Who's ready for fall? Poetry Slam! jam: Wheatley Education Campus

The fall 2014 DC SCORES season begins September 15!

To see images representing all 47 of our program schools, follow us on Instagram @dc_scores for a school-by-school countdown until Opening Day.

On this blog, each week day leading up to the season we'll highlight a school's Poetry Slam! performance from 2013. Just about everyone is familiar with the soccer component of DC SCORES, but the self-expression aspect is just as important. Each fall, all of our 1,500 youth go through a three-month curriculum that culminates in every school performing original works of spoken word at our blockbuster event of the year, the Poetry Slam!.

Watch, be inspired, and mark your calendar for December 3/4, the dates of the 2014 Slam!.

SCHOOL: Wheatley Education Campus

BEGAN DC SCORES: 2009

FUN POETRY SLAM! LINE: "You have to read! You have to read! Say what?"

Watch Wheatley above or here.

View Wheatley photos here.

$10,000 could change the lives of 10 DC youth

A few of the Wheatley Whales waiting for the bus to the
2010 DC SCORES Fall Frenzy.

Written by Jake Lloyd
Communications Manager

We've done A LOT of asking lately. Thanks to the support of many, we reached our Couch to Camp Campaign goal and will be able to provide free summer enrichment for more than 250 DC youth. Some of you have also contributed poems for our blog during National Poetry Month.

But before April's over, we have one final ask -- and it couldn't be simpler.

Help DC SCORES win $10,000. 

Today through Friday at 5pm, we are competing against similarly sized DC charities in the WTOP Click for a Cause competition. Whichever charity receives the most "likes" on the campaign page wins.

(NOTES: Only one vote per person total; you must be on Facebook to vote; you do not have to "like" WTOP or do anything else to participate -- it's that easy.)

$10,000

Let me put it into tangible terms: That's DC SCORES' full, year-long program -- the soccer, the poetry, the service-learning, the summer camp -- for 10 low-income DC youth.

When I think of the number 10, I reflect on one of my most memorable experiences during five years at DC SCORES. In October of 2010, I was asked to fill in as the coach at Wheatley Education Campus for our annual Fall Frenzy soccer and outdoor activities event.

I had no idea how the day would go or even if kids would show up to spend Saturday with a strange, unfamiliar man. But upon approaching the school around 8am, there they were -- a group of 10 third- and fourth-graders decked out in their purple DC SCORES shirts. Within a minute, we were taking photos together and kidding around like old friends.

I was far from the best soccer coach -- keeping everyone happy is a challenge! -- but I could tell from the kids' smiles and laughter that they had a good time and, despite their overwhelmed coach, learned a few things. I wrote about it in my event recap.

That was far from my only experience at Wheatley, which began the DC SCORES program in 2009. While my job is mostly office-based, during the following years I went to more Wheatley soccer game days than any other school. Every time I visited the school in the Trinidad neighborhood, those same 10 kids were there.

Not only did they grow inches between each of my visits, their soccer skills improved as did their attitudes. The fifth-graders I watched at a game last spring were exponentially better at dribbling the ball, sharing it with their teammates, and being leaders of their team than the kids I coached that 2010 afternoon. The boys team even made it to the City Cup championship game at last June's Jamboree!.

This fall, the Wheatley 10 were too old to play on the DC SCORES team, but they were still present at game day. They loved the program so much and the game they learned through it that they couldn't stay away, so the coaches made them assistants. As I watched them, I could see how much they wanted to be on the field -- but they also demonstrated DC SCORES' core values of teamwork, leadership and commitment by encouraging the current players, handing out water, and giving high fives.

DC SCORES gave those Wheatley students a team, and they ran with it and built a sense of pride and community at the school. At my most recent game day, close to 100 fans sat on the hillside above the school's field to watch the soccer team.

So when I think of what providing DC SCORES for 10 kids mean, I immediately think of those Wheatley students. There are 1,500 youth (150 x 10) served annually by our Arts/Athletics/Academics model, and winning $10,000 this week will help the program continue to grow and achieve our vision of serving every child in Washington, DC, deserving of a team.

