13pm
Anonymous, 4:13pm
Emma Okpych, 4:12pm
Christine Okpych, 4:10pm
Stu Trevelyan, 4:09pm
Geoffrey Okpych, 4:09pm
Laura Straus, 4:07pm
Tim and Kathy Hinkle, 4:07pm
Marie Okpych, 4:07pm
Walter Okpych IV, 4:05pm
Rachel Klepper, 4:01pm
Ronya Corey, 4:00pm
Alyson Blair, 3:59pm
Noelle Gires, 3:44pm
Carl Cohen, 3:32pm
Julie Anne Rogers, 3:13pm
Barbara Penzner, 3:03pm
Alyssa Sheinbaum, 2:49pm

Stephanie Dencik, 2:25pm
Julia Thayer, 2:31pm
Sara Sutton, 2:18pm
Dahlia Chaudhury, 2:12pm
Adam Rubinfield, 2:07pm
Anonymous, 2:04pm
Tim Swartzendruber, 1:59pm
Christopher Verbeck, 1:57pm
Jason Finney, 1:57pm
Alexandra Tilsley, 1:25pm
Elaine Lu, 1:25pm
Anthony Piccari, 1:05pm
Jack Reagan, 1:04pm
Jessica Scheer, 12:38pm
Melani Robinson, 12:23pm
Emily Kruger, 11:57am
Chris Bellmyer, 11:48am
Jocelyn Potts, 11:48am
Dori Hazan, 11:47am
Susana Hill, 11:38am
Allison Brown, 11:37am
Jessica Trevelyan, 11:33am
Holly O'Donnell, 11:22pm
Sarah Helinek, 11:16am
Anonymous, 11:16am
Lee Goldstein, 11:14am
Alex Collins, 11:07am
Cheryl Gregory, 10:51am
Ed Lohmeyer, 10:44am
Gerald Andriole, 10:42am
Joseph Heilman, 10:33am
Hafid Dumet, 10:30am
Amy Nakamoto, 10:22am
Dawn Loper, 10:10am
Faisal AlBanna, MD, 10:01am
Steve Petros, 10:00am
Andrew Guild, 9:56am
Gerald Prado, 9:41am
Rachel Storey, 9:35am
Anonymous, 9:34am
Anonymous, 9:33am
Courtney Smith, 9:26am
Elaine Walizer, 9:19am
Michael McRae, 9:18am
Gabby Albanna, 9:17am
Perry Smith, 9:14am
Sandy Jumonville Brown, 9:10am
Robert Warshaw, 9:02am
Mary Kennedy, 9:00am
Kristin Foti, 8:44am
Casey Forgey, 8:17am
Joshua Freedholm, 8:17am
Erich Walizer, 8:08am
Joshua Coolidge, 8:00am
Tim Preotle, 7:59am
Kelly Harley, 7:58am
David Crespo, 7:45am
Lorena Palacios, 7:38am
Karen Lovitch, 7:23am
David Eli Owens, 7:18am
Kuang Li, 7:18am
Kenneth Owens, 7:17am
Katrina Owens, 7:15am
Jennifer Oxley, 7:07am
Deb Buch, 7:02am
Anne H. Woodworth, 6:54am
Bethany Henderson, 6:54am
Patricia Zebrowski, 6:45am
Stevie Smith, 6:44am
Brian Wright, 6:44am
Mary Ann Badavi, 6:18am
Zach Straus, 6:00am
Steph Wolfram, 6:00am
Jake Lloyd, 6:00am
Alexandra Hyman, 6:00am
Melissa Surette, 4:01pm (6/5)
Anya and Mike Ruben, 5:25pm (6/1)
Jake Lloyd, 2:45pm (5/30)

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Spring SCORES with the Tigers, Part VIII: Wrapping up for Jamboree!

This spring, we are following Amidon-Bowen's season highlighting their service-learning project, but also attending games and soccer practices. The Tigers are located in Southwest D.C. in Ward 6. You can follow along on Twitter and Instagram. Check out Parts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, and VII of the mini series.

Written by Lorena Palacios
Communications Intern

In the final edition of our series with the Tigers, I got the chance to hear from the kids and coaches how successful Fight 4 Fitness was in their community, as well as hang out with them at Jamboree!.

During soccer practice and service-learning, there seemed to be a certain level of excitement in the air knowing that Jamboree! was only a few days away. The time the Tigers spent outside playing soccer was very free-flowing and lively, truly just playing for the love of the game. As the school year comes to an end soon, one of the second grade classes came out to practice to see what was in store for them next year as third graders when they become a part of DC SCORES.

Going into service-learning time, I was so excited to find out how their Fight 4 Fitness campaign went and check out the poster they were working on that showcased their project.

It is obvious how much these kids love to put their creative skills to use! The poster was super colorful with drawings the Tigers made of their favorite fruits and vegetables, pictures of them going out to grocery stores, and talking to their peers about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Their next task was to create captions for their pictures to explain what happening during that captured moment, but Coach Lee added the challenge of writing the caption in five words or fewer. It can be hard to write so little about something you love so much, but the Amidon-Bowen students crushed the challenge like always.

Everything was ready for the big day... JAMBOREE!

When I met up with the Tigers during the spring season celebration, their levels of excitement and happiness were through the roof! They were so thrilled to share their service-learning project, as well as see what the other DC SCORES teams worked on during the season.

It was such a great sight to see everyone enjoy such a truly special day. Coach Carlos, Coach Lee, and Coach Pecot looked so proud watching their team compete with other schools on the field. There was so much support from the kids as they cheered on their teammates during the games.

I will always be super grateful for the opportunity I had to work with all of the kids and the coaches that were always a pleasure to work with. My days were better whenever I had the chance to hang out at Amidon-Bowen.

