DC SCORES

Local poet and activist leads poetry workshops for DC SCORES poet-athletes

2012-02-16T11:35:00.003-05:00

Written by Joe Brophy
Elementary School Program Coordinator

Every fall, each DC SCORES elementary school is visited by a local professional poet, who works with the students on performing their poetry in preparation for the Poetry Slam.

This year, DC SCORES was excited to have Jonathan B. Tucker not only lead workshops in four schools, perform on the first night of the Poetry Slam! and judge on the second night, but also connect us to numerous professional poets who led workshops in other DC SCORES elementary schools.

Tucker is a local poet and activist well known for his work with the DC Youth Slam Team, Split This Rock Poetry Festival and Teaching for Change, and can often be seen hosting open mic competitions and poetry slams at Busboys and Poets and The Fridge as well as other District-area community art spaces.

We recently got a chance to chat with Tucker about his experience with DC SCORES, his work in the community and how he got started as a poet.

What made you interested in working for DC SCORES?

I love teaching poetry and helping young people express themselves using creative writing and performance.

Over this past fall you led workshops for DC SCORES poet-athletes at four different elementary schools. What was the most memorable experience?

Signing autographs for students who thought I was famous. Helping students with their homework prior to the poetry workshop. Watching the quietest, shyest student in the class eager to get up and perform her poem in front of the whole group reassured me that what I do is valuable in so many ways.

Laughing with students at every school when we wrote funny things. Being embarrassed to take off my hat and show students my hair at one school, and then doing it anyway because they asked. Seeing the growth in one poet’s writing or performance in just one day’s work. Seeing the students I worked with up on stage at the Slam!. Seeing students I worked with celebrating as they won the slam!.

How old were you when you first started writing poetry? Was there any particular teacher, poet or event that inspired you when you were beginning?

At about 13 or 14 I started writing for myself. Prior to that I wrote poems only when assigned to in school. The inspiration that got me started writing poetry was a very pretty girl in my school. I had known her almost all my life and didn’t know how to address my changing feelings for her, so I wrote about it. These were secret poems that only my best friend saw. Women still inspire me, but I write about many more things now.

Do you have any advice for young poets who might be interested in using poetry as a method for social change?

Read more than you write. Write more than you speak. Speak more than you perform. Perform often. Never stop reading and studying the issues you care about. Just because you reach an epiphany once or think that you know exactly how you feel about a subject, that does not mean that your thoughts and opinions won’t and shouldn’t change over time.

Everything is always changing. It is not enough to decry sexism and racism and call it a day. You need to specify. Name these things as you see them in your world and yourself. Change starts from within. Beginning poets are quick to preach their beliefs to others. Avoid this temptation. Instead tell stories that point to undeniable truths. Let the audience think for themselves. Be bold. Be brave. And go to where the problems are. If you are not taking risks with your poetry and your activism, then you will not make the great changes you desire.

Be risky. Be smart. Join an organization. Listen to other poets (and other public speakers) and take notes on what techniques work best at getting to your heart. How do they make you feel? Care? Act? Finally, stand by your words. Be honest and true to yourself.

Was there any experience growing up that led you to want to coach youth poetry or to run poetry workshops for organizations like DC SCORES?

Yes. I participated in a nonprofit organization’s high school program when I was a teenager and it changed my outlook on the world. I became a different (and better) person thanks to this program and the caring people who challenged me to think differently. It was not a poetry program at all. It was a cross-cultural dialogue and leadership development program.

But I learned that there are people who still devote their lives to bettering the world. I learned that there are ways of living that are less destructive and competitive. I learned that I could have a great impact on others (like students I work with) by sharing my words, my thoughts and my time. I want to help young people come to these realizations like I did as a teenager.

How would you describe your first DC SCORES Poetry Slam!?

It was loud! The DJ was cranking hits and the kids were dancing in the aisles. It was a real good time. There were professional soccer players there and other great poets sitting beside me. I was very happy when one of the schools I worked with won too.

If you could say any one thing to the current DC SCORES poet-athletes, what would it be?

Do not let anyone else pen your future, past or present. You must write your life into being. Words create worlds. If you want to change your world, start by using your words to add meaning, delete stress, highlight opportunities, and reformat your whole life. You have this power. It does not come from a teacher or degree. It does not come from radio or TV.

The power to mold worlds with your creative visions comes from within. It is in your faith in yourself and your belief in the word. Spoken or written (or tweeted), we are nothing if we are not trusted and respected for our words. Use this power. Use your power. Use your power responsibly.

And also, come compete in the DC Youth Poetry Slam when you become a teenager!

Learn more about Jonathan Tucker's work at www.jonathanbtucker.com.

Highlighting our youth poets: C.W. Harris Elementary School

2012-02-15T11:00:00.001-05:00

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 C.W. Harris Elementary School poets provided some comic relief for the capacity audience with a give-and-take debate on the merits of ... cake! Check out this poem along with C.W. Harris' other works from their night of presentation on stage.

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

An interview with DC SCORES Alumni President Aaron H.

2012-02-13T11:14:00.000-05:00

A couple months ago, the first-ever DC SCORES Alumni Executive Board was formed, as written about on the DC SCORES blog.

The largest leadership position went to Aaron H., a 10th-grader at Phelps High School who was a DC SCORES poet-athlete at Aiton Elementary School for three years.

Aaron recently took time out of his busy school and presidential schedule to chat about his new role and look back on his DC SCORES experience.

What was your favorite part, looking back, of your DC SCORES experience?

It’s probably the soccer tournaments. Getting to interact with a bunch of schools in one day. Not having to wait until next week to play another school. Getting a bunch of schools in one place on one day was a lot of fun.

Is there a specific memory that really sticks out to you?

For some reason, I just remember the game when it was raining -- it was raining real hard -- and we played through the game. It was fun to play in the rain. We thought they was gonna cancel it.

How and when did you first get involved as a DC SCORES alum?

About a year ago. I added them on Facebook, and then I started seeing all the updates and I came to a meeting.

What inspired you to really get involved?

It was fun to be in DC SCORES when I was young, so I just wanted to still be involved. And when I was in middle school, I thought that we were going to have a soccer team with DC SCORES, but it wasn’t like enough people and I got mad about that. Then I saw that even though I’m in high school, I can still be involved in DC SCORES.

What inspired you or made you excited to run for Alumni Council president?

I was just here and I heard that we was gonna have different positions, so I decided to run for president!

What are your goals as the alumni president? What things do you want to get accomplished?

I want to see more alumni get involved, because even now it’s a good amount of alumni (involved) from different schools, but not as much as I’d like to see.

How excited are you to see so many alumni already coming back and they’re all excited about the program, about giving back and then also doing things together?

It’s really exciting to see a bunch of alumni; they still want to be involved with DC SCORES. Even some of them, they still have their soccer games and soccer practices (for their teams), but if it’s a day where they don’t have a game or practice, they’ll come to the meetings and the tournaments and Fall Frenzy. We volunteer, even refereeing the games.

You’ve reffed games, right? What’s that like?

It’s really exciting. We have to pay attention a lot and it’s more running than I thought. They’re all over the field, so we have to be kind of right on top of it. Especially when you’re the only one refereeing, so you can’t just be on one side of the field -- you have to be everywhere.

How do you think this experience, this leadership position, will help you in the future?

It’s good practice for understanding how to deal with different things that come up, because now I have to deal with different situations that come up and having a lot of responsibilities and having X, Y, Z to do by tomorrow. So it’s just practice on having a leadership role.

What was it like being on stage at the Poetry Slam! handing out the trophies?

At first I was a little bit nervous because (Senior Program Director) Ms. Katrina (Hochstetler), she told me I’d go on stage and hold the trophy.

What are your future plans after high school?

After high school I plan on getting involved with the fire department because they pay good and they pay for you to go to college too. So I get to work and go to college.

Help keep The Trust supporting nonprofits like DC SCORES

2012-02-09T10:17:00.000-05:00

Written by Amy Nakamoto

Executive Director

Dear DC SCORES supporters — we don’t often engage you in advocacy, but we are at a critical juncture in the city with regards to the fiscal health of strong youth development organizations.

One of DC SCORES’ largest funders, The Trust (Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation), was created in 2000 as a public-private entity to derive their budget from the District government as well as private dollars from local and national sources.

Their charge is to support positive youth development by funding organizations that foster outcomes for youth like sense of self-worth and sense of belonging. These are predictors for concrete outcomes such as academic success, living a healthy lifestyle, and becoming active and engaged citizens.

As the sole, dedicated development funder with allocated District dollars, the Trust has supported direct programming and the leadership and staff capacity building of some of the strongest nonprofit youth programs in the District, such as DC SCORES, Higher Achievement, the Latin American Youth Center, Brainfood, Beacon House, Martha’s Table, Life Pieces to Master Pieces, KidPower and so many more.

One of the most influential and game-changing initiatives the Trust led was engaging the Wallace Foundation to fund a middle school after-school initiative at a time when virtually nobody was paying attention to the support a middle school student needed.

For DC SCORES, that funding laid the groundwork for our now-robust middle school program that engages more than 200 youth annually at seven schools.

Despite all of this good and its indelible impact on so many organizations, there is another narrative plaguing the Trust right now. For a host of reasons that are too nuanced to describe in detail, the Trust’s future is in danger as a result of the fallout from former Councilmember Harry Thomas’ (Ward 5) criminal behavior.

The DC City Council — which is charged with oversight of the Trust; allocates public dollars to the Trust; and is largely responsible for placing members on the Trust board — is now weighing shutting the Trust down because of its role in steering dollars toward at least one former Councilmember’s interests.

The Council has a chance to make it right. The public needs to know that the vision of the Trust — that each child in the District of Columbia has the opportunity to make positive choices that let them develop and grow into healthy, caring and productive adults — is what they are truly about.

While it may seem like the easy choice to close the Trust to restore some sense of ‘good government’ for our residents, it’s not the right choice. Not to sound too cliché, but young people should not suffer because of negligent and irresponsible actions made by adults.

This is the Council’s chance to do right by its youngest constituents.

Please call or write your Councilmember today pleading with them to keep the Trust on behalf of DC SCORES and the others making a difference every day.

Amy Nakamoto is a board member of the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA)

Highlighting our youth poets: MacFarland Middle School

2012-02-08T11:30:00.001-05:00

On the first night of the Slam!, the defending middle school champions from MacFarland Middle School put together a diversified, energized performance. Check out MacFarland's poet-athletes!

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

AmeriCorps members bring diverse perspectives, passion for activism to DC SCORES schools

2012-02-06T10:15:00.000-05:00

Written by Zach Elkin

AmeriCorps Program Manager

A week before the DC SCORES fall season began, some new faces gathered in the conference room at the M Street office. As introductions commenced, the group’s diversity was evident: undergraduate students, recent college graduates, working professionals; D.C. natives and those new to the area; Caucasian, Black, Latino; athletes, writers and community activists.

It wasn’t long before casual conversations broke out, and members of the group discovered they were all there for the same reason. By the end of the week, they would be welcomed into the DC SCORES family as the inaugural cohort of AmeriCorps coaches.

Their year of volunteerism with DC SCORES signaled a common mission that linked those sitting at the table: a commitment to public service and the emotional, academic, and physical development of D.C. youth.

Every afternoon that week, the AmeriCorps coaches were given organizational and programmatic breakdowns from the DC SCORES staff, shared personal perspectives on the state of public education in the city and nationwide, and examined the concepts of Teamwork, Leadership and Commitment in relation to effective coaching strategies.

Throughout, the AmeriCorps group began to develop their own sense of community by learning about each other’s histories and participating in team-building exercises.

After completing nearly 10 hours of pre-service training, members were given school assignments that would soon be their destinations every afternoon. The invigorated group was excited (while a little nervous!) to meet their co-coaches and begin working with their respective teams the following week.

From the first fall practices through the culminating Poetry Slam! performances, AmeriCorps coaches made a tremendous impact on the DC SCORES program. Besides their outstanding coaching efforts, the AmeriCorps coaches helped manage the logistical components at their schools (e.g student registration and attendance), facilitated written and physical evaluations, and helped DC SCORES staff with other program-related projects.

At the same time, AmeriCorps members participated in bi-weekly trainings such as a referee workshop, CPR certification class and youth development training; and many attended weekly panel events and workshops related to education and youth development at various organizations around the city.

This winter, AmeriCorps coaches are taking the lead to implement a scaled-back program at four schools and teaching students how to make healthy snacks and stay physically active during the winter months.

After the winter season wraps up in early March, AmeriCorps members will have a short break before they re-join their fall team of coaches to kick off the spring season. DC SCORES is fortunate to have such an amazing cast of AmeriCorps coaches and is looking forward to all of their hard work in the future!

Learn a little more about the AmeriCorps coaches below:

Rachel Mason — Bancroft ES

From Fairfax, VA, Rachel’s passion about youth work and desire to gain more professional experience in the field of education attracted her to DC SCORES. In her time away from Bancroft, Rachel is working to complete her Master’s Thesis in Social Justice, and she loves to run, practice yoga, journal and write poetry.

Shakeria Reed — Noyes EC

Shakeria joined DC SCORES after graduating from Salisbury University in the spring of 2011. Born and raised in the District, Shakeria was intrigued by the DC SCORES philosophy and decided to take a break from her education to join AmeriCorps. Her most memorable part of the fall season was her team’s second-place finish at the Eastside Poetry Slam!. In her free time, Shakeria works as a hostess at a restaurant in Maryland.

Terrell Clifford — Garfield ES

Terrell, from Bowie, MD, joined DC SCORES for the opportunity to affect change in his local community and impact the lives of youth. Terrell had great success creating the DC SCORES program at Garfield in the fall, and vividly remembers when his poet-athletes scored their first goal in the second game of the season! Outside of DC SCORES, Terrell enjoys traveling and is preparing to attend graduate school in the fall.

Eric Toldi — Thomson ES

Eric, born and raised in the Bay Area of California, was eager to work with elementary school students and liked the variety of DC SCORES curricula. His proudest moment was watching his team practice their poetry to perfection. Outside of DC SCORES, Eric interns for an aerospace manufacturing nonprofit and likes to exercise and cook.

Gerardo Benavides — Raymond EC

Gerardo came to DC SCORES by way of Silver Spring, MD, and currently studies Sociology and Global Poverty at the University of Maryland. Gerardo was attracted to the joint initiative of poetry and soccer to advocate for healthier lifestyles for youth, and was so proud of his Raymond team for going undefeated in the fall. Besides coaching, Gerardo is heavily involved in UMD’s service-learning organizations such as Terps for Change and Alternative Breaks.

Will Marshall — Lincoln MS

Will came to DC SCORES in September hoping to build experience working with inner-city youth and pursue his passion for education. Born in St. Louis, MO, Will wanted the opportunity to serve with AmeriCorps, and did a fantastic job coaching poetry and soccer to the sixth and seventh grade Lincoln boys in the fall. Outside of DC SCORES, Will is an avid writer and adult rugby coach.

