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The Extra Point
Monthly News and Notes from Play It Smart
February 2009
Volume II | Issue VI |
Collection of graphic design work from the January 2009 Play It Smart National Student-Athlete of the Month, Monica Li (Heritage/Lynchburg, VA).
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Mark Your Calendar:
March 20th
March Play It Smart Student-Athlete of the Month Submissions Due
March 31st
May 2nd SAT
Registration Deadline
April 1st
PACE Self-Evaluation Due
April 20-26th
Play It Smart National Service Week
Remember to submit ACT/SAT scores directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center using code"9999"
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Play It Smart Annual Conference to Touch Down in Houston
From Wednesday July 29, 2009 to Sunday
August 2, 2009 the city of Houston
will play host to Play It Smart's 12th
Annual National Conference. The
conference will bring together hundreds of Academic Coaches and school administrators under one roof with leading
professionals in youth development, secondary education and college academia.
Although the conference is in July it is not too early to begin making preparations. We would like to have each member school represented at this event. Registration information will be released in the coming weeks. We look forward to seeing you in July.
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Remember if you don't tell us, we don't know. So keep us in the loop of your events and the happenings at your campus. Do this by communicating and submitting information to your Program Officer. |
Play It Smart National Service Week
"The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in
dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service."
-Henry Wordsworth Longfellow
The 8th Annual Play It Smart National Service
Week will run from April 20-26,2009. We
are asking member schools to keep the Play It Smart tradition by volunteering
in their communities during this week.
Please let your program officer know what your plans are for
this week of service. We want to
publicize your efforts on the national stage.
Also be sure to update your ORBIT account with events completed during this week, as we will be rewarding schools who
participate in service events during this week at the National Conference in
July.
Service is a wonderful opportunity for student-athletes to
learn and give back to their community. Thanks for all you do for you communities!
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Options for Sustaining the Academic Coach Position
The following links contains a brief description of some of the methodologies and sources of funds being used to sustain Play It Smart in schools across the country:
Sustaining Options
http://www.playitsmart.org/pdf/Play It Smart Academic Coach Sustaining Options.pdf
Making the Case for Title I
http://www.playitsmart.org/pdf/Play It Smart and_Title_I.pdf
We hope these will spark some ideas for those of you deciding how best to fund the program in your school. If you would like more detail on any of these alternatives, please do not hesitate to contact your Program Officer in the national office.
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| National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
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Every So Often We Are Inspired
Stephen Gill-Academic Coach at John Adams High in South Bend, IN
 Every so often we are inspired to dream the unimaginable - To think the
unthinkable - To believe the unbelievable - To conceive the unconceivable.
Every so often a superhero emerges
from another galaxy, so it seems, to inspire mortal human beings, like you and me, to start looking at life a little bit differently. Every so often, because
of their labor, because of their convictions, morals, character &
integrity, we are then able to create change in ourselves and within our communities...if
we choose.
While reflecting on this notion for a moment, I realized
that this phenomenon happens most often, or at least most visibly, in the world
of politics and sports. Arguably, these two genres are perhaps the most two
talked about in America. Two areas that generate heartfelt enthusiasm and
passion when defending a stance and/or an opinion. Please click the link to continue reading: http://www.playitsmart.org/news.php?id=1844 |
Play
It Smart: Already Meeting the President's Request to Serve Others
Alexis Yancy-Academic Coach at Grady High in Atlanta, GA
In the early hours before the
inauguration ceremony began, the soon to be president aired a service announcement
on television asking fellow Americans to begin the process of change by serving
others. During President Obama's somber yet hope-filled speech, I was
particularly intrigued by his emphasis on the concept of serving others.
I began to think about the Play It
Smart program and what it means in the request to serve others and I was struck
by the realization  that the mission statement of the Play It Smart program and
the reason for which so many people have chosen to be Academic Coaches is for
this very reason.
I began to think about many of the
experiences Academic Coaches shared during the Annual Conference in July. I thought of their endurance and persistence
as they hashed out different strategies to address the needs of an ever
changing youth generation. I thought of
the pride gleaming in their eyes as they spoke of how they have begun to get
their players to believe that their dreams are attainable.
This then led to the reflection of
a personal experience that occurred in the beginning of the school year. I was given the opportunity to receive free
tickets to any Atlanta Falcons game of the season. I thought it would be an excellent team
builder so I chose to take the team to the first game of the season. I told the
team about this trip a week before I picked up the tickets and one young man
would consistently remind me not to forget about the tickets.
Upon entering the stadium, the same
gentleman who had reminded me about the tickets on a daily basis was there
early wearing his Falcons jersey and he was clearly ready for the game to
begin. He informed me that he was the
Falcon's number one fan. Throughout the
game, he cheered loudly and danced to the songs they played. Later, he leaned over to me and thanked me
for getting those tickets. I told him
any time and asked him if he was planning to come to any other games. He then informed me that in his 16 years of
living in Atlanta he had never been to the Georgia Dome or to an Atlanta
Falcons game. This was his first time seeing a game in person. It was at this
time that I realized that sometimes the smallest act of thoughtfulness can be a
new life experience to someone else.
What we do as Academic Coaches is
not motivated by a request but fueled by a desire-a-desire to have young people
believe that the impossible is indeed possible and that the dreams do come
true. Thus, in reflection to President Obama's request to the American people, I
believe that the Play It Smart program is ahead of the game and will continue
to do its part in serving others.