There honestly could not have been a better way to wrap up spring SCORES with the Tigers. Their hard work on and off the field paid off in amazing ways by creating change in their community. Fight 4 Fitness was more than just an awareness campaign, it was the first step toward a healthier lifestyle for the rest of their lives.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Barnard Elementary School marches for immigrants' rights

Written by Hannah Ehlers
Barnard writing coach

“Build bridges, not walls!” was a popular chant at Barnard’s immigration rally last week. For their service-learning project, the DC SCORES Barnard Bears marched to nearby Grant Circle, chanting supportive slogans and holding up their handmade signs. Students’ signs read “America is best together!” and “Love trumps hate!” Neighbors waved and clapped and cars slowed and honked as two dozen third-fifth grade students marched past. The Barnard Bears got their message across: immigrants are welcome here.

In the weeks prior to the rally, I guided the Barnard student-athletes through the service-learning process. As their service-learning coach, I was eager to see the direction they would choose to take. We began by looking closely at their community, examining its positive and negative aspects. As a class, we discussed what the students appreciate -- the friendliness of neighbors, the multiculturalism. And we discussed what they thought should change -- the amount of trash on the streets, the violence. Students focused particularly on discrimination based on race and ethnicity. Several students expressed how many of their immigrant friends and family feel scared and unwelcome as a result of the current political climate and its real-life manifestations.

We then researched and learned about the history of immigration in the United States, the immigrant communities of Washington, DC, and we read about Mayor Muriel Bowser’s new legal defense fund for undocumented immigrants. We discussed the many reasons that people immigrate to this country and shared some of our own families’ immigration stories. The DC SCORES Barnard Bears come from all over the world, from El Salvador and Nigeria, from Eritrea and Guatemala, from Mexico and beyond. Finally, the Bears voted on and chose as their project title, “Keep the American Dream Alive.”

Now it was time for action! The Barnard Bears knew they wanted to help make everyone in the community feel safe and welcome, but how exactly would they do it? The poet-athletes brainstormed and decided that they would hold a rally to show support for immigrants. They had seen protests and rallies in the news and understood that it could be an effective way to create change. Together, the class decided on their project plan -- we would choose a location and date for the rally; we would write letters to the principal and school community to tell them all about our plans; we would create posters and write speeches; and when the day of the rally came, we would document it so that we could further spread our message on social media.

Finally, rally day was here! The students lined up with their posters and began the march to Grant Circle. Once we arrived at the circle, some of the students gave mini-speeches. Dairelynn declared, “No matter where you are from, we are glad you are our neighbor!” In unison, Brian and Cordell yelled, “We support immigrants!” Cars honked in encouragement and passersby smiled and waved. I asked how the students were feeling; they felt powerful and heard. No one could deny their message.

The Bears returned to the school chanting, “Barnard welcomes everyone!”

Monday, May 8, 2017

Spring SCORES with the Tigers, Part IV: Pledging against gun violence

Written by Dahlia Chaudhury
Communications Intern

Last week the Amidon-Bowen Tigers were in high spirits for programming Monday.

As usual, the poet-athletes began outside for soccer practice. Coach Lee started the practice with dribbling and footwork exercises, in the hopes of helping the students gain confidence on the field. Next, they did some 1 v 1 drills and then finished practice with a little scrimmaging. Several kids got the opportunity to try playing goalie.

Then it was service-learning time! As part of their project Fight 4 Fitness, students focused last week on either a poem, story, or play about how they have been affected by gun violence and how detrimental guns are to living in a healthy, happy community.

When coach Pecot gathered everyone together, their writing complete, the students shared with each other about how they had heard guns, seen guns, and had family members affected by guns.

Finally, the whole class, teachers included, recited a pledge against gun violence:

The Pledge

I will never bring a gun to school;

I will never use a gun to settle a personal problem or dispute;

I will use my influence with my friends to keep them from using guns to settle disputes.

My individual choices and actions, when multiplied by those of young people throughout my city, will make a difference.

Together, by honoring this pledge, we can reverse the violence and grow up in safety.

After reciting, the students all signed their pledges as a measure of accountability, and returned them to Coach Pecot. The lesson was an important one that the students will highlight in their posters for their fitness expo to wrap up their service-learning project.

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Spring SCORES with the Tigers, Part III: Rainy days and surveys

Written by Dahlia Chaudhury
Communications Intern

It was a dreary Monday, and there had been little stopping the drizzle all day. The Amidon-Bowen Tigers did not let that keep them from learning, though.

Instead of having practice outside, the Tigers all filed in to Coach Lee's classroom for an indoor soccer lesson. Coach Lee and Coach Carlos talked to the poet-athletes about their work and effort in practice, and how that can affect the outcome of games. Afterward, students reviewed positions and roles on the field.

Next, Coach Lee stepped up the indoor practice by taking the students upstairs to run laps with the track team. After 6-8 laps, the students were red-faced, breathing heavily and ready to begin service-learning.

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Once settled with Coach Pecot, the service-learning lesson began; they were covering the process of creating and using surveys. First, Coach Pecot wrote a survey about smoking on the board for the students to complete. After practicing answering questions, the students brainstormed, in small groups, questions that they could ask their school community regarding their health habits.

The coaches encouraged the students to think outside of yes or no questions. Some students created questions that had answers from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Others thought free response questions could give them more information on the respondent.

One student, Ryan J., told me he wanted to ask, "Do you like junk food? Do you want to stay healthy? When you eat do you have all 5 food groups on your plate?" He thought that people would be more likely to take the survey and finish it if the questions had yes or no answers.

By the end of the session, the students had made great progress in determining the best way to gauge community members' attitudes about healthy living and how they can encourage fitness for all. Fight 4 Fitness is well on its way to being a very successful service-learning project!