Sheldon Biggs — MacFarland MS

From the District, Sheldon was excited about the chance to work with youth and make a difference in their lives, and was thrilled to learn that the AmeriCorps program offered an Education Award! Sheldon’s most memorable moment from the fall season was the Westside Poetry Slam!. When he’s not at MacFarland, Sheldon is working toward a degree in Finance from the University of the District of Columbia

Jazeeda Pelzer — Truesdell EC

Jazeeda was attracted to the poetry and creative expression aspect of DC SCORES and joined halfway through the fall season to help prepare the Truesdell students for the annual Poetry Slam!. Born and raised in the District, Jazeeda studies Mass Media Communications at the University of the District of Columbia and is an active member in the community.

Buy a kid a soccer jersey, give the gift of self-expression

2012-02-02T09:29:00.001-05:00

Written by Clive Grant

Administrative Assistant

Some things are just fundamental. And fundamentals are what make some things meaningful. An inner-city grade-school student-athlete being provided with the necessary equipment to shine not only in the classroom, but on the field, is something DC SCORES takes pride in and will go to great lengths to fulfill.

Throughout our service here in the nation’s capitol we’ve been fortunate to provide for amazing students, in no less than amazing fashions.

Stemming from last year, the ever-so-familiar Groupon DC has extended its reach to DC SCORES for a cause bigger than just selling soccer jerseys. Wonderful contributors and supporters of our mission here at DC SCORES have yet another opportunity to buy into a child’s dream and contribute to one of our more than 800 poet-athlete’s not-so-typical youth-hood in the highly under-resourced District of Columbia.

So what does $10 really buy?

Maybe you’re thinking, ‘Hey … well what can a jersey do for a kid?’ Well, tons of things, to be exact. The opportunity to not only be part of a team, but a team that is organized and professional, literally, from head to toe.

As a youngster, the No. 21 jersey was me. Partly because the number selection was limited, and partly because No. 23 had been taken.

Nevertheless, I had an identity on the playing field, which was all mine. DC SCORES is SELF EXPRESSION is a motto we live by here, and one that continues to help us succeed in doing more for our kids.

Help us help our poet-athletes today with a donation of $10, and please share this wonderful opportunity for change throughout your network.

The DC SCORES deal on Groupon ends TONIGHT at midnight, so please buy that kid’s jersey before then!

Highlighting our youth poets: Beers Elementary School

2012-02-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

On the second night of the Slam!, the poets of Beers Elementary School put on an impassioned performance with lines such as "We'll eliminate all distractions and change our ashes"; "Go to school, you can still be cool"; and "We can all make change for the better."

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

Highlighting our youth poets: Perry Street Prep

2012-01-25T11:00:00.000-05:00

On the first night of the Slam!, led by Shine Award winner DeAndre W. (see him perform his poem live on NBC!)., Perry Street Prep won the coveted Golden Mic award for the best elementary school performance with an ode to moms everywhere and a heartfelt poem about raging pain.

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

DC SCORES coach Adwoa Blankson-Wood wins distinguished community award

2012-01-24T13:56:00.000-05:00

For the second consecutive year — or NBA season — a DC SCORES coach stood at center court of a Washington Wizards game to be honored.

During a recent Wizards game at Verizon Center, Howard Road Academy soccer coach Adwoa Blankson-Wood was presented with the Wizards Care Community Assist Award for her dedication to her community.

A year ago, Burrville soccer coach Chiara Lee received the same honor.

After receiving the award, Blankson-Wood expressed her excitement.

“From start to finish, it was a wonderful dream,” she said. “My experience (at the game) was truly awesome and one that I will look back on fondly for the rest of my life.”

Blankson-Wood was selected to be recognized by the Positive Coaching Alliance for the impact she has made the past three years for DC SCORES. In addition to coaching soccer, she is a second-grade teacher at HRA.

Blankson Wood is a graduate of Grambling State University, where she played varsity soccer. Now, she takes pride in teaching the game to DC SCORES students to help them become well-rounded student-athletes just like she was.

"Receiving this award was a great honor for me," Blankson-Wood said. "I am grateful to DC SCORES for nominating me and to the Positive Coaching Alliance and the Wizards organization for hosting.

"I love the work that I do with DC SCORES and it has inspired me to do more and give more every year."

Winter program focused on nutrition and healthy living begins at four schools

2012-01-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

Written by Zach Elkin

AmeriCorps Program Manager

It was a seemingly normal Tuesday afternoon at Noyes Education Campus in Northeast DC. At dismissal, many students journeyed home or to a friend’s house; others stayed behind to complete homework or head to the gym for basketball.

But returning and new DC SCORES poet-athletes soon began to gather in the hallway, anticipating the start of winter programming for the first time ever at their school. The DC SCORES program had been on break since the Poetry Slam! in December, and students were eager to get back into action.

However, this winter students would enjoy a new component in addition to soccer play: nutrition.

Coach Shakeria and Coach Terrell began the afternoon leading an activity called “Mirror Image.” This fun game challenged pairs of students to practice shadowing each other’s movements and was accompanied by a discussion on how it feels to be a leader and follower, what happens when someone makes decisions for you, and how one’s personal values shape his/her goals.

Students later played a twist on the popular charades game, where students took turns acting out a personal value for the group to guess. Later this week, Noyes students will make peanut butter and “fruit-wiches” as they discuss why the snack is a healthy choice, what can be added or subtracted to make it healthier, and how the snack can be altered at home.

For the first time in three years, four teams are participating in the Power of Choice (USDA created) program that teaches youth how to make healthy eating and fitness decisions. The interactive, six-week program, which commenced this week at Bancroft ES, Noyes EC, and MacFarland MS (and next week at Brightwood EC), teaches students how to read food labels and safely prepare food, examines the benefits of eating healthy food, and gives students weekly hands-on practice preparing nutritious snacks.

DC SCORES is fortunate to have this winter’s program run almost exclusively by our AmeriCorps coaches, who volunteer their time and effort to making sure students are learning and having fun after school. AmeriCorps coaches are teaming up in pairs to instruct students using the Power of Choice curriculum and incorporate their educational and professional expertise into the workshops.

It is critical for students to receive these lessons and experience first-hand the processes involved in making smart food choices. With the obesity rate among children on the rise and an unforgivable lack of healthy food options in underserved communities, showing students how they can be in control of their eating habits may be the best way to get the message across and see real change.

Aside from the knowledge and skills students gain during Power of Choice, they continue to form positive relationships with their peers and coaches, and stay active during the time of year when many youth resort to eating larger portions of unhealthier foods and spend their after school time at home on the couch.

In general, when parents, principals, community members, and countless supporters talk about “DC SCORES,” the conversation highlights an exciting youth soccer game, memorable Poetry Slam! performance, or school event that celebrated a team’s service to their neighborhood.

This winter, stop by a participating school and check out students learning to make smoothies, cereal sundaes and pocket pita sandwiches. Sooner than later, when DC SCORES is mentioned, admirers will be hard-pressed not to include a memory from the winter season.

Winter programming is taking place from January 17 through March 2, so feel free to contact us if you would like to visit a school!

Highlighting our youth poets: Cesar Chavez Parkside

2012-01-18T10:35:00.000-05:00

On the second night of the Slam!, led by Shine Award winner Jeffry F., Cesar Chavez Parkside put on an inspiring performance highlighted by the hit line, "Smart is the new swag." Check out the poet-athletes educating the audience at H.D. Woodson High School.

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

DC SCORES staff members visit youth-serving organizations in Ecuador

2012-01-17T16:26:00.002-05:00

This past December, a pair of DC SCORES staff members got the opportunity to spend a week in Ecuador learning about youth-serving organizations in the country and sharing DC SCORES’ best practices with community leaders.

It was an action-packed seven days for Senior Program Director Katrina Hochstetler and Volunteer and Soccer Manager Sean Hinkle, who observed 11 different programs, many of which were funded by umbrella organization Fudela; played soccer with youth soccer teams; and met world kickboxing champion Edison Omar Jiménez, who created two youth-serving organizations, including the Fundación Sin Fronteras Ecuador.

The trip was part of the Youth Sports Management Exchange, put together by the Partners of the Americas -- a program that involved youth-serving organizations from Ecuador and Colombia visiting the United States to gain best practices to implement in their home countries. The final stage of the program had leaders such as Hochstetler and Hinkle traveling to Ecuador -- and others to Colombia -- to take in the programs.

It wasn’t just a working trip, either. Hochstetler and Hinkle also got a large taste of Ecuadorian culture, doing everything from visiting the Equator, to taking a hike in the jungle, to sampling all kinds of Ecuadorian cuisine.

The locals were extremely accommodating and welcoming, especially their host family the Andrades.

The pair of DC SCORES ambassadors sat down recently to discuss their trip

KH: Earlier in the year, people who had programs in Ecuador and Colombia came to DC and Kentucky to learn about other programs and then they went back and implemented new ideas in their own programs. So we were going back to kind of learn about how they had implemented what they learned in the States.

SH: They came to the States in two groups. The first group came in June. So I went to speak on a panel (then). The focus of the day was coaching and teaching techniques for improving connections with at-risk youth. And then (Executive Director) Amy (Nakamoto) spoke on a panel where the topic was fundraising.

What were the main goals of the trip for you?

KH: Our main goals were to learn about their programs, learn about what they implemented, and then learn about their culture.

What did you notice about what they had implemented and what kind of success it had had?

SH: We were impressed with the programs that we visited. We were most surprised by the amount of community involvement in every program, from community members and family members cleaning up fields and public spaces that the kids were using, to the relationships that the coaches had with the parents. The community involvement was really impressive.

Besides just observing, how did you participate in the community?

SH: We played soccer at a few of the programs we visited, mostly with the older kids, but we even jumped in with some of the younger kids. There was obviously a language barrier since neither of us speak Spanish very well, which restricted a little bit of what we could do, but the program leaders were very patient with us and did their best to describe their programs and answer our questions.

Are there any programs at all similar to DC SCORES over there?

SH: There are only a few after-school programs. Most of the programs that we visited were not affiliated with schools. But the positive relationships between kids and coaches/adults was very evident there and something we feel makes DC SCORES very strong as well.

What did you take away from the experience that you can or might apply?

SH: I think it reinforced a lot of the things that we know make programs successful, which is keeping the older kids involved with the program and in some type of leadership capacity and really getting a buy-in from community members and parents and families.

KH: We saw two programs that were really strong. They were community-based and neighborhood-based. And (our host) Magali Andrade’s program especially, they used older kids to lead sessions for younger kids. It was really nice. It looked a lot like our program.

They also emphasized character and value training, which was a little bit like the components that we add in to ours. They wanted to hear a lot about poetry, service-learning, because they weren’t sure how that all fit together.

SH: Yeah, it was tough for them to understand the concept of combining an academic component with sports. Most of their programs focused on character development and values.

About how many programs did you visit?

KH: We visited a daycare, public elementary school, a high school for girls, and four community-based programs with kids from 4 years old to the older kids that were high school age who came back to help them.

SH: It was a variety of programs. We saw everything from just strictly soccer, we got to experience their classroom settings, we got to see their recreational soccer, we got to see some of their more competitive club soccer, we even got to visit a school for children with special needs.

KH: And a unique woodwork program for people with special needs.

SH: And the last we visited was a program called A Ganar that teaches job training and character development.

What besides the community involvement within these programs kind of stood out to you about the culture?

KH: The language barrier was really challenging. We were able to see a variety of programs with different age groups. … We had a great opportunity to meet lots of different people and to do things to learn about Ecuador. We went to visit El Panecillo. We went to the old city (in downtown Quito) -- it’s very beautiful, all Spanish architecture. So learning a little bit more about their history, that old city part of Quito was really beautiful.

We went to the Equator. We received a guided tour of a museum there. We saw people living in the jungle. All kinds of different aspects of Ecuador’s history and groups of people that are part of Ecuador's diverse culture.

SH: And the thing that was really nice is that everything we did was first-hand with the locals from that community, so not only were they showing us their favorite parts of town, but they were also giving us a lot of their history, historical facts, cultural facts, taking us to experience the food in each part of town, driving from Quito to the jungle.

They were really considerate about showing us their country.

SH: Overall, I think the most refreshing thing was to see the people who really care about their work.

Highlighting our youth poets: Raymond Education Campus

2012-01-11T10:30:00.000-05:00

The defending champion Raymond poet-athletes echoed a theme of the Slam!, performing a poem about civil rights. "When people march, they do it to be free," the poet-athletes said in unison on stage. That was just a highlight of their performance that capped off the first night of the event.

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

Highlighting our youth poets: Arts and Technology Academy

2012-01-04T11:30:00.000-05:00

NOTE: Each week beginning today, 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.

We'll start with Arts and Technology Academy, which put on a poignant tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. just months after the MLK memorial was opened to the public in the District. It wasn't the only ode to the transcendent leader during the two-night event, but the performance earned ATA its fourth consecutive Golden Mic trophy for winning the elementary school division of the second night of the Slam!.

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

Highlighting some of the best student poetry from the fall season

2012-01-03T11:30:00.000-05:00

Beginning this week — tomorrow, in fact — we will be highlighting each of our 27 schools' performances from the 14th Annual Poetry Slam! each week on this blog. Before we get to that, however, we want to showcase some of best poems written this past fall that might not be featured in the performances you'll see.

For over two months, students — many of whom didn't even know what a poem or Haiku was prior to joining DC SCORES — learned how to write poetry and express their feelings on paper. These original works represent a small sampling from that experience that culminates in each school's 5-minute performance at the Poetry Slam!:

I Wonder

I wonder if the world sleeps

When I am awake

I wonder if I ever shrink, my thoughts will increase.

I wonder if I can ever fly

If I can lay on the clouds.

I wonder if Ms. Oliver-Kee

Can find a key to a golden chamber

And unlock all my thoughts to be real.

Telma M.

Brightwood Education Campus

Happiness

Cotton Candy

Got a big rollercoaster

With a little laugh in your favorite toys world

Your mom comes and gives everyone a fun sized cupcake,

With a cherry on top.

Then comes the rain

And the darkness covers the sky

Black

Sadness

Marks and drowns the world a little

Sun won’t hurt so sun comes along

Then birds come out

Tweet their little song

The rain goes away

With the sad clouds

Count and Bye Bye sadness

Here comes happiness in the world.

Leo

Bancroft Elementary School

Pure Love

My heart shimmers.

I fall in love

My heart is breaking,

Of lakes.

I am in love,

While swans flow,

My love,

A mystery as I go on.

Where is he?

This is my best friend

My best friend’s name is Joredine

He is not here today.

He is gone.

I end in tears

Swans turn into dust

The river is no longer fast,

It is slow.

The animals look sad, I walk through the park.

They Run,

Looks like God’s Tears

It starts all over again.

Aniyah W.