Here are three ways you can be a $10K Champion this week:

• Vote for DC SCORES  then ask 5 family members or friends to do the same.
• Share that you supported DC SCORES on Facebook and/or Tweet or RT us @DCSCORES and #1Click4DCS.
• Join our Facebook event and invite friends to do the same.

Thanks for being on our growing team!

Inside DC SCORES Game Day: A guide for those on the sidelines

Rock, paper, scissors to decide who gets ball first.

Never been to a DC SCORES Game Day?

Well, you're missing out. And hopefully we'll see you soon (here's the remaining fall schedule!). But until then, we'll provide an inside look at how a typical Thursday or Friday afternoon looks like throughout the District for the 1,500 youth our program serves.

For the sake of personalizing, we'll use the Brightwood Education Campus vs. Wheatley Education Campus game from two weeks ago as an example.

(Times are approximate.)

-----------------------------------------

3:40pm -- The referee, Justin, arrives. Since this is his first volunteer reffing experience, I hand him a bright-yellow volunteer T-shirt. This will be his refereeing uniform for other games he does throughout the season. We go over the basic elementary school rules (it's about teaching the youth as much as enforcing any rule). The Wheatley Whales and their coaches come out to the small field behind their school and start stretching.

3:55pm -- A yellow school bus arrives at Wheatley full of eager Brightwood youth read to play soccer. In order to get to Game Day on time, Brightwood had to get on the bus immediately after school. The drive from Ward 4 to Ward 6 was not short, especially in DC traffic. DC SCORES' biggest program expense is buses for game days and special events. Providing buses ensures that no student is left behind.

4:05pm -- I call for both teams (the girls and the boys) to come to the center of the field. Sportsmanship is a huge part of DC SCORES Game Day, and we emphasize this each week before the teams take the field. "You're playing for the name on the back of your jersey, Brightwood or Wheatley," I say to the 40-plus youth, "but also for the name on the front of your jersey, DC SCORES." I then ask students a series of questions ranging from "What do you do if you trip an opponent?" to "What do you do after the game?" It might be the first Thursday of the fall season, but hands shoot up and the students knock the questions out of the park. They remember. They've practiced good sportsmanship before.

Breakaway scoring chance for Brightwood!

4:19pm -- Justin blows his whistle. A player has incorrectly performed a throw-in, lifting their foot, a natural instinct. Justin takes the ball and mimics the correct form. He then hands the ball back to the child, who gets it right the second time.

4:46pm -- As I told everyone before the game, the girls for both teams assemble in line for the post-game handshake. It was, at times, a frustrating afternoon for the Wheatley girls, who were shut out. But they haven't forgotten about sportsmanship. Their coaches are a big help, encouraging the girls and telling them how hard they played. A supportive coach on the sideline is a vital part of a successful Game Day.

5:13pm -- I gaze across the field to the spectators' sideline and begin counting. A minute later, my finger has tallied close to 100 people at Game Day not including the players and coaches. These soccer games represent community events. A large group of younger youth from Wheatley sit in the grass, watching, absorbing. In a year, or two, they'll get to don the purple uniforms. Dozens of parents line the sloping hill. For many of them, this is their child's favorite afternoon of the week -- and theirs too. Some watch quietly, others cheer loudly. School administrators and teachers are spotted, too.

5:38pm -- The Brightwood sideline erupts after another brilliant goal. Sure, their school is on the other side of the congested city, but that didn't keep a handful of parents from joining the coaches and youth for the trip to Northeast. Winning or losing is secondary for DC SCORES youth, many of whom are being introduced to soccer for the first time. But each success, each goal, each great pass is celebrated with a gusto and explosion of energy on the sideline. It's clear how much the school's soccer team means to its community.

5:49pm -- And that's a wrap. The final whistle has blown on the boys contest (each game is made up of two 20-minute halves). The players high five each other. Then, in an unplanned, unexpected show of pride and sportsmanship, the Brightwood parents form a tunnel with their arms and players from both teams race through to put an exclamation point on Game Day.

Brightwood heads for its waiting bus. Wheatley coaches and players begin to pick up their water bottles and break down the goals. Yes, Game Day is over, but it's just seven more days until the next one. And with a week of practice in between, the Whales will be even more prepared and pumped up to take the field in their custom T-shirts, shorts, socks and shinguards.