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Spring SCORES means service-learning across Washington, DC

Written By Dahlia Chaudhury
Communications Intern

Service-learning is a integral part of the DC SCORES curriculum, and we're always excited when spring rolls around and students begin their projects. To kick off the new season we've compiled some of our best service-learning stories and videos to give you an idea of what students will be tackling this spring.

“We don’t just play soccer. We can help other people in our community, too.”

-William P., H.D. Cooke

1. Imagine Hope creates a school garden out of recycled soda bottles

Last spring, Imagine Hope Tolson took advantage of their school-wide recycling program by saving bottles and creating a garden out of them. Students cut the bottles and filled them with soil and flowers to add some greenery to their school which is surrounded by asphalt. They also walked around the community and cleaned up several blocks. Imagine Hope students were joined in service by, among others, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade alumni who had stayed connected to the program through coach Jerome Clemons and the Classroom Champions nonprofit that he also ran at the school; Steve Mesler, the head of Classroom Champions, and dozens of Olympic athletes from the Team USA Athletes Advisory Council; James Cole Jr., the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education; and a U.S. Senator, Adrian Smith of Nebraska.

“Literally, you can turn any space or any item possibly into a little green outside garden,” Clemons said.

You can read the full story here.

2. Raymond Education Campus plans a Healthy Living Carnival

In 2014 the Raymond Tigers successfully held a Healthy Living Carnival for their peers. The students split into committees, each of which planned and executed a booth. Committees taught students to work as a team to complete their project. The carnival was a success and students had a great time running their own booths.

You can read the full story here.

3. Truesdell cleans up their school community

The Truesdell Trojans took on cleaning up the trash in their school buildings for their 2015 service project. Like Raymond, they used the committee method to approach their project. They also made their project into a school-wide competition by offering a prize to whichever class picked up the most trash in their hallway.

There is an entire blog/video series on Truesdell's project. Check it out here.

4. Thomson addresses hunger in their community

Thomson Elementary School students used the research portion of service-learning to find out about hunger in Washington D.C. When they realized that 1 in 3 kids in D.C. doesn't have enough food, they decided to try and help solve this problem. Students created bags of trail mix to donate to D.C. Central Kitchen to give hungry children the right nutrients to help them succeed. They didn't stop there, though. Thomson students also wrote letters to DC councilmembers about the issue.

Read the full story here.

5. H.D. Cooke fights homelessness

H.D. Cooke began its service-learning process by looking at what would be beneficial to their community. Some students wrote down trash, while others saw homelessness as an issue plaguing their community. The Bulls visited Martha's Table to learn more about their issue and to get ideas on how they could tackle it. The students were able to reflect on the experience after, and many felt empowered by being able to help people.

6. Lincoln Middle School cleans the Anacostia River

Watch this major throwback video from 2011 of Lincoln Middle School's service-learning project to clean the Anacostia River. Students created a campaign to spread awareness about how dirty the river was and then took action to address the problem.

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At the end of the spring season as part of the reflection phase of service-learning, students create a poster to be displayed at Jamboree! that shows their service project. These are just a few examples of the awesome posters.

Monday, May 30, 2016

DC SCORES service-learning: Imagine Hope creates school garden out of recycled soda bottles

Written by Jake Lloyd
Communications Manager

Ever since Jerome Clemons arrived at Imagine Hope Community Charter School’s Tolson campus four years ago and began coaching DC SCORES in the fall of 2013, he and his teams of Soaring Eagles — the school’s mascot — have had to improvise.

The school, which sits on Edgewood Street NE nearly on top of the train tracks that head south downtown and north to Silver Spring, Md., has no green space. Literally, nothing. When walking out the doors on either the south or north side of the building, a visitor is greeted with asphalt.

Now what can kids do on a plot of hard ground that basically resembles a parking lot? Well, you should have been at the school the afternoon of Friday, May 20, for the culmination of Imagine Hope’s DC SCORES service-learning project.

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There, on that blacktop, were dozens of third- through fifth-grade DC SCORES kids creating a garden of recycled bottles. They’d poke holes in every bottle — 2-liters, 20-ouncers, larger jugs, you name it — then fill them with soil and flowers. The portable plants would then be passed on to receive water before finally being set down with the others along a fence.

Over the course of a couple hours, an innovative, soda bottle garden was born.

How popular was this event? Well, the Imagine Hope students were joined in service by, among others: sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade alumni who have stayed connected to the program through Clemons and the Classroom Champions nonprofit that he also runs at the school; Steve Mesler, the head of Classroom Champions, and dozens of Olympic athletes from the Team USA Athletes Advisory Council; James Cole Jr., the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education; and a U.S. Senator, Adrian Smith of Nebraska.

During two hours of after-school time, the mix of people from various backgrounds worked as if they’d been teambuilding for years to create a garden and also clean up several blocks of the surrounding neighborhood. Teams were color-coded, with the orange, purple and red clean squads returning to the school with heavy bags of trash.

This was all after the kids got a chance to network with the Olympians, asking various athletes all about their distinguished careers and receiving loads of advice. And it was after the kids, with Cole Jr. and Smith’s assistance, raised and affixed a United States flag for the first time outside their school building and sang God Bless America.

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Imagine Hope has come a long way in Clemons’ three years coaching DC SCORES. First, the program brought a soccer team to the K-8 school; now, led by athletic director Jason Knecht, there are several sports team that keep the majority of the student body active once the final school bell rings.

The first couple years, the DC SCORES team walked several blocks to the closest parks to practice soccer. Now, while it’s not ideal, they play on mini goals that they set up on the blacktop.