Noyes Education Campus

In My Life

In my life there is track and soccer

And I always smile

In my life I feel energetic

And I eat chicken

And I go to soccer games

And I want to be allowed to do two things

In my life I heard birds sing

And it makes me feel joyful

And I want to tell the world I smile a lot

In my life people think I am smart

And never go crazy

In my life I am an athlete

And I want to be a professional

And I give 100%

Lydell V.

Aiton Elementary School

I am what I am

I am someone strong,

I have my own beat to the drum!

I call the shots down to feet.

I’m an unstoppable force of wind, I don’t think you can handle me.

Well I’m what others don’t want me to be

One day when I wake and look in the mirror, I’ll be able to say I’m more than what anyone expected me to be.

That’s why I am what I am.

Tadjanique P.

Kelly Miller Middle School

11 stories that defined DC SCORES in 2011

2011-12-29T14:23:00.001-05:00

Before we switch the focus to what should be an extremely exciting year of continued growth for DC SCORES in 2012, it never hurts to take a look back and realize the progress we've made in the last 12 months.

Over the past 365 days, DC SCORES has grown from serving about 750 District elementary and middle school students at 24 schools to serving over 800 at 27 schools.

We have added an organized program for alumni of the program, fit with serving positions including an alumni president.

And we have embarked on a five-year growth plan designed to double the size of DC SCORES as we strive to provide our after-school model for every student in the District deserving of the opportunity to be on a team representing their school and community.

Yes, it's been a busy year of looking ahead and planning for the future.

However, the quality of programming we provide on a daily basis in classrooms throughout the District has never waned, which is something we're most proud of. The teachers, or "SCORES Corps," at each school deserve the most praise for this. They make the program work, season in and season out.

With that said, here are 11 stories — pulled from the annals of this blog — that helped define DC SCORES in 2011:

11. Luis meets President Obama

It was not just another day at school for Luis A. of Tubman Elementary School in mid-December 2010. As Luis prepared for school, he could barely contain himself, knowing whom he was about to meet. Hours later, Luis stood by President Obama's side as the President signed the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act of 2010. "Everybody has a chance to live and everybody has a chance to do what they want to do," Luis said of the message he took from his special day.

10. DC SCORES alumni win futsal tournament

Last February, eight DC SCORES alumni representing rival high schools Bell and Wilson came together as one to represent DC SCORES in the St. Albans School Futsal tournament. They had never all played together, but after an opening loss, the boys bonded and didn't lose again, taking home the championship trophy. Their title run demonstrated the power of teamwork.

9. Burrville coach Chiara Lee wins Wizards Care Community Assist Award

Last year, long-time DC SCORES soccer coach Chiara Lee, who leads the girls team at Burrville Elementary School, was honored for her outstanding work both inside and outside of the classroom by Washington's NBA team with the Wizards Care Community Assist Award. Lee, one of our longest-tenured coaches, also answered some questions about her DC SCORES experience.

8. DC SCORES poets shine at the Apollo

Last April, no stage was too big for a pair of DC SCORES poet-athletes, as Dallas O. (Arts and Technology Academy) and Akilae S. (Tubman Elementary School) shined at the America SCORES National Poetry SLAM!, held at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem. "I was nervous when we were waiting on the side of the stage," Akilae said. "On stage, though, I felt excited and prepared."

7. Alumni Tournament a huge success despite weather

The weather was dismal, and that's an understatement. Rain pounded the field outside Tubman Elementary School. The temperature dipped into the low 40s. It was freezing. And yet close to 100 DC SCORES alumni braved the conditions on a day off from school to participate in the first alumni soccer tournament. The event displayed just how eager former participants were to remain involved with our program.

6. Inspired Art Gala leaves guests wowed by DC SCORES program, poet-athletes

For the second consecutive year, students stole the show — and the spotlight — at DC SCORES' premier spring fundraising event. After guests enjoyed DC SCORES-themed cocktails and hors d'oeuvres and bid on 45 pieces of artwork inspired by students' poetry and created by local professionals, guests funneled into the auditorium for performances by poet-athletes. They were so impressed that afterward, students were autographing people's programs well into the night.

5. Cesar Chavez-Parkside Middle School produces music video to fight depression

Each spring DC SCORES teams at each school put together an original service-learning project to address an issue that's plagued their school and/or community. Last spring was no different, and we visited Cesar Chavez-Parkside Middle School to find out about the music video the students put together to address the depression they had noticed among classmates. "I'm very excited just for the chance to help other kids who go through this," said eighth-grader Imani J. "It means a lot to me."

4. Tubman soccer camp participants shrug off the heat, focus on improving

Standing under the sun's hot rays, which baked the field turf outside Tubman Elementary School, Emily C. was asked if she ever considered not attending DC SCORES summer camp. "No," said Emily, now a fifth-grader at Tubman. "I never have second thoughts when it comes to summer camp." Such was the case for about 200 students last summer, who attended DC SCORES' three free summer camps, two of them entirely outdoors spent playing soccer, despite temperatures close to 100 degrees. The consistent attendance of students like Emily demonstrated the importance of the camps to children in neighborhoods such as Columbia Heights.

3. Introducing Saturday SCORES clinics

While regular programming ticked on this past fall, DC SCORES — with funding from DC Stoddert Soccer and the District's Department of Parks and Recreation — introduced a novel concept in the District's wards where soccer instruction has traditionally been nonexistent. Beginning in October and spurred by Athletic Director Kenny Owens and Soccer Specialist Keith Tucker, Saturday SCORES clinics were offered, free of charge, to any interested kids in wards 5, 6, 7 and 8. They were a hit, especially in Ward 7, and will continue this spring.

2. Executive Director Amy Nakamoto honored as Meyer Foundation Exponent Award winner

In the summer, DC SCORES Executive Director Amy Nakamoto had been named by The Century Council — as part of its 20th anniversary — as one of 20 youth development leaders nationwide "who have committed their careers and lives to our country's youth..." Then in November, Nakamoto — and, as a reflection of her work, DC SCORES — received just as large of an honor when she was one of three nonprofit leaders in DC named a winner of the Meyer Foundation's Exponent Award. "Despite the economy, each of these leaders has exhibited creativity and perseverance in expanding the reach of their organization's work," said Meyer Foundation President and CEO Julie Rodgers.

1. DC SCORES poet-athletes express great self-confidence, take pride in being 'smart' at Poetry Slam!

While there were many other stories that made this past season incredible, it's impossible not to include mention of the culminating event of each fall season. On consecutive nights, the 14th Annual DC SCORES Poetry Slam! took over the stages of Columbia Heights Education Campus and the brand-new H.D. Woodson High School, as 27 teams expressed themselves creatively and through music in front of their peers, families, community members and DC SCORES supporters. Relive the amazing displays of self-expression on this very blog: Night 1; Night 2.

Happy (early) New Year and cheers to an even more sensational and groundbreaking 2012! And please help us reach our goal of $20,000 for our end-of-year fundraising drive! (donations pre-1.1.2012 are tax-deductible in 2011).

High school student trades in Christmas presents to donate to DC SCORES

2011-12-28T11:30:00.002-05:00

DC SCORES volunteer Catherine Tanner

In most ways, Catherine Tanner is a regular teenager living in Washington, DC. She goes to school, loves playing soccer, and hangs with friends.

But this holiday season, Catherine stood out in a way that most teenagers wouldn’t even consider.

Catherine sacrificed her Christmas presents — yes, all of them — and instead asked friends and family to help her reach a goal:

Raise $1,000 for DC SCORES.

For Catherine, believe it or not, it wasn’t all that difficult of a decision. She’s volunteered as an elementary school referee, among other duties, for the past couple years, and loves the opportunity DC SCORES provides for over 800 kids to be on a team.

“Soccer has been a part of my life for nearly as long as I can remember,” Catherine said. “I've always thought DC SCORES was a great motivator for kids who didn't have the opportunity to play a sport, and soccer especially is a fantastic way to bring a community together.”

So how did Catherine's fundraising drive turn out?

By early January, she reached her goal. $1,000 raised!

"People have been extremely supportive when I elaborated on what I am trying to achieve. I have yet to encounter anyone who does not think it is a worthy cause," she said in late December.

The generosity and thoughtfulness Catherine displayed during the holiday season was both incredible — for anyone of any age — and an inspiration.

We hope you can make a donation of any amount to DC SCORES to make an indelible impact like Catherine.

Help us achieve our vision of providing a team for EVERY student in the District deserving of being on one.

And THANK YOU, Catherine, for being such an inspiration this holiday season.

Donate Today!

Thanking our extremely generous supporters

2011-12-22T11:18:00.000-05:00

Each DC SCORES season, fall or spring, there are several people and organizations, companies and foundations, and others who go the extra mile to help us provide such a high-quality program for an increasing number of DC youth.

Unfortunately, they can’t all be thanked in a blog post. To see our full list of supporters, visit the DC SCORES website.

However, at this time of year, we like to highlight those who made an indelible impact on DC SCORES during the recently completed season.

Let’s start with DC Stoddert Soccer. Not only did the local youth soccer organization handle the insurance for our poet-athletes and fund background checks for our coaches, as it does each season, but it also helped finance the Saturday SCORES soccer clinics that we introduced in Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8.

The Department of Parks and Recreation also contributed to the clinics, which gave students in the communities who don’t necessarily attend a SCORES school the chance to learn the game of soccer from our Athletic Director Kenny Owens and Soccer Specialist Keith Tucker.

Speaking of opportunity, we were able to continue our expansion in Ward 8, adding Garfield Elementary — the third new school in the ward in two years — thanks to the tremendous support of the American Beverage Association. ABA presented us with a big check — literally — of $50,000 at the first elementary school game day.

That wasn’t the only huge check we received. On the second night of the Poetry Slam!, longtime supporter Volkswagen Group of America, which sponsors the team at our flagship school Marie Reed Elementary, once again showed its commitment to our poet-athletes in presenting, on stage, a gigantic check for $25,000.

“With programs like DC SCORES, students develop a passion for lifelong learning,” Anna Schneider, the Volkswagen Vice President of Industry and Government Relations, told the capacity audience.

Students’ learning was enhanced throughout the fall season by poetry specialists, who came from the American Poetry Museum and provided instruction to our 27 teams leading up to the season-culminating Poetry Slam!.

Of course, putting together a performance such as ATA’s — which helped the school win its fourth consecutive Golden Mic trophy on the second night of the Slam! — takes a lot of practicing, and longtime supporter Starbucks helped the cause for all our schools by providing its space for poetry workshops.

Students were able to practice their poems in front of an audience of their peers — not to mention curious Starbucks patrons — and receive constructive criticism leading up to the big night.

Starbucks also enthusiastically supported us throughout the season by providing an activity booth at our Fall Frenzy in October and donating coffee to the Columbia Heights Cup fundraiser soccer tournament in mid-December.

And that day of soccer, which raised over $4,600 for DC SCORES, would have been impossible without the organizing skills and generosity of Alex Bearman and his volunteers from District Sports. The adult rec soccer organization ran all aspects of the tournament, including providing volunteers at each of the sites, without asking for anything in return.

Needless to say, District Sports is an invaluable partner of DC SCORES that we appreciate deeply.

Also going out of their way to help the program were a few local organizations with a passion for the work we do:

826DC, a nonprofit dedicated to helping students with their creative writing skills, ran a popular Haiku-writing booth at the Fall Frenzy and then provided several skilled and knowledgeable judges on both nights of the Poetry Slam!.

And Bartending 4 Change, an all-volunteer nonprofit dedicated to raising money for DC charities, chose DC SCORES as the beneficiary of a December happy hour at Ulah Bistro that raised over $750 for our poet-athletes.

Finally, for the second consecutive year, the ASCAP Songwriter Residency @ America SCORES came to a DC SCORES school and worked with students on creating a song, which the team then turned into a winning performance at the Poetry Slam!.

A year ago, it was MacFarland Middle School. This year, Shaw Middle School poet-athletes created an original work with Hip-hop artist Psalm One, recorded it in a studio, and then took what they learned to the Poetry Slam! stage to win first place for middle schools (if you haven’t seen it yet, watch the PS! highlight video featuring their song).

Overall, it was a tremendous fall season for DC SCORES, and none of it would have been possible without our supporters’ and volunteers’ passion for generously donating their time and resources to our poet-athletes’ cause.

We can’t thank you enough!

DC SCORES and media: Our increasing impact both socially and traditionally

2011-12-19T12:36:00.001-05:00

This morning, DC SCORES gained a milestone of sorts.

We reached 1,000 Twitter followers.

On the surface, the number means close to nothing. It’s just a number. It doesn’t create funds for our poet-athletes or allow us to expand into 20 additional schools, as is our goal within the next five years.

However, it does mean something. It’s significant in that it demonstrates how popular our name and our brand have become. Between Twitter (1,000 followers), Facebook (1,355 fans) and this blog (which receives over 200 unique visitors weekly), we reach a fairly large online community.

Through this online community, people unfamiliar with our work are able to quickly learn what we do, what foundations, corporations and other nonprofits we communicate with — in essence, who “retweets” and “likes” our stuff and vice versa — and how to get involved with the organization.

It doesn’t hurt our image, either, when people can coast over to our Flickr page to see hundreds of pictures of kids smiling or visit our YouTube page to watch poetry performances by 8-year-olds.

But the numbers do matter.

When people see 1,000 or 1,355, they instantly recognize that our brand is popular, that whatever we’re doing is attracting attention. Then they see the dozens of retweets by popular entities such as The Century Council and DC Public Schools and the dozens of likes of our Facebook statuses.

And partnerships are created, et cetera.

This spike in our social media attention — as is the case for many nonprofits and companies — is fairly recent. In fact, if you rewind just 28 months, we didn’t have a blog; didn’t have a Twitter account; and had a Facebook page with less than 200 fans on which we posted maybe once a week.

Since then, we’ve gone crazy about social media, but we also recognize the importance of being featured by the mainstream media. After all, you can only toot your horn so many times.

So as the year winds down, here is a recap of where DC SCORES has been featured since the fall season began in September:

In early October, FoxDC.com and FamousDC.com ran articles about skateboarding legend Tony Hawk visiting our poet-athletes at Shaw Middle School.

Also in October, the Washington Informer and East of the River publications gave coverage to our partnership with the American Beverage Association, which allowed us to expand to Garfield and Moten elementary schools in Ward 8.

In November, the Shaw poet-athletes were featured once again — this time in MIDCITY DC (page 3) for taking part in the ASCAP Songwriter Residency @ America SCORES.

Our 14th Annual DC SCORES Poetry Slam! was posted on a plethora of calendars and websites. And — stay tuned — the Slam! will be featured in the January editions of East of the River and MIDCITY DC, with a pair of poet-athletes likely to perform their poetry live on NBC soon.

It’s not easy to measure or quantify, but all this coverage matters.

Why?

It’s simple, really. The more people know about the impact DC SCORES is having, the more they want to get involved or help however they can.

Former college coach Keith Tucker provides big boost as DC SCORES Soccer Specialist

2011-12-15T11:00:00.001-05:00

This fall, DC SCORES got a huge boost in soccer instruction with the addition of a highly acclaimed staff member.