DC SCORES students learn healthy living behaviors with The Century Council

Photos by Tyler Allen, The Century Council

“Did you get your vegetables,” I asked, a bit concerned about the kid’s plate containing just a bite-size sandwich.

“I already ate them!” said the kid exuberantly, before turning to shoot some hoops.

I should have known. Throughout The Century Council’s seventh annual Take Your Kids to Work Day, students from three DC SCORES schools learned and demonstrated healthy behaviors that align with our partner’s mission of discouraging underage drinking and drinking and driving.

The Century Council generously invited DC SCORES to bring youth to the event on Capitol Hill for the third consecutive year, and students from H.D. Cooke Elementary School, Thomson Elementary School and Wheatley Education Campus had a great time playing all the games, eating healthy food, and meeting Olympian gold-medalist gymnast and Dancing with the Stars celebrity Aly Raisman and Ali Krieger of the Washington Spirit professional soccer team.

Around the large room, stations were set up where youth could shoot baskets, practice their accuracy throwing a football, roll Skeeball and get some serious exercise playing the Wii-like racing Ask Listen Learn video game where they ran on a pad and then answered questions about healthy behaviors such as "True or false: Drinking alcohol makes me look cool."

“Are you tired?” I asked Monyae L., decked out in his purple Wheatley Whales shirt, after he ran wild at the video game station.

He could only nod, but then caught his breath and told me his favorite healthy foods to eat.

“Broccoli, spinach, carrots, apples, oranges, bananas and V8 juice.”

In between stations throughout the event, students waltzed over to the snacks table to choose vegetables from the large array of corn stalks, asparagus, radishes, tomatoes, carrots and more. They still enjoyed the mini sandwiches, but the importance of eating the veggies wasn’t lost on them.

“Eat fruits and vegetables and don’t drink soda, drink water,” said Wheatley’s Darryl H. of how to live healthy.

The Century Council has been a tremendous partner of DC SCORES for over three years, funding our program with annual grants, inviting us to events such as this one, and even asking Program Director Cory Chimka to write guest blogs for them.

Chimka attended the event on the Hill and expressed his gratitude for a partner whose values align so well with those of DC SCORES.

“Year in and year out, The Century Council ensures DC SCORES participants are included alongside the sons and daughters of senators and house members during Take Your Kids to Work Day festivities,” Chimka said. “This illustrates not only The Century Council’s commitment to ensuring their mission of healthy living is accessible to youth throughout the District, but also the organization’s dedication to DC SCORES and other partners.”

For the 30 or so kids who got to visit the Hill, the day was one they won’t forget anytime soon. For an hour and a half, they were abuzz with energy as they moved from station to station – accumulating stickers for completing each one and "saying yes to a healthy lifestyle and no to underage drinking."

When the opportunity arose to get their picture taken with Raisman, the kids rushed up to the makeshift stage and posed with the gold-medalist, took pictures of her themselves, and asked her questions.

“That’s my best friend in a picture with Aly Raisman!” a student exclaimed.

Then it was back to shooting hoops, playing the Ask Listen Learn game (which many students identified as their favorite station), and eating those veggies. After all, it was Thursday – DC SCORES Game Day – and they had to treat their bodies right in preparation for playing soccer a couple hours later.

“I made sure to eat my vegetables this morning so we can beat ATA!” exclaimed a Wheatley Whales student about the school’s upcoming game against Arts and Technology Academy.

A few hours later, I stood watching H.D. Cooke play Seaton Elementary School on the soccer field. My jaw dropped as I watched Ariana R. weave her way with the ball between defenders up the field. She did this time and time again, picking herself up when tripped, never complaining and never, seemingly, getting tired.

I was amazed until I remembered what she had told me earlier about taking care of her body.

"When you eat a lot of breakfast and not like junk food," Ariana had said of eating well. "Vegetables are good for your body."

And help you play soccer better. 

Thanks to The Century Council for hosting DC SCORES at a great event and helping instill healthy values in District youth. 

Poetry Slam! 2012 video of the week: Wheatley Education Campus

 

NOTE: Each week, we are featuring a school's performance from the 15th Annual DC SCORES Poetry Slam!, the largest youth slam in the District! During the two-night culminating event of the fall season -- held Nov. 28 at Columbia Heights Education Campus and Nov. 29 at H.D. Woodson High School -- 35 schools had the opportunity to perform original group and solo poems and songs in front of their peers, families and community members. At the end of each night, teams were called back up on stage to receive trophies.