The Soaring Eagles have taken great pride in becoming a poetry powerhouse within DC SCORES, with fifth-grader Leron representing the school at the America SCORES National Poetry SLAM! (and on the local NBC station) in 2015 and the team performing well at the DC Slam! every fall.

Through DC SCORES, kids both currently in the program and now still engaged as middle schoolers have recognized that they don’t have to be limited by their facilities and location.

“I think it just gives them, it shows them that they have the ability to make change happen,” Clemons said. “They don’t have to watch somebody else do it; you don’t have to be an adult.

“You literally can be a 3rd through 5th grader or middle schooler and literally within minutes or an hour, make change occur.”

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During the past couple years, Clemons showed his DC SCORES teams examples of how around the world, kids play soccer in all places imaginable — making balls out of rags and goals out of trash cans. The kids gained an appreciation for using what they have and making the most of their situation.

And when it came time for service-learning this spring, the team took advantage of a school-wide recycling effort to collect bottles and keep them from ending up in the trash.

“We saw some images online of hey, how can you create a garden out of recycled goods,” Clemons said, referring to the researching stage of DC SCORES’ service-learning season. “So we got some palettes that we worked on, had folks donate small water bottles, large 2-liters, any bottle — bring it in — and let’s see what we can turn that into.”

Partnering with the Olympic athletes and having Cole Jr. and Smith help made the big day, named “Hope Helps,” even more enjoyable and rewarding for the kids — the culmination of months of examining the community’s needs and researching what could be done.

“It means that you take pride in your neighborhood, your community,” said Brandon, an Imagine Hope student, as he returned from one of the clean zones with a bag of trash slung over his shoulder. “We don’t want to go to school in a dirty hood.”

The afternoon expanded kids’ minds in more ways than one. First, they learned about new sports that were, yes, Olympic events! Curling. Archery. Rugby. Ping-pong. They gathered around table tennis champion Han Xiao as he showed them video of the sport on his phone; they grilled former U.S. Rugby captain James Gillenwater about the sport (“I learned that rugby is a combination between soccer and football,” said student Israellee); and they were introduced to curling and archery.

Then they learned that they don’t need green grass to beautify their school grounds. Bottles. Soil. A couple tools. Some seeds. And water.

A garden of recycled bottles was born.

“What my idea for them to understand was, You can do it,” Clemons said afterward. “Just because you might not have the resources, it just gives you the opportunity. You can do it with a little bit of seeds, some water, a bottle — literally.

“It might not look the best, but at least (you got) to get something off the ground; this is something you can do at home.

“Literally, you can turn any space or any item possibly into a little green outside garden”

Monday, March 14, 2016

Spring 2016 season begins for DC SCORES!

The spring DC SCORES season begins this afternoon when the school bell lets out. Across Washington, DC, kids at elementary and middle schools and rec centers will reunite with friends and coaches. Customized DC SCORES school jerseys will be handed out.

The first soccer balls will be rolled out.

Kids will roll up their sleeves and begin to examine their communities and create change.

Let 12 weeks of soccer and service-learning -- culminating with the Jamboree! June 4 -- begin!

You can get involved this spring by volunteering or donating to directly support programming. See below for more information.

Where is DC SCORES?

See the map below and click here for a Google Map. The short answer: All across Washington, DC, in 7 of the city's 8 wards.

How service-learning works

Here's a step-by-step process of how DC SCORES teams go about creating and implementing service-learning projects in their communities

Step 1: Walk around your school and neighborhood with a clipboard and pencil and write down things you don’t like (trash on the ground, lack of trees and gardens, too many struggling homeless people).

Step 2: Research the topic(s) that you identify as the biggest need. Examples could include looking up statistics about homelessness in DC or depression among middle school youth, among many others.

Step 3: Implement a service-learning project. Take action! Execute a comprehensive plan to make your school and/or greater community better.

Step 4: Spend the last few days reflecting on the project. What did you learn? What else can be done going forward to make a difference?

This all sounds like a lot for a group of adults, but they’re actually often the beneficiaries of the work by 8- 9- and 10-year olds in DC SCORES. Yes, during this spring’s 12-week season, teams at 45 elementary and middle school sites across DC will feel empowered through service-learning and will create change in their communities.

EVENTS

In addition to our biggest, celebratory event, the Jamboree!, the spring season features six weeks of elementary and middle school game days and our annual alumni soccer tournament. Also, the America SCORES National Poetry SLAM! is the premier national showcase of SCORES, which is in 14 cities nationwide!

GAME DAYS

It's no secret -- Game Day is the most fun day for our poet-athletes, kids' families, and our staff! On Thursdays and Fridays throughout the spring, we bus teams throughout DC to visit new neighborhoods, make new friends, and strengthen their communities. Volunteers referee, a staff member supervises each site, and once the whistle is blown, the girls play first followed by the boys.

See this blog and the videos below for more on the game day experience, and find out where the next games are by visiting the soccer schedule page of our website.

GET SOCIAL!

At an event? Taking photos or videos? Connect with us and use #SpringSCORES16!

Monday, December 28, 2015

15 stories to celebrate 2015

Wow, what a year it's been. Thanks to your support, you have seen DC SCORES build teams for more kids in more DC communities than ever before! We've forged new partnerships, celebrated the many successes of alumni now in college, given out myriad awards — both to poet-athletes as well as coaches and volunteers — and so much more.

This is never an easy task, but below in link, photo and video form are our Top 15 from 2015. Please help us continue to grow and serve more DC kids with a tax-deductible donation before the ball drops Dec. 31

Thank you!

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No. 15 — Lincoln Middle School visits the White House

In February, Lincoln poet-athletes had the special opportunity to visit the White House for the President's ceremony with the MLS-winning L.A. Galaxy as well as the NHL-winning L.A. Kings. The kids not only got free gear from the Galaxy but got to ask questions of the professionals!