Keith Tucker joined the DC SCORES team as Soccer Specialist — and the title fits him quite well.

Tucker is well-known in DC soccer circles, and with good reason. Tucker, a Howard University graduate, coached his alma mater for 26 seasons through 2007, including taking an undefeated Bison team to the 1988 NCAA championship game and being named national coach of the year.

Howard’s premier player under Tucker’s tutelage was Shaka Hislop, who progressed to play 14 seasons in the English league prior to starring for Trinidad and Tobago in the 2006 World Cup.

Beginning this fall, Tucker — who also was head coach of the Bermuda National Team — switched his focus to developing youth well before college with the hope that many of them can one day reach that level he’s so familiar with.

Tucker recently took time off from his instructing duties to answer questions about his new role:

What made you interested in working for DC SCORES?

DC SCORES is a youth development program which uses soccer and writing as a means of improving children’s attitudes toward developing their physical, social and academic abilities. I too feel that this development is important; as a college coach, it was my job to recruit student-athletes who have mastered these abilities and who want to continue this development process at the higher levels. The higher level can be reached by every student if they believe in themselves. I feel very confident that we can get them to believe rewards come from hard work.

Obviously this is quite a different job than coaching at the collegiate level. What excites you about coaching kids the game at a young age?

This is not my first experience coaching young players. My boss, (DC SCORES Athletic Director) Kenny Owens, was a member of the Washington DC Under 10 soccer team that went to the Sister City Tournament in China back in 1988. We trained at Howard University all summer long to get ready. We had a great time playing teams from Japan, East Germany and China. The USA soccer experience is a year-round program that can expose a player to so many rewarding possibilities.

Hopefully, with the help of all the stakeholders in the community — schools, recreation, churches, parents and businesses — we can create a similar youth soccer structure in the city. Soccer is introduced to kids from as young as 3 years old to young men and women of high school age.

I am excited about watching the players develop those individual skills that make soccer such a magnificent game to watch. I want to create many “Little Messi's.” I know that there are a couple of them out there right now looking for a program to join.

As someone with a wealth of soccer experience, what do you see as the main benefits youth get from the game?

Soccer is a lifestyle that allows kids to mature at their own rate as a player and as a person. It is a development program that could reward you with a free college education after all the hard work. Soccer is also a community-building program that brings all the stakeholders together in support of the children, which will be a major benefit to the whole life of the players.

What are the main things you learned during your college coaching career that you can apply to your DC SCORES work?

Perfect practice makes perfect. Take time to prepare to give the best training session you can give to your team. Keep training simple … plan three 20-minute periods of [1] skill development games; [2] small sided games [combination]; and [3] full sided games where a player tries to use the skills taught in the first two periods.

How did your first season with DC SCORES go? Any surprises?

DC SCORES is a great program and the players show that they are enjoying their experience with all those beautiful smiles. Fall Frenzy was an incredible event. I saw some great players who I think that if they could continue their development in high school with a year-round program, they could become college scholarship players, state team or national team players.

With such a long history of giving soccer instruction in the District, how much does teaching DC youth — whether for the first time or as college athletes — the game mean to you?

Passing the knowledge on to the DC youth is important to me and also my family. We have enjoyed our time together as a soccer family and hope that kids and their parents will experience a good time playing and watching the game. Parents are very important to continuous management of the development of the program. America has one of the best youth soccer programs in the world because of how well the soccer community shares the information with the next generation of administrators and coaches.

Looking forward, what are your goals as DC SCORES' Soccer Specialist and as an instructor at our Saturday SCORES clinics?

My goal is to help coaches with their coaching methods from planning to delivery. There are four hours of training each week, which makes it difficult to cover all the areas needed to develop a highly skilled player, so we are recommending that players practice at home at least 30 minutes a day on the basic soccer skills and play against Mom or Dad.

If they can, get a ball at lunch hour and play a six-versus-six on the school field, or play some of the skill games on the playground. Better still is a pick-up game after school which would accelerate the learning process to a higher degree. Summer camps are a must for players who wish to obtain a soccer scholarship in the future.

Saturday SCORES will introduce the game to the 3- to 8-year-olds that will hopefully enter the school league with increasingly more skills and game knowledge in the future. The structure of USA Soccer is built around a fall and spring soccer league (and) winter indoor league, pre- and postseason tournaments and most important are summer camps.

If the community can provide the student-athletes with the same programs to develop their skills, the future looks good for the sport in the city. However, most important, the future looks good for the lives of our youth.

DC SCORES alumni elections held; new president already leading the way

2011-12-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

Written by Nikki Allinson

Community Outreach Coordinator

Two minutes to speak about your qualifications.

Two questions will be asked by your peers.

You can run for as many positions as you’d like!

Ms. Nikki counts the votes.

Respect your fellow alumni!

These were the rules posted on the white board in the DC SCORES conference room as the alumni filtered in. Most of the students were still wearing their school uniforms to go with their expressions of determination and eager smiles.

It was, finally, Election Day for the DC SCORES Alumni Executive Board!

DC SCORES alumni consist of any older youth who have been involved in DC SCORES programming at any point in their education third-eighth grades.

The day had been a long time coming here at DC SCORES, and the students were excited to get the process under way. Since beginning at DC SCORES, I have met countless alumni of the program who never cease to amaze me. So when they spoke up about wanting to be directly involved in the structure of the alumni program, I welcomed their enthusiasm.

The Executive Board consists of the following positions: President, Vice President, Recruitment Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, and a Programming Committee. Alumni and I carefully thought out these positions through brainstorm meetings in the previous months.

The first position to be voted on was President, a powerful role within the alumni community. There were several candidates deserving of the title but it was Aaron Hutchins, a sophomore at Phelps High School, who stood out.

“I’m a natural leader, and I believe in Democracy,” was the opening line to his two-minute speech. A carefully worded and thoughtful presentation by Aaron was followed by whoops and hollers from his peers, saying, “He’s like a mini Obama!”

The ‘mini Obama’ comparison later rang true as he suited up for his first public presidential appearance.

Aaron volunteered at both nights of the Poetry Slam!, presenting awards and speaking to parents with a graceful yet commanding presence. He has truly embodied what it means to be a leader among his peers.

The rest of the elections flew by in a whirlwind of speeches and poignant question-and-answer periods until finally the Alumni Executive Board was complete.

The first action step decided by the Executive Board: more pepperoni pizza at the next meeting! The second action step: plan a community service project for alumni to do together.

This has been the theme of the alumni community since I began working with them in September. They are a dedicated and passionate group of high school students, all looking for meaningful activities to do in their free time.

Throughout the next few weeks, the Alumni Executive Board has set aside time to meet with me (Ms. Nikki to them) to discuss our goals as well as action steps we can take together to make our dreams reality. This dream involves a structured alumni program allowing older youth to participate in soccer tournaments, picnics, SAT prep courses, college panels and college visits, and many more opportunities!

In addition to the leadership and innovation needed to create their own program, alumni have continued to volunteer for DC SCORES as they always have. It’s a testament to the quality of DC SCORES programming that they choose this familiar organization to donate their time and energy to.

You can see them as referees at elementary soccer games, assistant coaches at their old schools, or as spokespersons for DC SCORES.

“I volunteer with DC SCORES because it helps me stay involved with the things I love,” said Dennis Velasquez, a junior at Roosevelt Senior High School. “DC SCORES helped me be a better person.”

And now, this alumni program will further develop the skills they gained from DC SCORES originally.

How’s that for coming full-circle?

The full Alumni Executive Board:

President — Aaron Hutchins

Vice President — Delmar Tarrago

Recruitment Chair — Ingrid Melendez

Treasurer — Carlos Rivera

Secretary — Raul Moreno

Programming Committee — Jarmar Layne, Nana Asare, Sebastian Duque and Davongah Martin-Lewis.

(If you’re an alum of DC SCORES, become a friend of the alumni page, follow us on Twitter, or contact Miss Nikki at nallinson@americascores.org or 202.695.3260 to get involved.)

District Sports puts together highly successful inaugural Columbia Heights Cup

2011-12-12T11:45:00.002-05:00

It was a new idea, a new concept. It had never been tested. Never been tried.

So who, really, knew how the first Columbia Heights Cup soccer tournament would turn out?

No one could know definitively that by playing games simultaneously at three sites in the District, schedules would still work out, teams wouldn’t be waiting for long periods of time in the cold, and everyone would be happy.

Now we know.

With District Sports running the ship, 17 teams enjoyed a day full of competitive soccer games at Cardozo and Bell high schools and Tubman Elementary School — and in between games or once a team was done, everyone headed to sponsor bar Duffy’s Irish Pub.

When all the action was complete, team LFFP ("Little Friend for Peace") — the runners-up of last year’s Holiday Classic, which was played on the same weekend and helped create the idea of the Columbia Heights Cup — emerged victorious and the tournament raised more than $4,600 for DC SCORES.

But while the soccer was competitive, the day wasn’t just about the results on the fields. It was about celebrating a neighborhood that is home to a handful of DC SCORES schools and a sport that unites community members.

Throughout the morning and afternoon, people from the neighborhood stopped by the fields to watch the games, which often featured several former college players (the deciding game between LFFP and Team Zissou was a display of Division I talent as LFFP survived a back-and-forth contest, 4-3).

As teams’ days ended on the field, they made the short walk or drive to Duffy’s at the corner of Vermont and 9th streets. Everyone then settled in as the bar switched all its TVs to the Real Madrid-Barcelona showdown.

With tournament participants streaming in to use their free drink tickets and enjoy exclusive specials, Duffy’s became packed with soccer — or fύtbol — enthusiasts, who thoroughly enjoyed watching Barcelona’s exciting victory.

The day was a huge success thanks, in huge part, to District Sports. Led by Alex Bearman, the longtime partner of DC SCORES organized the Cup, led recruiting efforts, and handled all the tournament-day logistics.

Additionally, Alex garnered a tremendous group of volunteers who oversaw the tournament at each site and handled setup — early in the morning — and breakdown. The referees also came from District Sports.

We’d also like to thank Duffy’s, which for the second consecutive year was an excellent sponsor bar for the location(s) of the tournament, opened up earlier than usual to accommodate tournament participants, and provided a perfect atmosphere. And longtime partner Starbucks provided coffee at the beginning of the tournament, which made a huge difference in getting people excited about playing soccer at 8 a.m.

Thank you, everyone, for a great day of competition and camaraderie to benefit DC SCORES’ youth soccer players!

Columbia Heights Cup set to take over neighborhood Saturday

2011-12-08T14:07:00.002-05:00

This Saturday, at 8 a.m., the Columbia Heights area of the District will be filled with familiar sounds.

Soccer balls being kicked. Shouts of communication between teammates. And, of course, exultations of excitement.

Yes, similar to a typical DC SCORES game day, soccer games will be taking place at several sites in the neighborhood. Only this time, adults will be playing the games — all for the kids' cause.

The Columbia Heights Cup — last year known as the Holiday Classic — is set to take over Cardozo and Bell high schools and Tubman Elementary School Saturday, as 17 teams battle for bragging rights as best in the Heights.

The tournament to raise money for DC SCORES is being put on by our longtime partner District Sports — headed by tournament organizer Alex Bearman — which runs the most adult rec soccer leagues in the District.

The event isn't just about soccer, either. Beginning at 12 p.m., Duffy's Irish Pub will open its doors early for the second consecutive year to accommodate tournament participants in need of a break from the cold and something to warm them up.

Not only that, but Duffy's is offering specials all day to tournament participants; showing the the Barcelona-Real Madrid game (with sound) at 4 p.m.; providing free drink tickets to each team; and has provided gift certificates of $100 (tournament winner) and $50 (Most Creative Team Name — to be announced).

And Starbucks, another dedicated partner of DC SCORES, is providing coffee at the beginning of the day – a much-needed stimulator for early morning soccer in December.

Round-robin play for the 17 teams will begin at 8 a.m. and continue at the three sites until about 2 p.m., when the knockout rounds — beginning with the quarterfinals — will take place at Cardozo.

By the end of the afternoon, we hope that everyone will have made their way to Duffy's to celebrate the District's largest winter charity soccer tournament and making a difference, by playing soccer, in the lives of over 800 youth soccer players in our program.

Inside Bancroft Elementary Part 5: Showtime at the Poetry Slam!

2011-12-05T12:48:00.000-05:00

This fall, Anthony Palmer, a Gettysburg College junior spending the semester studying at American University, is volunteering for DC SCORES by spending each Monday afternoon with the poet-athletes at Bancroft Elementary School as they write poetry and prepare for the season-ending Poetry Slam! and play soccer.

“Using a camera and a notebook to tell their stories, I hope to give you an inside look at the hard work the students, coaches and teachers at Bancroft Elementary are doing on a daily basis to work toward DC SCORES' goals of ‘self-expression, physical fitness, and a sense of community,’” Anthony says.

Each week for the remainder of the season, Anthony will write about his experience in this space. Read his weekly posts for an inside look into the DC SCORES elementary school experience.

See pictures from Anthony's trips to Bancroft on Flickr.

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Bancroft Elementary's busy week of rehearsals and run-throughs culminated in excitement and celebration last Wednesday night when spoken word artist KoM announced to the audience in Columbia Heights Education Campus' auditorium that the students won third place in the elementary school division of the DC SCORES Poetry Slam!.

The students proudly holding up the trophy and posing for pictures was the culmination of an action-packed night that capped off the fall 2011 season. Let’s rewind to the beginning…

Around 6 p.m., it was showtime, and the auditorium was filled. For many students from Bancroft, this would be their first performance in front of a large crowd.

Seated in the row closest to the stage, Bancroft's poets were easily recognized in their bright yellow jerseys dancing to the musical interlude of "Party Rock Anthem" courtesy of DJ RBI.

Bancroft was 11th out of 14 schools in the performance order. The ample waiting time provided many of the students an opportunity to rehearse their lines one last time, but for some, the fear of going on stage continued to build as the large auditorium filled near capacity.

"I feel scared," Alicia said before the show started. "I'm nervous that people are going to tease us."

As Truesdell Education Campus took the stage for its performance, the Bancroft students were escorted to their positions backstage.

A few minutes later, the emcees introduced Bancroft, and the students walked out under the bright lights and took their seats along the front of the stage. Standing behind a line of his sitting classmates, Alejandro introduced his class and his friend Elder, who would be reading Bancroft's first poem.

Elder grabbed the microphone. He paused and took off his glasses. Walking behind his classmates, Elder began to read with authority.

"Women these days are so mysterious!" he said as the audience broke into laughter. "It's hard to know when they're being serious."

Elder has excelled in his poetry writing this year. His creativity and writing ability leave many surprised to find out he is only in the fourth grade. Elder, like many students, has also battled stage fright and has worked hard with his coaches to improve his confidence.

"He's a natural star," writing coach Nikki Allinson said of Elder at a practice two days before the Slam! in the Bancroft Elementary gymnasium. "He's this little kid writing about women, and I think it's adorable. It's not what a normal fourth-grader writes a poem about.