We hope you enjoy this glimpse into the self-expression DC SCORES instills in youth. 

Wheatley Education Campus kicked off the second night of the Slam! with a heartfelt showing led by a solo poem written and performed by a boy about a very personal, sensitive issue. The boy showed tremendous courage in taking the stage in front of the packed auditorium at H.D. Woodson High School, and he undoubtedly felt a sense of relief afterward and weight lifted off his shoulders.

That's what the self-expression component of DC SCORES provides — an outlet through which youth can let out their innermost feelings. 

To view any performance from the Poetry Slam!, visit the DC SCORES YouTube page.

18 years later, Arts-Athletics-Academics model as strong as ever for DC SCORES

Last week marked the completion of the 18th fall season of DC SCORES programming. 

Hard to believe, right? 

Was it really that long ago that Julie Kennedy, a teacher at Marie Reed, introduced the game of soccer and then -- on a rainy day -- the art of poetry to her students?

The program, of course, began with that one group of youth and quickly grew. In 1999, it led to the birth of America SCORES, which now has 14 affiliates throughout the U.S. from Boston and Atlanta to Seattle and L.A.

And to this day, the Arts-Athletics-Academics model -- as simple as it sounds -- makes an indelible impact on the lives of thousands of youth. If ever there was a lack of interest in our program or the necessity of what we provide waned, we might have to change.

Instead, we grow -- serving over 1,450 youth at 42 schools -- and continue to strive to serve any youth in the District who wants to be on a team.

Just last week, we saw how important that is to our students. At our 15th Annual Poetry Slam! on Wednesday and Thursday, teams of students showed incredible pride in their schools and communities through self-expression. 

One of the dozens of impressive and courageous performances came from a Wheatley Education Campus student who, with his teammates at his side and his lips quivering, read a touching and powerful poem about his father's infidelity. 

Without DC SCORES, those feelings likely would have remained inside him.

The official soccer games season concluded with the Capital Cup championship games on Nov. 20, but last week demonstrated the importance to youth of having an outlet through which to play. On Friday, the last day of the DC SCORES season, Sacred Heart Bilingual School traveled to MacFarland Middle School to play the Crusaders in a make-up game.

The game had no meaning in the standings. A win wouldn't lead to another game. Yet the kids showed up excited for the chance to play a real game with a referee against another school. It was a big deal to them -- and an opportunity they only get through DC SCORES.

Hearing about Friday's experience reminded me of a DC SCORES game day from earlier in the season involving Perry Street Prep and Wheatley. In a rare mishap, we didn't have goals at Wheatley that afternoon. I thought the students might be disappointed. 

Instead, they barely noticed the large orange cones the coaches and I set up. There was an infectious enthusiasm on the field that afternoon, a joy derived from the basic opportunity to run up and down a field kicking and passing a soccer ball. 

That, to me, demonstrated what DC SCORES -- and our affiliates nationwide -- means to the students involved. They don't care about manicured fields. Just give them a ball, teammates to pass to, and some green space, and they'll have a great time and improve their physical fitness in doing so.

Give them a $1 composition book and a pen, and they'll feel the freedom to write down their innermost feelings. Then give them a stage on which to express what they've penned and a microphone, and they'll feel empowered.

Eighteen years since this program started, it's amazing to see how effective the SCORES model still is and the impact it has on thousands of youth.

We can't wait for next season!

Highlighting our youth poets: Wheatley Education Campus

 

NOTE: Each week, we are featuring a school's performance from the 14th Annual Poetry Slam!. During the two-night culminating event of the fall season, each of the 27 schools DC SCORES serves had the opportunity to perform original poems and songs in front of their peers, families and community members.

On the second night of the Slam!,the Wheatley Whales rhymed about their futures ("In my future, I'll have a job, a home and money, honey"), their school and Jamar's cars in front of the capacity audience at H.D. Woodson High School.

Check out Wheatley's students representing on their home stage!

To view any performance from the Poetry Slam!, visit the DC SCORES YouTube page.