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No. 14 — Jency and Leron take on the Big Apple

It was a weekend they'll never forget. In April, poet-athletes Jency of Barnard Elementary and Leron of Imagine Hope Community Charter School took the train to New York City for the 9th Annual America SCORES National Poetry SLAM!. There, they made friends with kids from 13 other cities; ate NYC-style pizza; played soccer in Central Park; and performed on stage at the Reuters Building!

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No. 13 — Celebrating our coaches and volunteers

Our 200 coaches and 400 volunteers are the people who make SCORES possible for the poet-athletes. That's why the SCORE Awards in May is such a special night. As is custom, we spent the evening at LongView Gallery celebrating the incredible people who change the lives of DC kids!

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No. 12 — Creating change throughout DC

At Truesdell Education Campus, students ran a campaign to clean up their school. At Raymond Education Campus, students got their hands dirty creating from scratch a school garden. And throughout the District at 40-plus other sites, DC SCORES kids made a difference in their communities through service-learning projects!

Photo album
Truesdell blog/video series

No. 11 — A HUGE Jamboree! celebrates spring season

There's no better way to celebrate the spring season than with the culminating Jamboree!, which was bigger than ever with 2,000 people congregating at Anacostia Park for an action-packed Saturday of nonstop soccer games as well as family-fun activities such as facepainting, arts and crafts, highlighting service-learning projects, and much more!

BLOG recap
Photo album

No. 10 — A DC SCORES Cup for the ages

The DC SCORES Cup keeps getting bigger and better. In 2015, more than 500 DC professionals met at the Maryland SoccerPlex for a day full of soccer games, teambuilding, fun and supporting DC kids.

BLOG recap
Photo album

No. 9 — Summer SCORES!

Summer camp doesn't get much better than with DC SCORES. During three action-packed camps (free of charge, as always), kids picked up new soccer skills, made tons of friends, learned new arts disciplines (T-shirt screening, dancing!), went on field trips, and kept their bodies and minds fresh and engaged leading into the fall season!

Photo album

No. 8 — Alumni success stories

Summer is also special for DC SCORES because we watch alumni of the program head off to college — many the first from their families to do so. Such was the case for three young women whose stories we documented: Nijah, Ingrid and Claudia!

Nijah's story
Ingrid's story
Claudia's story

No. 7 — New members of our team!

In September, we welcomed six new staff members (not pictured above but in D.C. United photo below: Travis Worra) to our team. We take great pride in embodying the values the program instills in kids — teamwork, leadership, commitment — as a staff and also having a fun culture, and the additions have fit in really well!

Podcast with new staff

No. 6 — A huge partnership made official!

On Oct. 1, we announced a partnership with D.C. United that included consolidating with their United Soccer Club to serve more students through our program model. In the three months since, we've already gained greater visibility through being the charitable soccer arm of the Major League Soccer team and look forward to a very bright future together!

Press release

No. 5 — Volunteer explosion at Fall Frenzy

Yes, there were 1,000 elementary school kids at Trinity Washington University for the 18th Annual Fall Frenzy in late October — there were also hundreds of volunteers in their yellow shirts, demonstrating perhaps more than ever on one day how many people in DC are committed to and passionate about DC SCORES. Because of the volunteers, the action-packed day ran as smoothly as could be asked!

Blog recap
Photo album

No. 4 — An afternoon with the USWNT

In late October, Brightwood Education Campus poet-athletes got a treat when they visited President's Park just south of the White House for a soccer clinic and photo shoot. They learned skills from U.S. Women's National Team coach Jill Ellis, and then gasps ensued as the entire World Cup-winning team from the summer walked toward them across the grass. Minutes later, the kids were asking questions of Carli Lloyd and Abby Wambach and getting autographs from Megan Rapinoe, Sydney Leroux and Christen Press. It was an afternoon they'll never forget!

Blog recap
Photo album

No. 3 — Meet Christian, all-star volunteer

There's a staff member we forgot to mention in No. 7 — Christian. During the past year, the now-sophomore in high school program alumnus has become a volunteering fixture at our office almost every day after school. Christian embodies DC SCORES' core values, brings a smile to the office every day, and also excelled as a summer camp counselor. Thanks for all you do, Christian!

Blog profile

No. 2 — Capital Cup champions relish the journey

When Capital City Public Charter School got a mini soccer pitch built this fall, members of the DC SCORES middle school team started coming to school early every day to play. So it's no surprise that CCPCS' dedication paid off and the girls team bonded together to win the Capital Cup middle school championship in late November. The same could be said of the Raymond Education Campus boys team that often practiced so hard, coach David Peterson had to tell his kids to tone the intensity down a bit. The strong soccer communities at both schools held up trophies on Nov. 24.

No. 1 — Hope Avenue at the Poetry Slam!

The season-culminating Poetry Slam! in early December never ceases to amaze and inspire, and this year's 18th edition more than met such expectations. During a time of turmoil and despair in the world and on a day when yet another mass shooting occurred in this country, students took the stage at Columbia Heights Education Campus and reminded us — the adults in the audience — that there, indeed, is a bright future. They guided us down "Hope Avenue" while celebrating each other's similarities and differences.

And that was just the first night of the event. The second night at H.D. Woodson High School, the students exemplified the message guest poet Malachi Byrd had for them at the show's onset: "I am powerful! I am enough." Just watching one or two of the 37 performances over the two nights, one thing was clear:

DC SCORES poet-athletes are powerful, proud, and much more than enough.

From our team to yours, thank you for an incredible 2015. We can't wait to share an extremely exciting future together!

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Creating change at Truesdell EC, part VII: Get to know the coaches

Monday, May 11, 2015

Creating change at Truesdell EC, part VI: Committee work!