"He has so much potential to make such an impact on the audience, but he sometimes lets his stage fright get the best of him because he's afraid of getting back feedback."

Coach Nikki expressed her excitement Wednesday night when Elder overcame his pre-performance nerves and entertained the crowd.

Nikki said that Elder initially had a rough time "with nerves when he saw how many seats were in the audience."

As the Community Outreach Coordinator for DC SCORES, Nikki spends a lot of her time in the office working with the Alumni Development Program. Coach Nikki channeled the strength of this alumni network before Wednesday's performance to help Elder overcome his stage fright.

"I brought him into the hallway where Juan Carlos Rivera and Sebastian Duque, who are both members of the DC SCORES Alumni Executive Board, talked to him and made him more comfortable," Nikki recalled. "I remember Sebastian saying, 'Man, we've both been in your shoes. It's not easy. But you have the swagger, just let it shine on stage.'

"It was a really beautiful moment.”

Sebastian's advice must have worked, because Elder and the rest of the Bancroft crew brought their signature swagger to the stage on Wednesday night.

After Elder's performance, the students performed their poem about monsters using masks they made from paper plates decorated with feathers and markers. Anna then stepped up to the microphone, found her rhythm in the metronome of her class' stomps and claps, and began her rap about Bancroft power.

"You wish you had this Bancroft power, but you don't. You're lame and sour!" she rapped, as her classmates joined her in shouting the last line.

The group strutted off stage proud of their performance. The event's emcees were as impressed as the audience.

"How you fit that much attitude in that little body, I don't know," emcee KoM said over the microphone.

The Poetry Slam! concluded with the awards ceremony. When the students heard the announcement that Bancroft had won third place, they leapt out of their seats screaming and hugging each other in excitement.

Alejandro, the team's captain, ran up the steps to the stage with Anna and posed for a picture with Bancroft’s new trophy alongside honorary judges Clyde Simms of D.C. United, and Lori Lindsey and Becky Sauerbrunn of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.

Not long after the celebrating students took their seats, Alejandro was selected to join two other students from the crowd in a freestyle dance-off on stage. His athleticism was on full display as he broke into a handstand mid-song.

As his classmates crowded around the front of the stage in support, he said he tried to do "any random dance move" he could, but he wasn't nervous.

Coach Nikki said Alejandro is a "true leader," both on stage and on the soccer field.

From the Bancroft classroom, to the makeshift performance area at the local Starbucks, to the Poetry Slam! stage, the students’ season of hard work, practice, encouragement from classmates and coaches, and the courage to step outside of their comfort zone paid off last Wednesday night.

"I couldn't be more proud!" Coach Nikki said about her team. "This season was amazing, but it wasn't easy.

“I was lucky to have such talented poet-athletes to work with.”

'Smart is the new swag' on second night of 14th Annual DC SCORES Poetry Slam!

2011-12-02T09:47:00.001-05:00

Every year, the students of Arts and Technology Academy have a knack for taking a recent event that’s had a profound impact on their community and bringing it to light on stage.

That was no different Thursday during the second night of the 14th Annual DC SCORES Poetry Slam! at the brand-new H.D. Woodson High School.

Carrying signs such as “Love, not Hate” and “Equality for All,” the students capped off a brilliant night of poetry, spoken word and song by 13 schools with a performance dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr., whose memorial was unveiled in the District just a few months ago.

ATA’s performance won the school a fourth consecutive Golden Mic trophy, but it was far from the only memorable act inside Woodson’s spacious — yet packed with people — auditorium. The Slam! — sponsored by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Humanities Council of Washington, DC — was emceed for the second consecutive night by spoken word artist KoM, aka “Mr. Keep on Moving,” who was joined by Grammy-nominated songstress Carolyn Malachi. DJ RBI, as always, provided the beats.

The evening began with longtime supporter Volkswagen Group of America presenting DC SCORES with a large check — literally —for $25,000. "With programs like DC SCORES, students develop a passion for lifelong learning," said Anna Schneider, Volkswagen Vice President of Industry and Government Relations.

Schneider's speech was the perfect segue to a night of performances that sent strong messages through spoken word — especially about the fact that education, going to school and learning are cool, really cool

Howard Road Academy started things off singing, “The DC-CAS (test) is coming/guess what I’ma do … Study, study, study hard!”; Beers Elementary rhymed, “Go to school, you can still be cool!”; and the theme of Cesar Chavez’s songs was to “speak up about education and don’t give up. Fight until the end,” with the hit line of their song, “School is the path to achieve our swag. Smart is the new swag.”

During a break in the school performances, the students’ education was tested when Malachi asked for a volunteer to come up to the stage and explain what a metaphor is. Without hesitation, a Cesar Chavez poet took the microphone from Malachi’s hand and answered her question by explaining that when it’s raining cats and dogs, well, cats and dogs aren’t actually falling from the sky.

While education was one theme of the night, Kelly Miller took home first place in the middle school division with a performance highlighted by a melodic tribute to moms everywhere, singing, “You are my sunshine/M-O-M I L-U-V you!”

ATA wasn’t the only school with MLK Jr. and his vision on their minds, as second-place finisher Noyes, earlier in the evening, put together a complete performance with an ode to President Obama (“Mr. Obama, you have allowed me to believe I can achieve my goals.”) followed by a poem citing black progress but also decrying all the hatred in the world.

Noyes’ poets concluded by pleading, “Let’s come together to make peace to make Dr. King’s dream reality.”

About half an hour later, ATA was echoing that message with another stirring, thought-provoking performance highlighted by a young boy, decked out in a black suit, telling the audience, “He believes that I can stand tall and dream.”

And dream is what the 400-plus students did all evening, telling the audience how proud they were of their background, how hard they studied in school, and what they will become —as one girl poet said, “Maybe even the president.”

There were no boundaries, no limits in the messages formulated and practiced during three months of DC SCORES programming and delivered on stage, under the brightest of lights, Thursday night. It was a performance MLK Jr. would have loved.

Below is the full list of winners from the second night of the 2011 DC SCORES Poetry Slam!.

Elementary Schools

1st place — ATA

2nd place — Noyes

3rd place — HRA

Spirit award — Moten

Shine award — Nakyiah N., HRA

Middle Schools

1st place — Kelly Miller

2nd place — Cesar Chavez

Spirit award — Johnson

Shine award — Jeffry F., Cesar Chavez

Witty lines and poignant tributes own the first night of the 14th annual DC SCORES Poetry Slam!

2011-12-01T10:08:00.000-05:00

“Sweet and succulent as a peach.”

“Music makes me peaceful. It takes me away from the deceitful.”

“There are monsters, there are ghouls, but we are Bancroft, we are not fools.”

“The Lincoln Memorial, it’s very historical.”

Those were just a few of the lines dropped on the first night of the 14th annual DC SCORES Poetry Slam! at Columbia Heights Education Campus (CHEC) Wednesday. Fourteen schools representing DC Wards 1, 2, 4 and 5 owned the show for over two hours, waxing poetic and singing about everything from love, to “mysterious” women, to raging pain, to their schools and city, to saluting U.S. troops.

The Poetry Slam! — sponsored by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Humanities Council of Washington, DC — was emceed by local spoken word artist Kom, aka "Mr. Keep on Moving," and Cortney Hicks of Majic 102.3 FM. As always, DJ RBI provided the beats, and a panel of honorary judges included Poetry Slam! regular attendee Clyde Simms of D.C. United and Lori Lindsey and Becky Sauerbrunn of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team.

At the end of the night, Perry Street Prep’s poets rushed the stage in a furor after their name was called as Golden Mic champions. Moments earlier, first place in the middle school division went to Shaw, which was performing in just its second Slam!.

An audience of over 400 students, parents and other supporters packed into the CHEC auditorium was captivated the entire night by thought-provoking performances, entertaining and silly poems, and, most salient, the tremendous courage shown by poet-athletes to stand front and center on stage and perform.

Each school’s performance included two group poems and an individual poem, and for the majority of the individuals, it was their first time alone in the spotlight.

No student overcame their nerves better than Perry Street Prep’s Deandre W., who took home the Shine Award for best elementary school individual performance after reading an ode to his mother. Deandre didn’t even hesitate or falter when, mid-poem, the subject of his reading yelled out, “That’s my baby!”

Deandre then joined his fellow poet-athletes for a poem about being strong and belonging follpwed by an incredible acting performance about “burning inside from this raging pain.” Not long after, they were hoisting the large Golden Mic trophy.

Other standout performances by elementary schools included Naomi of Tubman reading about her proud Hispanic roots; Thomson using poetry to tell the story of a soccer game, including the memorable line, “The other team scowled because of the foul”; a Brookland poet-athlete dressed in a army uniform reciting a tribute to U.S. troops, including the line, “Your bravery is outstanding whether on land, in the air, or on the sea”; Truesdell’s poet-athletes addressing their futures with lines such as, “Dear future, I want to be a nurse who helps people in pain”; and Bancroft’s Elder bringing down the house with his poem about women, including, “Women are mysterious. It’s hard to know when they’re serious.”

Middle schools at the Poetry Slam! are required to create songs from their original works, and no school did a better job of this Wednesday night than Shaw. The poet-athletes undoubtedly benefited from participating in the ASCAP Songwriter Residency @ America SCORES in mid-October, when they created and recorded an original song with the help of acclaimed hip-hop artist Psalm One.

They took what they learned from the experience and turned it into three group songs that had audience members swaying to the melodies produced on stage. Shaw’s poets capped off their performance with a song about their home city, singing, “DC … DC … the place for you and me … so many sites to see...” The lead singer was eighth-grader Lorenzo M., who also took home the Shine Award for middle schools.

When the singing was over, the students gathered center stage for a group bow — a sign of a seasoned group of performers.

The host school Lincoln won second place for middle schools with a performance highlighted by the rap “Life is to Love,” which culminated with the tossing of rose petals into the first few rows of the audience.

The two-hour show offered a bit of everything, and it was only the first night of DC SCORES’ premiere fall event. Don’t miss out on another 13 schools performing tonight at the brand-new H.D. Woodson High School (map) at 6 p.m.

Below is the full list of winners from the first night of the 2011 DC SCORES Poetry Slam!.

Elementary Schools

1st place — Perry Street Prep

2nd place — H.D. Cooke

3rd place — Bancroft

Spirit award — Brookland

Shine award — Deandre W., Perry Street Prep

Middle Schools

1st place — Shaw

2nd place — Lincoln

Spirit award — Oyster-Adams

Shine award — Lorenzo M., Shaw

Poetry Slam! lights up the stage at community high schools

2011-11-30T10:54:00.003-05:00

Written by Amy Nakamoto

Executive Director

My favorite event is here. The Poetry Slam!.

There are countless reasons why this event tops the charts for me and many of our supporters … the evidence of hard, creative work put in by teams of students; the passion our writing coaches — most of whom are teachers — exude as they watch their teams come to life on stage; and the sheer numbers and volume of support by family and community members in the crowd.

Imagine a fourth grade boy performing before hundreds of community members — walking out on a vast stage to represent his current school at his neighborhood high school. A year prior, that boy might never have written a poem and certainly never recited one out loud for even his peers.

But on this night, he is a great orator conveying deep passion for a subject he’s been wrestling with for weeks. His parents, aunts, uncles, and neighbors will beam with pride amongst an audience of at least 400 guests.

He may be small in size, but his presence will fill the stage.

This boy has a lot to be proud of this particular evening, including performing on a high school stage in front of hundreds of supporters who came to celebrate him and all of DC SCORES’ poet-athletes.

The new H.D.Woodson High School.

Bell Multicultural (Ward 1) and H.D. Woodson (Ward 7) high schools are the host sites for this year’s two-night Slam!. For hundreds of DC public and public charter school students and their families, these schools will be symbols of self-expression and community. The schools will represent a place that welcomes families and celebrates students and their achievements.

Woodson in particular has long been thought of as an unfriendly building and one that needed a complete overhaul. Well, we are fortunate to be hosting the first and largest community event in the school’s brand new space on 55th Street, NE.

I can’t wait until students walk out on that stage tomorrow night and perform confidently in a school they will one day attend.

We are thrilled and thankful to have many of our foundation and corporate supporters confirmed to attend the Poetry Slam!, including Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., which is presenting us with a check on the second night of the Slam!. We’ve invited many of our Councilmembers as well as Mayor Gray to join us as a statement of investment from the District into our youth and to help usher the new H.D. Woodson into the broader community.

Lastly, to all of our donors, volunteers and board members: Please join us — you’ll have a great time!

DC SCORES Poetry Slam!

Wednesday, Nov. 30

6pm

Columbia Heights Education Campus

3101 16th Street, NW (map)

Thursday, Dec. 1

6pm

H.D. Woodson High School

540 55th Street, NE (map)

Inside Bancroft Elementary Part 4: Final Poetry Slam! preparations

2011-11-29T11:30:00.001-05:00

Each week for the remainder of the season, Anthony will write about his experience in this space. Read his weekly posts for an inside look into the DC SCORES elementary school experience.

See pictures from Anthony's trips to Bancroft on Flickr.

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

Bancroft Elementary's poetry session last Monday was all business. It was the group's last meeting of the week before Thanksgiving, and there was a lot to practice with only a week and a half until the Poetry Slam!.

The students met in the cafeteria and were divided into two groups which rotated halfway through the session. One group played soccer, while the other worked with Coach Nikki to prepare for their debut on stage.

Coach Nikki handed out copies of the poems that the students will be performing. They sat in a circle and ran through their lines, then the students went outside and lined up on the basketball court.

Using the 3-point arc to arrange the young poets, Nikki focused on stage formation and other performance elements not usually emphasized during the regular class sessions.

"The audience always sees you," Nikki told them, emphasizing the need for students to stay attentive and focused at all times on stage.

The group formed a circle and at Coach Nikki's instruction, they began a cadence of clapping and stomping that served as a metronome for the performer in the center of the circle.

Anna stood in the center, waited until she felt comfortable, and recited her poem as the stomping and clapping continued. Anna, a fourth grader, will be leading her classmates in an original "rap" at the Poetry Slam!

"I will be saying a rap that's referring to my Bancroft team," Anna said. "It's going to be about Bancroft power and how we do things and how we get stuff done."

Anna, who performed at last year's Poetry Slam!, is excited for the upcoming event, and, she said, doesn't get nervous speaking in public.

"I wrote the whole thing myself," she said.

Elder will also be reading at the Poetry Slam!. His original poem is about girls. Coach Nikki said he is making some great progress since he last performed it at Starbucks.

"Elder specifically was so nervous going up the first time," Nikki said of the Starbucks performance. "Once he heard that he didn't get any bad feedback, he was excited and went up a second time, and now he's doing a solo poem for us at the Poetry Slam!.

"I don't think he would have had that confidence if he didn't go to Starbucks first."

When both groups finished their individual sessions, the entire class met in the center of the soccer field for a group rehearsal that replicated how they will perform at the Slam!.