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Importance of ORBIT
Hue Nguygen, Database Coordinator
I want to thank everyone that turned in all their data for
this year so far. I know it can be very time consuming to collect the
data and we are very appreciative of your efforts. Every piece of information
handed into the national office helps to secure funds, create new program
initiatives, and evaluate current programs. The following is a breakdown
of the information Member Schools provide Play It Smart and how it is used.
Paper Forms
PACE and PACE Evaluation:
The PACE strategic planning document helps each member
school develop goals and initiatives for the entire academic year. It is
important that member schools create and submit this form at the beginning of
the academic year with their "team" consisting of the Academic Coach,
Administrators and Head Coaches.
This form serves as a guide to help member schools stay on
track with their goals. Although PACE is
only submitted at the beginning of each school year, Play It Smart strongly
encourages evaluation at regular intervals (monthly, quarterly, each trimester)
and encourages adjustments as needed.
PACE is also intended to help administrators and head
coaches gain a better understanding of the program, so they too can become
stronger advocates for all of the program's initiatives. The Play It Smart national office uses the
PACE strategic plan to get an idea of the different methods each member school
uses to implement all of the program's components.
The PACE Evaluation Form (Due
April 1, 2009) is for member schools to provide Play It Smart national
with a simple self-evaluation of progress in each of the goal areas. The
national office uses the evaluation to help assess overall progress, as well as
to plan and build-out future "Best Practice" resources and potential
conference agenda topics. This form is now available on ORBIT or through your
program officer.
Future Contact Information:
Play It Smart National uses this information to track the
college matriculation rate of Play It Smart seniors and to send surveys to Play
It Smart student-athlete alumni. This information helps with setting up
longitudinal research regarding the effectiveness of the program on our
graduates.
Online Forms
End of Year Statistical Data:
Many of our sponsors love to get updates on their Play It Smart partner
schools. We try to provide sponsors with the team's statistical data as
well as everyday stories focusing on individual students, team progress, and
community projects.
Sponsors can request statistical data and school stories at any time throughout
the school year. It is important to have all data collected through ORBIT
complete and up to date so Play It Smart can submit the necessary information
in a timely manner.
We encourage our member schools to create any additional data collection and
research initiatives that will reflect the important issues of their own school
district and community. We will work with you to help create those initiatives
and have several models of local data collection protocols that have been set
up by some of our member schools and school districts.
Findings from Mid-Year Report:
Play It Smart Member Schools have completed over 17,800 community
service hours. Member schools have held over 200 Smart Skills activities
totaling over 17,500 hours and have had over 12,500 hours of
parental involvement activities.
Top
Performers in the Smart Skills programming
area to date:
Jefferson Davis (Houston, TX)
Academic Coach Laura Jeffery
2,480 hours
Cheyenne East (Cheyenne, WY)
Wayne Korhonen
2,346 hours
Ben Davis (Indianapolis, IN)
Leslie Kelly
1,331 hours
Top Performers in Parental Involvement to date:
Sam Houston (Houston, TX)
Pamela Williams
3,093 hours
James Madison (Houston, TX)
Yvonne.W. Friday
1,886 hours
Milby (Houston, TX)
Colby Rhoden
1,070 hours
Top Performers in Community Service to date:
Jefferson Davis (Houston, TX)
Laura Jeffery
5,870 hours
Sam Houston (Houston, TX)
Pamela Williams
1,358 hours
South Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)
Trina Brown
1,050 hours
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Recognizing Your Students
Play It Smart would like to recognize our member schools' student-athletes for their excellence and achievements on the field, in the classroom and in service to others. Please send you program officer any information on awards, honors, or scholarships that your student-athletes have received by March 31, 2009. Include any photos (digital preferably) and information that you may have.
This information will be posted on the Play It Smart national website and will also be included in a national article. Please contact your program officer if you have any questions.
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Student Honored for Hard Work
On
Thursday, February 19, 2009 Career Tech students from Heritage and E.C. Glass High
Schools (Lynchburg, VA) were honored by the Optimist Club and Areva during a luncheon at the Holiday Inn
Select
for their hard work and great attitude.s Career Tech teachers from each school nominated the students by writing
letters describing each student's dedication to his/her school work and impact
on the school.
The students received an award certificate and a $50 gift
certificate to Givens Books. Justin Henry. a football player, from E.C. Glass High School was one of the students honored.
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Ice Cream and FAFSA
The Worthing High School Play It Smart program (Houston, TX)
along with fellow Go Center Staff hosted a PIN Ice Cream Social on February
19th, 2009. Students were eager to come inside and participate in
this event. They were greeted with music, excitement and
ice cream, and most importantly a chance to get acquainted with the first steps of the FAFSA process.
The PIN social was a jump start to the FAFSA Workshop held
February 24th, 2009 at Worthing High
School.
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Student-Athletes of the Month
Click below view entire list of student-athletes for the month of January.
http://www.playitsmart.org/january09_students.php
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National Student-Athlete of the Month
January 2009 National Student-Athlete of the Month
Monica Li, Heritage (Lynchburg, VA)
Li is a four-year varsity letter winner, avid volunteer, and ranked
fourth in her senior class. In the fall Li plans to study graphic
design at North Carolina State University.
Maggie Davis, academic coach at Heritage, nominated Li for
her diligence and responsibility to actively plan for college, and for
the generosity and time that she dedicates to Play It Smart, all while
maintaining her stellar 4.3 GPA.
http://www.playitsmart.org/news.php?id=1820
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Our mission is to help student-athletes take responsibility for their futures through lessons learned on the playing field, in the classroom and in service to others.
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If you're going to play...Play It Smart
Sincerely,
Play It Smart Staff
1-800-486-1865 | |
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