During the DC SCORES spring season, each of our 44 teams go through a four-step service-learning process that involves A) Identifying problems that need addressing in their community; B) Researching one issue; C) Implementing a project to make a difference in the community; and D) Reflecting on the impact they made.

This spring, DC SCORES intern Kristen Miano is following the Truesdell Education Campus (elementary school) Trojans as they go through the service-learning process. Read below and watch each week’s video to learn how DC SCORES empowers youth to create change around them. You can also view photos from Truesdell HERE and follow Kristen's Tweets HERE.

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Written by Kristen Miano
Digital Media Intern

The Truesdell Trojans are putting the finishing touches on their committee tasks and looking ahead to their final project.

“I’m excited,” said Ashtyn H. of the advertising committee. “We’re going to encourage people to clean up behind themselves.”

The classroom was a flurry of activity as each committee focused on its own projects. The advertising committee spent their time designing posters and slogans to promote the trash pick up competition.

“I’m want to make a poster of a person picking up trash and putting it in the trash can,” Ashtyn said.

The speaking committee clustered around a computer, typing up the speech they are going to deliver in the coming weeks to convince their fellow students to get on board with the competition.

“We’re writing this letter to let teachers know that we’ve decided to start picking up trash,” Carlos T. of the speaking committee said.

Noticeably absent for most of the meeting was the contest committee, as their task for the day was to count the number of trash cans in each bathroom on every floor. When the committee wasn’t walking up and down flights of stairs shouting how many trash bins they found, they spent their time discussing some final rules and the grand prize for their cleaning competition.

“I’m excited to see which class wins the contest,” said Steve H. of the contest committee. “The prize will probably be a goodie bag with Skittles and Hershey’s.”

The contest is all set to kick off soon and the Trojans are getting pumped to make their school a better place. After all their hard work, the competition is bound to not only create a great change at Truesdell Elementary, but also united the student body as the spring semester comes to a close.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Creating change at Truesdell EC, part V: Working in committees

Blessing T. of the advertising committee said her group is in charge of developing a plan to spread the word about the competition and reminding everyone to participate by picking up trash.

“We have to make a poster of people picking up trash,” Blessing said. “And we’re going to write a slogan so that people remember that when they throw trash, they should pick it up.”

The permission committee has already accomplished one of their goals — getting permission from Truesdell principal Mary Ann Stinson to host the contest. Now, they are working on their strategies to get permission from individual classrooms and teachers to work with them to get the school cleaned up.

The final committee, the speaking committee, has a singular but tough goal — to write the speech that will explain what the competition is and why the team is holding it. The speaking committee will also deliver this speech in classrooms throughout the school, so they are busy practicing their public speaking skills as well.

With just five weeks before the end of the DC SCORES session, the Trojans still have a lot of work to do but are making great strides. The kids are getting excited to hold the competition and can see the completion of the project's goal at the end of the tunnel!

Monday, April 27, 2015

Creating change at Truesdell EC, part IV: Let the competition begin!

During the DC SCORES spring season, each of our 44 teams go through a four-step service-learning process that involves A) Identifying problems that need addressing in their community; B) Researching one issue; C) Implementing a project to make a difference in the community; and D) Reflecting on the impact they made.

This spring, DC SCORES intern Kristen Miano is following the Truesdell Education Campus (elementary school) Trojans as they go through the service-learning process. Read below and watch each week’s video to learn how DC SCORES empowers youth to create change around them. You can also view photos from Truesdell HERE and follow Kristen's Tweets HERE.

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Written by Kristen Miano
Digital Media Intern

The Truesdell Trojans are getting down to business with their service-learning project to pick up the trash around their school. They’ve decided to involve their entire school by turning the project into a competition — whichever hallway of students picks up the most trash and keeps their area the cleanest will win a prize.

But there’s a lot more planning to do before the competition can get off the ground. To make the remaining tasks more manageable, the team has created committees to tackle the project head-on.

“We have the committees to complete tasks, like if we need to have speakers go to classes for our project,” said Godwell T., age 8. “I want to be on the advertising or contest committee.”

Cristella B., age 8, also would like to work on either the advertising or contest committee because she is most interested in making posters or helping to craft the rules for the competition.

“We have committees for persuasion, speaking, advertising and (the) contest,” Cristella said. “I want to see how much trash everyone picks up and pick out the prizes.”

The Trojans also learned the value of slogans for campaigns like theirs. After completing a challenge to match familiar slogans to the company of origin, the kids were asked to come up with their own slogan for their project.

“We figure students know what advertisements are based on what they’ve seen,” Emily Adams, one of the Truesdell writing coaches, said. “We want them to create their own slogan to put on posters and talk to other students about, sort of a catchphrase other students can latch onto to help make the project a success.”

The Trojans are on their way to a great project. The team is excited to get to work on creating a cleaner and brighter school for not only themselves, but all the students at Truesdell.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Creating change at Truesdell EC, Part III: Developing an action plan

During the DC SCORES spring season, each of our 44 teams go through a four-step service-learning process that involves A) Identifying problems that need addressing in their community; B) Researching one issue; C) Implementing a project to make a difference in the community; and D) Reflecting on the impact they made.

This spring, DC SCORES intern Kristen Miano is following the Truesdell Education Campus (elementary school) Trojans as they go through the service-learning process. Read below and watch each week’s video to learn how DC SCORES empowers youth to create change around them. You can also view photos from Truesdell HERE and follow Kristen's Tweets HERE.

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Written by Kristen Miano
Digital Media Intern

With their project chosen and their research done, the Truesdell Trojans moved onto the next phase of their spring SCORES service-learning endeavor—developing an action plan.