Anna performed her rap again, and Coach Nikki battled some shortened attentions as many students anxiously wanted to play soccer.

"We don't have any games left," she told them. "But we do have a Poetry Slam!. This is our priority."

"I want to win," she Nikki adding, encouraging the students. "You have to focus and have a positive attitude. You're going to be on stage in front of friends and family members."

The Bancroft team will be doing a group performance about fears; Anna will be leading a rap about Bancroft power; and Elder will perform a funny poem he wrote about girls.

I'd love to tell you more, but you'll just have to come to the Columbia Heights Education Campus tomorrow night at 6pm and see the students perform for yourself!

Students gain comfort performing, prepare for Poetry Slam! at Starbucks readings

2011-11-28T11:30:00.000-05:00

Written by Joe Brophy

Elementary School Program Coordinator

The Starbucks is humming with an average amount of customers for a rainy fall afternoon.

"Excuse me everyone, I wanted to let you know that in about 5 minutes we'll be using this space for a poetry reading by the local elementary school."

Heads lift up from coffees, iPads, novels and conversations to glance at the manager, standing next to me in a corner of the store, as we begin to discuss how we'll momentarily rearrange the furniture to transform this coffee shop into a small (both in size and in stature of the poets) scale performance space.

A few minutes later, a bundled-up group of kids is guided through the front door and directed to their seats, where they'll receive some brief instruction before beginning their team's poetry reading.

This unique scene is what's been happening at Starbucks shops around the District this fall as DC SCORES poet-athletes prepare for the Poetry Slam! Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.

Over the course of the program year, each DC SCORES school gets the chance for their kids to practice reading their poetry and receiving feedback from their peers at a Starbucks, a treat for them and for the local community. I'm lucky enough to have the great job of coordinating and running these workshops — a rare opportunity to see poetry from all members of the DC SCORES community.

From the most polished and poised fifth-grader to the novice and nervous third-grader, I see them all stand up in front of their peers in a new and different environment and read their poetry.

And, man, do they shine.

Their poetry ranges from the humorous to the serious, from the simple to the complex. It's not unusual for one child's poem to begin "I ... am a chicken" and the next to speak of losing a loved one, race, or what they want to be when they grow up.

Many students enjoy reading poems they wrote off a pattern in class: Today my name is ________. I remember ________. I forget ________. Fill in those blanks with topics as diverse as money, Obama, sibling relations and homework, and you have children expressing themselves in the most uninhibited and unrestricted way possible.

Though the students sometime can be fidgety, they never fail to impress me with the constructive criticism and positive feedback they give each other. "Your tone was good, but your body language distracted me." "I want to hear more! But I liked what you wrote about."

Giving structured feedback is sometimes challenging for the kids, though they follow each other’s examples often as much as mine and are always eager to be called on to tell their fellow poet what they thought.

Watching kids from all sorts of backgrounds and schools present their poetry, I can’t help but be inspired. Though some students read more confidently at first than others, everyone’s poetry shares their hopes, observations and fears in a way they aren’t able to during their normal academic day.

Once the kids all get the chance to read a poem, the staff brings out free hot chocolate (and sometimes even snacks, if the kids are lucky) to squeals of excitement. Volunteers are picked to read a second poem with the few minutes remaining — and often there are far more kids who wish to reread their poem or read a new one than there is time left.

The other children listen attentively as they carefully sip their drinks, and before you know it, their coach and I are helping them all gather their stuff and clean up.

After they all say “Thank you Starbucks!” in unison, their coach leads them out, bundled up against the cold, a little bit more ready and much more excited about the Poetry Slam!.

Lincoln and Friendship Edison claim Capital Cup Championship, capping successful middle school season

2011-11-23T10:00:00.003-05:00

In the waning moments of the DC SCORES boys Capital Cup Championship game Tuesday evening, Lincoln coach Popsie Lewis found his team in a familiar spot.

Just a year earlier, Lincoln surrendered a lead to Oyster-Adams late in regulation before falling just short in a shootout. It was a tremendous game on both sides, yet a heartbreaker in the immediate aftermath for Lewis’ boys.

Now, again, with a steady rain pounding the turf field at Bell High School, Lincoln had been on the brink of the championship, only to relinquish a lead. Paul Public Charter School had shown tremendous fight to battle back from a 2-0 deficit and tie the game with less than 10 minutes remaining.

For a minute, the Lincoln players hung their heads. Their lead was gone, and with it all their momentum.

How would they respond?

How about in the most pulsating, dramatic fashion imaginable?

With the game seemingly destined for extra time — again — as the seconds ticked down, Larry, a sixth-grader who scored one of Lincoln’s first two goals, controlled the ball deep in Paul territory and, surrounded by defenders, somehow managed to slip it past Paul’s goaltender.

As the ball reached the net, the scoreboard clock read 0:00. It was a tad deceiving, as there were a couple of stoppage minutes to be played, but Lincoln didn’t let their final lead slip away.

Lincoln 3, Paul 2.

It was the conclusion to another phenomenal DC SCORES middle school season and Capital Cup Championship, which began in the late afternoon with the Friendship Edison Public Charter School girls team winning its second consecutive title by defeating Capital City Public Charter School — a new team to the league this fall.

“They surprised me a little bit with that because I thought they were going to get down on themselves like we did last year in the championship when we gave up our lead,” Lewis said of his team afterward, as pictures continued to be posed for in the rain. “But it showed a real testament to these kids and how far they’ve come.

“They didn’t give up, they were resilient, and little man Larry, he was the key in spearheading that resiliency.”

Larry, who previously participated in the DC SCORES elementary school league for Bancroft Elementary, just wanted to help his teammates bring the championship hardware across the street to Lincoln.

“It was exciting and fun,” he said. “It was mostly for the whole team, just to bring another trophy home.”

Trophies aside, Tuesday marked the culmination of DC SCORES’ most successful and widespread middle school season. The league grew to not only include the seven schools with DC SCORES programming, but 10 other teams as well.

On a typical Friday, there were nine middle school boys games throughout the city — a testament to the popularity of the only public middle school league in the District.

Friendship Edison is one of those teams that participates without having DC SCORES programming, and on Tuesday they again showed their appreciation for having the opportunity to compete as a school — not to mention win a gleaming trophy and player medals.

By the end of the night, though, the last people to leave the field were Lewis, the Lincoln players and a group of dedicated Lincoln alumni who hadn’t thought twice about braving the cold rain to watch their old school on the pitch.

A year ago, Robert R. was in goal for Lincoln against Oyster-Adams. On Tuesday, he was dishing out advice to Lincoln’s current goalkeeper and then cheering from the sideline. And he wasn’t the only one.

“It feels great,” Robert said afterward. “I was happy over there watching my team play.”

In Lewis’ mind, none of what Lincoln accomplished Tuesday night would have been possible if not for the support provided throughout the season and even away from the soccer field by past program participants.

“It’s a good following that they have going on here,” Lewis said. “I’m real proud of all these kids.”

It was a Lincoln community championship, capping off a successful DC SCORES soccer season — in communities throughout DC.

See photos from the Capital Cup on our Flickr page.

DC SCORES Executive Director Amy Nakamoto honored as Meyer Foundation Exponent Award winner

2011-11-21T12:11:00.000-05:00

DC SCORES Executive Director Amy Nakamoto is being honored and highlighted as one of the Washington, DC, area’s most influential executive directors.

Nakamoto is one of three recipients of the Meyer Foundation’s Exponent Awards, created in 2006 to “recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of some of the DC region’s most talented, visionary, and effective nonprofit executives — and to provide funds to sustain and further develop their leadership and their organizations.”

Not only will the award bring tremendous recognition to Nakamoto and the work being done by DC SCORES, but it comes with a two-year grant of $100,000 to support leadership development and capacity building.

In short, this huge accomplishment for Nakamoto — who has served as Executive Director since 2006 and has grown DC SCORES in size, quality of programming and reputation in the communities served — will have a long-lasting impact on the organization and be invaluable as we strive to expand and provide the combination of arts, athletics and academics for every deserving student in the District.

“I am honored to receive this recognition from the Meyer Foundation,” Nakamoto said. “While the award goes to the Executive Director, I credit an incredible staff team here at DC SCORES who have dedicated just as much time, effort and passion toward our mission as I have. I also am fortunate to have extremely supportive and engaged board members.”

Nakamoto received the Exponent Award along with Manny Hidalgo of the Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) and Lecester Johnson of the Academy of Hope.

“Despite the challenging economy, each of these leaders has exhibited creativity and perseverance in expanding the reach and impact of their organization’s work,” Meyer Foundation President and CEO Julie Rogers said in the official news release.

“We are honored to recognize three visionary and talented leaders who are working to address some of our region’s most urgent and compelling needs.”

The Meyer Foundation has been one of DC SCORES’ longest and most consistent supporters, providing funding for programming since 1997.

"I credit the Meyer Foundation for continually promoting the nonprofit sector and its leaders,” Nakamoto said. “They truly understand the social and economic impact nonprofits have on the community and they choose to invest in the longevity of successful organizations.

“I am grateful for their incredible support of DC SCORES over the years.”

Nakamoto has been the recipient of a handful of exclusive honors the past few years for her leadership of DC SCORES and in the nonprofit community. For a list of her most recent awards visit the DC SCORES website.

For more information about the Meyer Foundation's commitment to serving nonprofits, visit http://www.meyerfdn.org/

Register now for a neighborhood soccer tournament: The Columbia Heights Cup

2011-11-17T10:00:00.003-05:00

The Columbia Heights neighborhood — if you can call it that; it’s a pretty large ‘hood — of Washington, DC, is, undoubtedly, an area swarming with DC SCORES kids.

Walk down 14th Street and turn either way on Irving during non-school hours, and chances are you’ll see a kid with a DC SCORES shirt on — maybe bouncing a soccer ball, too.

Within a square mile or so, we serve students at seven schools. Poet-athletes are everywhere. Staff members will often swing by two, three or four fields on a game day if their game ends a tad early.

So it’s only appropriate that the winter soccer fundraiser presented by District Sports and known last year as the Holiday Classic has a new name — the Columbia Heights Cup.

The Dec. 10 all-day, co-ed, 7v7 recreational tournament will dominate the neighborhood’s soccer fields. A year ago, its first year, the fundraiser was held at Cardozo High School. This year, thanks to the work of District Sports, it will be played at three sites all within a mile or two of each other:

Cardozo High School.
Tubman Elementary School
Bell High School

Registration is open for 24 teams, and spots will fill extremely quickly (last year, 12 spots were filled in a week). The team fee is a $450 donation to DC SCORES and includes:

At least three games in round-robin play
12 Columbia Heights Cup team T-shirts (to be worn during play)
Invitation to the pre-tournament party Dec. 7
Day-of drink and food specials at Duffy's Irish Pub all day
Gift certificates for the tournament winner and the Most Creative Team Name
The chance to learn more about DC SCORES!

Register on the District Sports website, and participate in a neighborhood soccer tournament that directly benefits the young soccer players growing up in the homes surrounding the playing fields!

Inside Bancroft Elementary Part 3: Performing at Starbucks

2011-11-16T11:26:00.000-05:00

Each week for the remainder of the season, Anthony will write about his experience in this space. Read his weekly posts for an inside look into the DC SCORES elementary school experience.

See pictures from Anthony's trips to Bancroft on Flickr.

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It was 4:00 p.m. last Wednesday when 20 smiling students from Bancroft Elementary marched single file into the Columbia Heights Starbucks.

Carrying their poetry notebooks, the students looked around at the patrons sipping their coffees and typing away on their laptops.

For many students, this would be their first performance outside of the classroom.

The students filled into chairs situated in the front corner of the shop. DC SCORES program coordinator Joe Brophy introduced himself and explained that this performance was all about practice and giving feedback, just like the soccer games which have become a favorite among the students.

The students went around the circle one by one, introducing themselves and stating an animal in the wild they would like to be if they could.

Then, Coach Joe, standing next to a chart showing the types of feedback the students could give each other, explained that "positive feedback" and "constructive criticism" are ways they can help each other prepare for the annual Poetry Slam! at the end of the month..

Each student volunteered to perform when they felt comfortable. And then, standing at the front of the circle, they read their poem to the class.

Tatiana, a third grader, smiled as she stood and read her poem about playing with her brother at the playground.

Every performance concluded with a round of finger snaps, or a polite golf clap, in a gesture of respect to the members of the impromptu audience who were working.

"I liked your poem," Coach Joe said to Tatiana as she finished reading and the round of snaps subsided. "It's a meaningful poem, and I can tell that you care about what you write about."

Moises said it was his first time performing outside of class, and when asked the theme of his poem, he said, "I am a chicken." His performance drew laughs from his classmates when he talked about chicken salad.

Some students seemed nervous, while others were excited to stand up and perform.

Eric said he wasn't nervous to perform. "I wrote about fears," he said afterward.

Junior's poem was spot-on for the venue. "I wrote about Cookie Monster," he said, standing not far from the display case of tasty desserts.

The students didn't miss out on the goodies. After everyone in the group performed, writing coach Nikki Allinson handed out hot chocolates to all the students.

The hot chocolate provided newfound energy to the group, as a few students worked up the courage to perform twice.

Elder seemed a bit nervous at first, but with some positive encouragement from Coach Nikki and Coach Joe, he read his second poem about girls snoring. Elder's poems drew great reactions from his classmates and coaches.

The students and coaches focused on evaluating each other on projection, pace, body language, volume, context and tone.

"I liked how he used rhyming words," Junior said to the group about Elder's performance.

Coach Nikki said the field trip was a great opportunity to prepare the students for the Poetry Slam!, and it helped them narrow their focus to the areas where they can improve.

"I was so proud!" she said. "A few of the quieter students were able to individually shine.

"We need to work on articulating and projection. They have amazing poems, I just want the audience to be able to hear them!"

Two days prior, on Monday afternoon, poetry specialist Shelly Bell joined the Bancroft students in class to help them prepare for the Starbucks performance.

Bell runs her own organization called Seven City Art Society, which organizes poetry and writing events in Alexandria and different spots throughout DC, Maryland and Virginia.

Bell led the Bancroft students through creative exercises focused on public speaking, rhyming and expanding their vocabulary.

"Using each letter of your name, you're going to write an adjective,” Bell explained. Then, giving examples of how prevalent poetry and rhyming are in the students’ everyday lives, Bell asked the students to name some of their favorite songs.

One student shouted "Party Rock Anthem," and immediately the students broke out into a collective verse of the popular LMFAO song.

Bell then had the students sit in a circle and play "Going on a Picnic," as each student named one food item they'd bring on a family picnic. The only caveat: Before they could say their item, the students had to recite all of the previous items listed by their classmates.

It was an exercise in public speaking and memory, two skills which served the students well at their Wednesday Starbucks performance.

Bell concluded her lesson with a freestyle performance for the students.