“We defined what a task is and then the students brainstormed what tasks we would need in order to reach our goal,” said writing coach Cailin Eisle.

The kids broke off into discussion groups to lay out what they think they would need to do before they could get down to the business of cleaning the trash around their school. They received some hints and tips from looking over action plans developed for other service-learning projects that had seen successful.

“We’re discussing what tasks we need to do and what job each person needs to do,” explained Blessing T., age 10. “We’re just trying to sort out stuff.”

Ideas for the team’s plan of action included asking the school for permission to begin a trash pickup campaign, going to classrooms to talk to other students about the importance of cleaning up after themselves, and to begin fundraising to purchase the supplies needed achieve their goal.

By the end of their brainstorming session, the Trojans had created a long list of tasks they would need to do before their project was over. The students expressed concern over getting everything accomplished by their deadline, especially considering they had done so much work on the project already and still had so much to do.

“Sometimes, time passes fast and we may not get to finish our project,” said Nelson F., age 8.

Overwhelmingly, the students agreed that not finishing the project was not an option and they would need to work hard to make sure they kept to the schedule.

“I would feel angry because we started something and didn’t finish it,” said Antonio M, age 10.

To avoid missing the project’s deadline, the team reiterated the importance of staying focused and on task for the duration of the spring season.

With each student’s tasks in hand and a renewed commitment to their goals, the Truesdell Trojans are ready and set to get to work and clean up their school.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

DC SCORES coach's journal, Part VI: Service-learning begins

Zachary Gomes moved to Washington, DC, last August from Albany, NY, to begin working at DC SCORES as a Coach Across America AmeriCorps volunteer. Zach has a passion for working with youth, and as part of his time with DC SCORES is coaching poetry, service-learning and girls soccer at Lincoln Middle School. Throughout the year Zach will share his experiences, providing insight on the impact of DC SCORES -- through the eyes of a coach.

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Written by Zachary Gomes
Soccer Coordinator

Spring is finally upon us! And with spring begins another DC SCORES season.

At Lincoln, DC SCORES is built into the school day and continues throughout the winter months (which is great because we get to continue practicing, as long as it’s not too cold). All winter Katie S., an eighth-grader, the team captain, a central defender and a DC SCORES student since elementary school, practiced free kicks. Every day she would say, “Watch this, Zach. I’m getting more strength in my shot!”

Katie’s practicing paid off. In the first game of the spring season after a scoreless first half, we were awarded a penalty kick in the box. Katie jogged up confidentially from her central defense position and placed the ball on the penalty marker. She took a couple of steps back and blasted the ball into the lower left corner of the goal!

Katie’s confidence was contagious and Jossellyn A., another 8th grader, poked a ball by the keeper a couple of minutes later, after not giving up on a botched cross. The girls played great, we won our first game, and I was happy that they were happy.

Spring season also means DC SCORES service-learning. When I first learned about DC SCORES, I was super excited to coach soccer but the idea of getting to teach poetry classes and work with students to create a service-learning project equally pumped me up!

The Poetry Slam! was the highlight of the fall season, and as the team began talking about our service-earning project I got excited thinking of the change for good the kids could create.

Service-learning is all about empowering the kids to be the leaders. Through service-learning, youth are no longer considered the recipient of services but are rather people who are willing to give, have vision, and can contribute positively to the community.

The exciting and important thing is that DC SCORES service-learning allows youth to actively engage within society. It gives them a voice and proves to them that with work, that voice will be heard.

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As we began to talk about what our service-learning project would be, it was an important first step to define community. Did community mean the neighborhood, the school, or did it mean the whole world!?

By breaking the kids up into groups and asking them to define community through a collage of pictures and words, the discussion over what community meant began. The collages also helped point out positive and negative issues that existed within the community.

I then asked the students to think about community groups — neighborhoods, families, friends, social groups, school, ethnicity/racial, cultural and religious groups — and answer these two questions: What would you like to see changed? What are you proud of?

Almost every student chose to write about family. It was overwhelming. The messages were very similar.

“I love my family but we need to speak more to each other. One thing I am proud of is celebrating holidays together.”

“My family helps me when I am in need.”

“My family is important, they care about me and I wish I could do more activities with them.”

“I like eating with my family.”

“I like going places with my family.”

“I would stop arguments in my family.”

These are just some of the things the kids wrote about. Consistently, family was the number one focus for the students.

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After sharing this information with the team, I asked the students to tell me what the theme seemed to be. Family and quality time spent with family is what they got from it. And so organically began the discussion of how we can address this issue.

The kids had a million good ideas.

“Let’s have a family day where we all go to Six Flags!”

“Let’s make bracelets that say Family First!”

“We could have a cookout and soccer tournament for family at the park!”

The ideas are flowing and — as part of the curriculum — the kids will make the final decision on their service-learning project soon. I am excited to help them sort through the ideas and create an action plan.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Creating change at Truesdell EC, Part II: Choosing the project!

During the DC SCORES spring season, each of our 44 teams go through a four-step service-learning process that involves A) Identifying problems that need addressing in their community; B) Researching one issue; C) Implementing a project to make a difference in the community; and D) Reflecting on the impact they made.

This spring, DC SCORES intern Kristen Miano is following the Truesdell Education Campus (elementary school) Trojans as they go through the service-learning process. Read below and watch each week’s video to learn how DC SCORES empowers youth to create change around them. You can also view photos from Truesdell HERE and follow Kristen's Tweets HERE.

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Written by Kristen Miano
Digital Media Intern

The votes are in: The Truesdell Trojans will be cleaning up their school and encouraging others to do the same for their spring SCORES service-learning project.

“The overall project goal is to reduce the amount of trash in the building,” said Cailin Eisle, one of the Truesdell writing coaches.

Now that the team has an issue to tackle, the next phase of the project is to conduct research and construct a plan in order to achieve their goal.

To jump start the planning process, the Trojans were treated to a special guest speaker last week — Ms. Duckett of the Truesdell custodial staff.

“The students were able to brainstorm questions and ask [Ms. Duckett] questions,” Cailin said. “That will hopefully keep them engaged in their project.”

Ms. Duckett has seen the trash problem first hand at Truesdell, and had some great ideas for where the team could target their efforts as they begin working toward a cleaner school.

“The classrooms and the lunch room are the two areas with the most need for trash clean up,” Ms. Duckett said. “And paper trash is the biggest problem. School papers, homework papers, paper towels — all kinds of paper creates the most trash.”

The kids made sure to take notes about all the information Ms. Duckett provided, including what tools they can use to pick up trash, how to keep track of what work has already been done, and the best ways to motivate other students to be diligent about cleaning up.

“Ask them nicely to pick up their trash,” Ms. Duckett advised. “Also, posters that say ‘Keep your school clean’ or ‘Clean up after yourself’ could be helpful.”

After the discussion was over, the students spent some time making thank you cards for Ms. Duckett and reflecting on what they had learned.

“I learned that picking up trash doesn’t need to take too much time,” said Yocelyn M., age 10.

Bryan M. also thought Ms. Duckett had some greats bits of advice and came away from the lesson with an idea of how to move their project forward.

“We can put signs in hallways and bathrooms,” he said, “to tell [people] they don’t need to leave trash on the floor.”

The Trojans learned a great deal from Ms. Duckett’s experience and are charging ahead into their school-cleaning project armed with excellent information and some grand plans and ideas.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Creating change at Truesdell EC, Part I: Identifying the community's biggest need

During the DC SCORES spring season, each of our 44 teams go through a four-step service-learning process that involves A) Identifying problems that need addressing in their community; B) Researching one issue; C) Implementing a project to make a difference in the community; and D) Reflecting on the impact they made.

This spring, DC SCORES intern Kristen Miano is following the Truesdell Education Campus (elementary school) Trojans as they go through the service-learning process. Read below and watch each week’s video to learn how DC SCORES empowers youth to create change around them.

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Written by Kristen Miano
Digital Media Intern

Margaret Mead, an American cultural anthropologist, once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

The Truesdell Trojans may be small, but indeed, they are committed. As a part of the spring season with DC SCORES, the students have come together to work on a service-learning project that will better their community.

“Our students get this huge confidence boost seeing that they came up with an idea, and it happened, that they did it and helped other people,” said writing coach Emily Adams, who is guiding the students through the 12-week service-learning process.

The first part of the process is identifying an issue in the community to focus on. After two weeks together, the Trojans are close to choosing their project.

Class last Wednesday kicked off with an anonymous vote. The students voted on a variety of choices, including a project involving homelessness, a plan for a community garden, and a petition to work on the nutrition available at their school.

The votes are being tallied and the results will be announced this week.

In the meantime, the Trojans settled in to learn about the importance of staying committed to the project they will eventually work on. The team divided into groups to read a poem describing a situation in which people who promised to work on a project never quite followed through. The groups were asked to write about what they learned or thought was important about the poem to share with the rest of the class.

“The poem said we should always do our work and not wait for someone else to do it,” said Blessing T.

Overall, the class felt the poem was telling them to work hard, stay on target, and never give up -- helpful messages to remember for when they officially begin work on changing their community!

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Service-learning 2014: Committees lead the way for Raymond Education Campus' success

Written by Kara Dunford
Communications Intern

When tasked with planning and implementing a service-learning project this spring, the Raymond Tigers quickly decided to focus on promoting a healthy and active lifestyle, one of the lessons gained from their involvement with DC SCORES. To add an element of fun, the students wanted to host a carnival featuring booths centered around different components of healthy living, such as nutrition and exercise.

The workload — brainstorming ideas, planning the activities, hosting the carnival — seemed like a daunting task.

The Tigers, however, were not discouraged. Instead, they decided to manage the work by dividing into committees. Groups of two or three students were responsible for their own booth, from the initial idea to the day of the carnival.

On the afternoon I visited Raymond, the classroom buzzed with activity. Students met in their committees to work through the logistics of their booths, thinking about how each activity would work, estimating costs, and determining roles for each committee member.

Fifth grader Kalkidan A. was excited for her booth, which would feature activities to build and test the strength of the carnival attendees, including tug of war and a baseball toss.

"I'm most looking forward to running my booth," she said. "Actually putting my ideas into action."

The students were challenged by their coaches to think about what each attendee would take away from visiting the various booths. With her fellow committee members, Kalkidan discussed the goals of the games and how they would fit into the larger goal of the carnival.

Kalkidan explained that they wanted to make sure each participant exercised as a result of visiting the booth.

"It's about living in a healthy way," she said.

Overall, the committee structure allowed the Tigers to learn about what it meant to be a member of a team with specific responsibilities and deadlines. The teams learned how to make the most of each member's strengths when assigning roles.

In addition to the lessons on teamwork, fifth-grader D'Edrick P. learned that service can take on many different forms.

"It can help people in any community," he said. "For example, it can help the elderly. Sometimes they need help walking across the street. Or sometimes there is trash in the park. If a group of kids come to pick it up, it will help make the earth better."

D'Edrick looked forward to putting his newfound appreciation for service into action at the carnival, anticipating positive feelings after the event took place.

"I'll feel happy for myself, doing something for the other people who came,"he said.

The Tigers' healthy living carnival is just one example of the amazing service-learning projects that took place during DC SCORES programming this spring. To see about how students at 47 schools learned how to be agents of change in their communities, check out our Flickr album.

Watch the video above (and here) to hear more from the Tigers.