"The kids really enjoyed her energy and clear passion for poetry," Coach Nikki said. "Her spoken-word performance at the end of the lesson was a great example for the students to see right before performing at Starbucks."

Shelly Bell is no stranger to performing poetry. She is on the 2011 Busboys & Poets National Slam Team, which is ranked nationally in the top 20.

Bell said these kind of lessons and performances are just what the students need to prepare for their Poetry Slam! performance in front of an audience of hundreds.

"I still get nervous on stage," Bell said, "especially if it's huge crowds.

"That's why I think this is such a great program, with having two performance aspects really. Because they're performing in sports, and then they're going to perform in something that has to do with academics.

“And that's awesome."

On a rainy game day, signs of real progress on the soccer field

2011-11-14T11:30:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday, at first glance, seemed like a dismal afternoon. At 4 p.m., as DC SCORES games were about to begin, the sky was gray, the temperature was in the mid-40s, and a rain that began as a drizzle started to steady itself.

Standing on the soggy grass outside Noyes Education Campus, I was alone with our volunteer referee Jackson. Noyes coach Russell Holmes had smartly decided to have his team wait inside the school until the Wolfpack’s opponent, C.W. Harris, arrived.

With darkness just around the corner, I hoped we could just get a game in.

Sure enough, there was only one game — a co-ed affair — but to my surprise, the poet-athletes on the field demonstrated, in 40 minutes of action, a season’s worth of progress, a season’s worth of coaching.

The rain didn’t affect them. The cold didn’t change the way they played. Even as nighttime arrived early, they weren’t rattled.

Don’t get me wrong — I wasn’t watching the most “Beautiful Game.” But what I saw spoke to the impact two months of proper soccer instruction can have on kids who have never put their foot to a ball before.

There was a handful — or should I say “headful” — of perfectly executed headers. There were series of passes that led to scoring chances. And there was a pair of perfectly placed goals scored by a Noyes boy from 20-30 yards out.

But what most impressed me was what I didn’t hear often — Jackson’s whistle.

Almost every fall season, we stress to referees that they should correct players every time they incorrectly do a throw-in. This occurs quite often, as it doesn’t exactly click in kids’ heads that they can’t lift even one foot off the ground.

What a silly rule!

Last Thursday, however, Jackson didn’t have to blow his whistle and make a single correction.

As I watched this unfold, I chatted up a Noyes poet-athlete on the sideline as we both tried to stay warm and dry. He told me how Coach Russell had stressed and had the team practice — over and over and over — correct technique.

It was, by the second to last game of the season, drilled into their heads. The same seemed to be the case for C.W. Harris.

As I mentioned, this wasn’t the prettiest game. There were some handballs that had the coaches shaking their heads. And C.W. Harris coach Curtis Yarbrough spent most of the game trying to remind his team not to get too bunched together on the field.

They never completely got the message, and he used the few minutes after the final whistle and before the bus arrived as a mini practice. In the dusk, Curtis instructed seven players to go to positions on the field. Then he demonstrated to them how they needed to move as one, maintaining that spacing regardless of where the ball went.

It was dark. It was raining. It was cold. And the learning wasn’t over.

No wonder these kids have made such progress in such a short time period.

I’m looking forward to the final week of games this Thursday.

Inside Bancroft Elementary part 2: Students learn to enjoy writing creatively

2011-11-09T13:03:00.003-05:00

Each week for the remainder of the season, Anthony will write about his experience in this space. Read his weekly posts for an inside look into the DC SCORES elementary school experience.

See pictures from Anthony's trips to Bancroft on Flickr.

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It was Halloween, and the DC SCORES students at Bancroft Elementary were excited to go trick-or-treating after school.

The school Halloween party had taken place the previous Friday, so there was no dressing up this afternoon. But that didn't stop the students from asking me how I planned on celebrating one of their favorite holidays.

"Are you going trick-or-treating?! What's your costume going to be?!" a student yelled in the cafeteria, where we all met before heading to the classroom.

The poetry session began with a warm-up exercise. "Write a poem pretending you're a pumpkin," was written in marker on the board at the front of the classroom.

The students then focused on rhyming. Following in true Halloween spirit, Nikki, Bancroft's poetry teacher, asked the students to "write a poem about something that scares you."

The students really enjoyed the assignment.

"I'm writing about the Boogie Man," said Anna, a fourth grader. Then, quickly changing her mind, she said she wanted to write about something even scarier.

"I'm writing about my dad's cooking," she said, as her friends around the table started laughing. Sisters Tatiana and Dalila shared that they were writing about scary Halloween movies and cats.

Across the room, Diego was writing about sharks, Edgar was writing about aliens, and Junior could barely contain his table's laughter when he said, "I'm writing about Barney."

Nikki Allinson is the Community Outreach Coordinator at DC SCORES and the poetry coach at Bancroft on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.

She said this mix of creativity, intellectual freedom and humor is essential to the classroom atmosphere.

"When I was a kid, creative writing was a way that I was able to find a voice when I didn't know I had one," Nikki said. "So for me, I like to give them the opportunity to write about whatever they want."

These moments are never in short supply during Bancroft’s group writing activities — and Halloween provided just the right opportunity for Nikki to get students involved and excited about Monday's class.

Standing at the front of the room with Smarties candy rolls taped to her pant legs, Nikki's "smarty pants" costume was a big hit with the students.

It is just one example of how she has found unique ways to engage the students through poetry and creative writing. It is an important approach, considering how passionate the students are about soccer and how eager they are to go outside and play.

"My students were much more confident with their soccer skills than their writing skills when I first started," Nikki said. "After working to build their self-esteem by showing them how proud I am, the intention behind their writing changed.

“They now work in the classroom with the same ferocity and commitment that they've always had on the soccer field."

After class, the students laced up their cleats, took to the soccer field, and broke into small groups. Coach Joel Lopez led the groups through drills focused on teamwork and, most importantly, communication on the field.

When Lopez noticed during the scrimmage that the players weren't talking enough on the field, he made sure they started calling each others' names each time before they passed the ball.

This week, the students will perform their poetry at a local Starbucks coffee shop and offer constructive criticism to each other. Like the players on the field who forget to talk to their teammates, some performers might get nervous, and some might make mistakes.

This is all part of the process, and exactly what makes the program special as the students find their voices both on paper, on the soccer field, and in life.

Videos: A look inside DC SCORES middle school game days

2011-11-07T12:03:00.000-05:00

There are no middle school games this week due to Veterans Day, so let’s take a look back at what’s been a tremendous regular-season with a pair of game day videos (see all DC SCORES videos on our YouTube page).

We can’t have a videographer at every site, so only three schools are shown in action here, but trust us that this has been the most successful middle school season to date.

Not only have the seven DC SCORES schools acquitted themselves nicely on the field, but 10 other middle schools have played on Fridays this fall in the ONLY public middle school league in the District of Columbia.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out our final regular-season game day on, take note, Wednesday, Nov. 16. Then stay tuned for semifinals matchups on Friday, Nov. 18, and the Capital Cup Championship at Bell Multicultural High School Tuesday, Nov. 22.

Click here for the updated schedule and here for field locations.

Celebrate Washington, DC's nonprofits by donating on Give to the Max Day

2011-11-03T11:30:00.001-04:00

One of the easiest parts of my job is, well, promoting the work DC SCORES coaches do every day at schools throughout the District.

It never is hard to say, Here’s why DC SCORES is important … Here’s an example of the impact we make…

It is, however, difficult to say the following:

Our poet-athletes are more deserving — and more in need — than kids or elders or the homeless who are served by other nonprofits in Washington, DC.

The truth is, there are many — check that, hundreds — of organizations doing extremely important and essential work in this city. We’re just one of them.

Which is why the region’s first Give to the Max Day is so important.

Next Wednesday, Nov. 9, is the biggest day of the year for DC’s nonprofits. It is a day to promote the heck out of each other and engage in friendly competition.

Yes, a donation war.

We’re asking you, our supporters, to help us engage in this battle of giving by A) Making a contribution of $10 or more to DC SCORES on Nov. 9; and B) Spreading the word about Give to the Max Day during the next week.

In addition to your donations, charities will receive prizes for most money raised, most unique donations, second place, third place, 12th place (because we’re heading into 2012, duh!), 44th place (because Obama is the 44th president, duh!), and $1,000 — or a “golden ticket” — for whichever nonprofits receive the most donations during each hour beginning at 2 p.m.

Our hour of focus? 5-6 p.m. EST.

There are several chances to win. There is the potential for several big winners.

We in the DC SCORES office tend to go crazy about our program and poet-athletes all the time. That’s part of our job. What we’re asking of you is much different:

Go nuts about DC SCORES for one day. Donate. Facebook it. Tweet it. LinkedIn it. Go all old-school and post fliers! You get the point.

Help us celebrate the work of ALL the District’s worthy causes by promoting the nonprofit industry’s BIGGEST day of the year (the region hopes to raise an estimated $3 million).

It’s that easy.

Inside Bancroft Elementary, Part I: Introductions all around

2011-11-02T11:30:00.008-04:00

Each week for the remainder of the season, Anthony will write about his experience in this space. Read his weekly posts for an inside look into the DC SCORES elementary school experience.

See pictures from Anthony's trips to Bancroft on Flickr.

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

I walked in the door to the classroom and was greeted by smiling students who already knew my name.

"Anthony, take a picture of my jersey!" one student excitedly yelled.

I introduced myself to the class and took a seat. This was my first time meeting all of the students. I had attended the previous weekend's Fall Frenzy celebration, and the students were eager to see the photos and video I shot of them in action on the soccer field.

"Are we going to be on YouTube?!" a few students jokingly yelled.

Then we went around the room as the students introduced themselves and told everyone their favorite part of the Fall Frenzy.

Patrick, a fourth-grader, said his favorite part of the weekend was "playing against other teams."

"I liked meeting people from summer school and from other schools," said Jasmine, a fifth-grader.

Anna was most proud of the team’s success on the field. "We won almost every game," she said.

And Alejandro fondly recalled the postgame grub. "I liked the macaroni and cheese!" he said.

After introductions, the class broke up into groups and practiced writing Haikus. The students wrote about soccer and poetry, and before long the excitement was building for a soccer game outside.

After the group writing session, the students began packing up their notebooks, and Ronald pointed to the name on the back of his Barcelona soccer jersey. "Messi," it read.

Ronald, wearing the No. 10 jersey, then began comparing an array of statistics on his favorite professional team with Misaeo, a proud supporter of Real Madrid.

I wish I knew what all the statistics meant. If I learned one thing on my first day at Bancroft, it's that these bright fourth and fifth grade soccer/poetry enthusiasts know more about social media and sports than I do — two areas supposed to be a lock for college students.

We all headed to the cafeteria for a pregame snack, and before long we hit the field for a soccer game where there was only one rule: Five passes before you can score.

The Bancroft students are preparing for a poetry performance at a local Starbucks in the next week. The focus on teamwork, writing and public speaking that I have seen on my first day shows me that the students of Bancroft will be well prepared.

DC SCORES alumni profiles: Kurt L., Carlos R., Jorge S., Bell Multicultural High School

2011-10-31T11:30:00.003-04:00

(From left): Carlos, R., Jorge S., Kurt L., Bell High School

Written by Nikki Allinson

Community Outreach Coordinator

(If you’re an alumni of DC SCORES, become a friend of the alumni page, follow us on Twitter, or contact Miss Nikki at nallinson@americascores.org or 202.695.3260 to get involved.)

Which school did you participate with in DC SCORES?

Kurt: Lincoln Middle School

Carlos: Lincoln Middle School

Jorge: Raymond Elementary School and Lincoln Middle School

Why did you first become involved in DC SCORES?

Kurt: I grew tired of only playing football, and all my friends loved it.

Jorge: I just love playing soccer

Carlos: Ya, everybody loves soccer

What did you learn about being on a team?

Jorge: You have to fight for the team, even if you think you’re going to lose. We would be losing by two goals in a game, but we would always fight back for more.

Carlos: Ya (our coach) taught us a lot about teamwork, especially with passing.

Jorge: And we also learned as a team with poetry. Kurt wrote a sweet rap for the Poetry Slam!

Kurt: Ya that was cool having the team perform my rap.

What is your fondest memory from when you were a DC SCORES poet-athlete?

Kurt: At the championship game we had a big team and I got to start, so that was really fun. I had never even played soccer before that year!

Carlos: Well before the Poetry Slam! we were all nervous so we had a dance party. We got to relax and cool our nerves to get hyped up. Then we won the most spirited award!

Jorge: The Jamboree!. Some of the younger kids were talking trash and we finally got to play ‘em at the Jamboree and show ‘em how to act on and off the field with good sportsmanship.

What do you enjoy about being involved as alumni?

Kurt: Coming to the games.

Carlos: Ya definitely coming to the games, and I want to referee!

Jorge: I wanna referee too! It’s fun coming to the school and watching our old team and coaches on the field.

The Next Alumni Meeting will be Nov. 18 at 4pm at the DC SCORES office (1224 M St., NW). See pictures of alumni in action on the DC SCORES Flickr page.

Shaw students overcome worries, create song in three days with Psalm One

2011-10-27T13:53:00.000-04:00

Written by Cielo Contreras

Development Manager, Foundations and Corporations

Write and record a song in three days.

That was the challenge presented to the DC SCORES team at Shaw last week. The team is used to experiencing some crazy things. After all, Tony Hawk visited their school only two weeks before.

Team members were excited to learn they would be working with professional rapper and songwriter Psalm One, thanks to the ASCAP Songwriters Residency @ America SCORES. However, they were not sure how they could possibly write and record an entire song in such a short time.

Three days.

When Psalm One came to their classroom for the first time, she rapped for them and explained the process. Their first task was to choose a beat. She played some options and the team voted on their favorite.

When the beat was chosen, she asked students to write down words to describe how the beat made them feel and words about themselves that made them unique.

The next day, Psalm returned with lyrics she had put together using what the team had written. Now that they knew more about the process, the students were feeling a little more confident. Psalm asked for three volunteers to do solos for the song and worked with them while the rest of the team wrote out “shout outs” that would be part of the song’s “outro.”

The shout outs ranged from the usual (“Shout out to my mom for being there for me!”) to the slightly unusual (“Shout out to Einstein for making math!”) to the silly (“Shout out to my socks!”).

That’s the great thing about writing your own song. You can make it entirely your own.

On Day 3, the song was written and it was time to record. The team rode the bus to Blue House Studios — a professional recording studio! — in Kensington, Maryland. When they arrived, they were greeted by Psalm and a space filled with recording equipment, cameras and a stage. This was real.

The team worked diligently to record the chorus, the solos and the shout outs. If the students were nervous about stepping up to the mic, they barely showed it.

If I didn’t know better, I would have thought they were seasoned professionals.

When they finished recording, Psalm played the completed rough cut for Shaw’s poet-athletes, who couldn’t help but beam with pride at what they had accomplished.

Check out photos and a video from Shaw's ASCAP experience with Psalm One!

Teams come together, grow stronger at Fall Frenzy celebration

2011-10-26T11:00:00.002-04:00

When the Garfield Elementary School bus pulled up to Kelly Miller Middle School last Saturday morning, its occupants weren’t exactly itching to get off it.

“They were more worried about how cold it was outside than the teams (they’d be playing),” said Garfield soccer coach Terrell Clifford. “They were like, ‘Do we have to go out here? It’s freezing!’”

It wasn’t exactly an auspicious start to the first Fall Frenzy for DC SCORES’ newest elementary school. However, some five hours later, Clifford could laugh about it. By then, his small, tight-knit group of poet-athletes was mostly smiles, as the kids thoroughly enjoyed the large program event.

“They’re pretty much in awe of what’s going on,” Clifford said as he watched Garfield play its last of four games, “but they’re enjoying every second of it.”

Over 800 poet-athletes participated in the 14th annual celebration of the fall season, which drew more than 1,000 people total to Kelly Miller in Ward 7, including parents; community members; a large number of volunteers, many of them program alumni; program partners; and others.

The Fall Frenzy was funded by DC Stoddert Soccer and the District’s Department of Parks and Recreation. In addition to cross-city soccer games played on nine adjacent fields, poet-athletes enjoyed facepainting; writing Haikus at the 826 DC table; running relay races with volunteers from Rotaract; creating arts and crafts at the Starbucks table; and testing their kicking accuracy and working on headers with Penya Barcelonista, DC’s official FC Barcelonia fan club. Kids also took advantage of free water bottles provided by Modell's Sporting Goods and danced -- sometimes while on the soccer field -- to the music played by DJ RBI.

At the beginning of the morning, DC SCORES Athletic Director Kenny Owens brought all the teams together to show off their school pride and kick off the day. Then, with the blaring of the mega horn, teams were dispersed, and within a minute, Kelly Miller’s athletic fields and parking lot were filled with 27 different colors.

The enormity of the event could be a little intimidating for first-time participants, especially with so many bigger kids on many of the elementary school teams. When Clifford’s group of mostly third-graders prepared to play Perry Street Prep -- which featured several fifth-graders -- the poet-athletes couldn’t believe the size of their opponents.

“Man, they’re bigger than us, I’m gonna run through their legs!” one third-grader said.

“They too big! They giants,” another poet-athlete lamented.

“Coach, tell us something!” said a third.

After a brief huddle, though, Garfield’s players relaxed with a chant of “1 … 2 … 3 .. Garfield!” and played a fearless game against the much bigger kids.

And that is all Clifford can ask of his poet-athletes at this point in the season. Starting a team at a school where most students have never touched a soccer ball or heard of a throw-in isn’t easy, Clifford knows, and he’s taking things one day at a time.

“It’s definitely a process and I think we’re getting there slowly but surely,” Clifford said. “I think the success for our team is just working together for a whole match or a half. If we’re fortunate enough to score a goal, that’s a big gain.

“A little icing on the cake.”

A few minutes later, Clifford was enjoying that icing and let out a “Yeahhhhh!!!” after his team put together a scoring play. For all its struggles against bigger, more experienced teams for most of the day, one goal more than made Garfield’s trip to Kelly Miller well worth it.

At Garfield’s first home game a few weeks back, the team received incredible support, as Clifford estimated that 70 to 80 people -- including the school band, parents and faculty members -- came out to cheer on the team. A smaller group of supporters was on hand Saturday, encouraging and giving courage to the team as it navigated uncharted territory.

And by the end of the day, no poet-athletes were complaining anymore. Except about the fact that the day, and the games, was over.

“Everyone has progressed in the same pattern,” Clifford said. “It’s a team effort for the most part.

“They’ve got some fire under them.”

Poet-athlete performs at Lights on Afterschool, chats with Mayor Gray and Councilmembers

2011-10-24T11:31:00.001-04:00

Written by Cory Chimka
Program Director

Last week DC SCORES joined one million Americans and more than 7,500 communities in celebrating after-school programs with the 12th annual Lights On Afterschool.

Poet-athlete London H. of Noyes Education Campus recited his poem “Bullies” on the dais of DC’s city Hall, the John A. Wilson Building, as a part of the nationwide day of advocacy and action highlighting the importance of access to high quality enriching after-school programs for all children between the school dismissal bell and the dinner bell.

London’s performance was part of an agenda that included remarks from District Mayor Vincent Gray, City Council Chairman Kwame Brown, Deputy Mayor for Health & Human Services Beebe Oterro, and President and CEO of the Washington DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation Ellen London. The event was sponsored by the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates.

London impressed the mayor during a Q&A session by asking Gray about his April arrest during a DC statehood protest. Gray’s spirited answer included removing a $5 bill from his pocket and waving it as a metaphorical visual aid representing the city’s need for budget autonomy.

Not to be outdone by Gray, Council Chair Brown promised to pass along London’s personal greeting to President Barack Obama during their next meeting!

London also enjoyed a one-on-one chat with his Ward 7 representative Councilmember Yvette Alexander (left), who asked if she could count on London’s vote in eight years.

London shared the stage with students from Capital City Public Charter School, City Dance and Sasha Bruce House.

“London was so excited and couldn't stop talking about the event,” said London’s mom Ebony. “He really enjoys reciting his poem and will jump at any opportunity to do so.”

The event was just one of several poetry readings London is taking on this fall. Recently, he read his poem at the opening of a new Starbucks store (and has become a Starbucks regular and huge fan of its hot chocolate). And this afternoon, London is heading to The Shakespeare Theatre to rehearse for the Catalogue for Philanthropy’s Nov. 7 Inspiration to Action Kick-off.

Coaches profile: Jerome Brammer & Oliver Jones, Perry Street Prep

2011-10-20T10:30:00.001-04:00

Jerome Brammer (left) and Oliver Jones.

Jerome Brammer & Oliver Jones, soccer coaches

Perry Street Prep Public Charter School

How long have you been with DC SCORES?

Brammer: 3 years

Jones: 9 years

What’s your other job within or outside the school?

Brammer: Spanish teacher

Jones: Math teacher

How did you get into education or start working with youth?

Brammer: Other teacher friends said they thought I would enjoy it and be good at it.

Jones: I participated in Teach for America.

Why did you choose to work for DC SCORES; what attracted you to the program?

Brammer: The fact that our elementary school would then have a sports team. We still don’t have any others, and giving students the opportunity to be on a team is major!

Jones: I grew up playing soccer, and now my main goal is closing the achievement gap. DC SCORES is so well organized; it was a no-brainer for me. Bringing soccer to the inner-city is a must.

Now that you’ve been doing it for a while, what do you enjoy most about it?

Brammer: For me, playing soccer with the kids and seeing the joy that they get from playing, and it gives opportunities to teach other cultures. I mean, soccer is a culture in itself.

Jones: I like seeing the way kids progress in the game. It’s also great seeing the support from the school, the teachers, the community, everyone coming out to the pitch.

Was there an experience you had growing up that pushed you into education or toward doing a program like DC SCORES? Were you in a similar program?

Jones: Club soccer.

Brammer: We couldn’t start soccer until sixth grade, so for me, having an elementary school team is the best part. Building skills and interest now at a younger age going forward, I wish we had that!

What’s your favorite DC SCORES event?

Jones: Jamboree!

Brammer: Poetry Slam!

What’s your most memorable DC SCORES experience?

Brammer: I’d been working with (poet-athlete) Eric all week on using his left foot, then on game day, he dribbled down the field with his left and then went ahead and shot and scored with his left!

Jones: (Poet-athlete) Levin did a cartwheel on stage when we won at the Poetry Slam! and almost knocked over one of the judges. I’ll never forget that!

Who is your favorite athlete?

Jones: (Diego) Maradona or Allen Iverson.

Brammer: (Zinedine) Zidane.

Who is your favorite singer or poet?

Jones: Nora Jones and right now Adele.

Brammer: TENOR SAW!

What is your favorite food?

Jones: Pasta.

Brammer: Anything curried!

Rapper Psalm One coming to Shaw Middle School through ASCAP Songwriter Residency

2011-10-17T08:30:00.007-04:00

Rapper Psalm One

It’s the middle of October, which can mean only one thing.

It’s time to make some music!

A year ago, I was witness to Philadelphia-based The Great Unknown’s visit to MacFarland Middle School as part of the ASCAP Songwriter Residency @ America SCORES. Over the course of three afternoons, I watched as a group of about 20 students worked with the alternative band to create — from scratch — a song and then record it in a studio.

From there, the story is pretty familiar.

The students took the song, practiced it, and made it their own. Then came the first-place Poetry Slam! performance. Next, they wowed the audience at the Inspired Art Gala.

And, finally, the CD with their song on it was released.

Well, now it’s the turn of Shaw Middle School @ Garnet-Patterson. Beginning tomorrow, the Shaw poet-athletes will spend three afternoons with Psalm One creating their very own song and then traveling to a local studio to record it.

Psalm One is described as a “seasoned writer with a soulful and vulnerable style.” Not only is she the lone woman signed to the well-known and independent record label Rhymesayers Entertainment, but Psalm One (born Cristalle Bowen) has always dedicated herself to working with kids.

So she should fit right in at Shaw!

A Chicago native, Psalm One started the mentoring and tutoring program Charm Lab in 2008. She also worked at DC SCORES’ affiliate America SCORES Bay Area as a poetry and soccer coach, creating her first ASCAP song with students at a school in the area.

And with the District the fifth stop on her nine-city tour, Psalm One will undoubtedly be able to create a quick connection and chemistry with the students as they begin brainstorming their song.

But the beauty of the program — and our creative expression curriculum, in general — is offering the freedom and ability to express oneself in many ways. No one, at this point, knows what the final product will be when Shaw’s poet-athletes leave the recording studio Thursday evening.

We’ll just have to wait and see, as we let creative minds work together to brainstorm, practice, then make sweet music, with the help of a professional, to share with their school and the community.

Let the ASCAP experience begin (again)!

Introducing Saturday SCORES soccer clinics in Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8

2011-10-13T08:40:00.000-04:00

It’s finally Thursday again, which means the long week — and wait — is over. Kids from 20 elementary schools across the city will get the chance, once again, to compete in the only organized elementary school soccer games in the District.

Usually on Fridays — but not tomorrow because of DCPS professional development — kids at 17 middle schools get that same opportunity.

But despite our best efforts, we always hear, especially from kids, parents and coaches East of the River where DC SCORES is the only chance to get involved in soccer, “The season’s too short! Not enough games!”

Well, we’ve listened. And starting this Saturday, we have an answer.

Free weekend soccer clinics in Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Saturday SCORES is the result of DC SCORES collaborating with DC Stoddert Soccer and the District’s Department of Parks and Recreation. For five consecutive Saturdays this fall, from 11:30am-1pm, soccer instructors will run clinics at sites in each of the aforementioned wards.

The clinics will focus on skill development, but won’t be overly competitive. Kids of all skill levels are invited to any of the clinics, including elementary, middle and high school students.

“The main thing is focusing more kids on the game, giving them more opportunities to play, bottom line, in those wards of the city,” said DC SCORES Athletic Director Kenny Owens, who will oversee one of the weekly clinics at Kelly Miller Middle School (Ward 7).

“The idea is to work on the kids’ technique. The main thing is having them play with the ball more — a lot of touches on the ball — and just work on their skills.”

At a recent DC SCORES game day, the idea was introduced to students from C.W. Harris Elementary School in Ward 7. It didn’t take long for them to buy in and commit to attending.

“When I talked to the C.W. Harris kids and asked, ‘What do you guys do on Saturdays?’ They said, ‘There’s nothing to do,’” Owens said.

“They’re excited about not only having something to do, but also having another opportunity to get out there and play.”

And that’s exactly why these clinics were formed — to provide an opportunity, like DC SCORES does, that otherwise isn’t available to the targeted population.

At each clinic, participants will receive a T-shirt and snack, and parents are encouraged to attend.

Below are the weekly Saturday SCORES sites, and more information can be found on this flyer.

Ward 5 — Lamond Riggs Recreation Center

Ward 6 — King Greenleaf Recreation Center

Ward 7 — Kelly Miller Middle School

Ward 8 — Barry Farms Recreation Center

Shaw students meet skateboarding hero Tony Hawk

2011-10-10T10:29:00.000-04:00

Written by Cory Chimka

Program Director

Ben’s Chili Bowl was buzzing with excitement. Several paparazzi photographers stood outside. At a reserved back table Teddie, Shaw eighth-grader, was explaining the menu to sixth-graders Marina and Gabriela.

“I always get the beef dog with chili,” Teddie said.

Teddie’s been to Ben’s a bunch of times. His principal, Ms. Douglas, takes all the straight-A students to Ben’s Chili Bowl after each report card is issued, and Teddie is always on that list. Ms. Douglas is there today as well, but they aren’t celebrating good grades on report cards.

They were waiting for the day's guest of honor: nine-time X Games gold medalist, Laureus Legend and world famous skateboarder Tony Hawk.

Before long, Hawk arrived, sauntering past the wide-eyed Chili Bowl patrons, straight back to sit with those he considers to be the guests of honor, DC SCORES poet-athletes Teddie, Marina and Gabriela, along with Shaw Middle School @ Garnet-Patterson Principal Douglas.

For the next hour, Ms. Douglas and the students chatted with Hawk over chili dogs, cheese fries and veggie burgers. Hawk, after asking for the waitress’ recommendation, had Ben’s signature dish: the original chili half smoke, a quarter pound half-pork and half-beef smoked sausage, split down the middle, served on a warm steamed bun, topped with mustard and spicy homemade chili sauce.

It was Hawk’s first time at Ben’s, and he commented that he now knows what all the fuss is about. Hawk answered thoughtful questions from the students about his favorite international cities to visit and skate in, how he got started skateboarding, and why he no longer competes.

After lunch, the students proudly led the way down historic U Street, escorting Hawk the two blocks to their school amid a flurry of photographic flashes. Back at Shaw, the entire student body had assembled in the auditorium, hot anticipation in the air. After a few words from Up2Us founder Paul Caccamo and DC SCORES Executive Director Amy Nakamoto, Hawk took the stage to wild applause.

Hawk revealed that his life and career weren’t always a skate through the park. There were people telling him he couldn’t realize his dreams at every turn; even now people tell him weekly he’s too old to skateboard.

He refused to let anyone get in his way. He found something he loved to do, did it every chance he got, and eventually became the best in the world at it! He encouraged the students to find an activity they loved just like he did.

When the floor opened up to questions, the students impressed Hawk with their knowledge of skateboarding styles and tricks, his signature video games, and their guest’s lasting legacy in both arenas.

After the questions, Principal Douglas presented Hawk with his very own Shaw Lightning T-shirt, then Hawk sat at the exit to the auditorium, patiently signing an autograph for every single student. Most excited were the 30 or so students who stood in line with their skateboards under their arms.

They ride to school every day, and head to Shaw Skatepark as soon as DC SCORES practice is over. They could hardly believe they met their hero.