America SCORES New York Annual Report 2019-2020 Safe • Supported • Connected • Hopeful
Our Mission America SCORES New York seeks to create equitable opportunities for young people to experience sport, express themselves and inspire positive change off the field and outside the classroom. Using a social justice youth development framework, we emphasize racial equity, fair play, teamwork and youth voice as key drivers of building a better, more equitable New York City.
Our History America SCORES was started in 1994 in Washington, DC by public school teacher Julie Kennedy, who noticed that her students had limited access to after-school activities. Ms Kennedy realized that the combination of two seemingly unrelated activities, poetry and soccer, complemented each other through mutual involvement in public performance, selfexpression, and group support. The relationships that developed through teamwork and leadership on the soccer field translated to peer support in poetry workshops. The skills later allowed these poet-athletes to act as agents of change within their community through a variety of service-learning projects. The program quickly expanded throughout DC and, in 2001, Kennedy launched sites in New York City. Today, America SCORES has a presence in 11 cities across the US and Canada: Bay Area, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Boston, New York, Seattle, Vancouver, St. Louis, and Washington, DC.
A Letter from Executive Director Shannon Schneeman
A Letter from
Throughout this year, our team worked by one mantra — safe, supported, connected, and hopeful. Through over 500 program sessions and events, every day was focused on achieving our mission for our poet-athletes, our coaches, and ourselves and that inspiring mantra was a constant. Our fall season brought our largest Fall Frenzy yet, the launch of our 2030 Vision Strategy and an opportunity for our poet-athletes to meet Megan Rapinoe at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards, and our most impressive Poetry SLAM to date. After a successful winter season, the pandemic began to grip our city in early 2020 and we shifted quickly towards online programming, ensuring that our students could still use soccer and poetry as a means of coping safely during a difficult time. Throughout virtual programming, their safety remained top of mind and we continued online sessions through the summer with a focus on social justice and equity in all forms. Due to the diligence and commitment of our program staff and coaches, as well as the support we’ve received from those who know what it means to leave their passion on the field, their feelings on paper, and their hearts in the community allowed us to continue supporting our young people. We did this by providing 200 SCORES Kits and PPE while also retaining all core staff, each of whom are committed to the wellbeing and growth of our poet-athletes. 2020 exposed the consequences of youth isolation and we have worked to address this alongside other community-based organizations, emphasizing the importance of remaining connected to the hundreds of young people in our programs and their families. With the increasing visibility surrounding racial injustices across this country compounding the impacts of lockdowns and isolations, it is vital that our students, particularly our Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and all students of color, are given the platform to speak their truth and for that truth to be heard. Through the outlets and platforms provided by virtual poetry open mics nights and soccer workouts, we wanted to ensure our students felt connected to their coaches, to their teammates,and to themselves and their own voice. Above all, we wanted our America SCORES New York family to remain hopeful. We’ve learned that, in many ways, hope is participatory — showing up for youth, for our communities, and for each other has kept us hopeful. We’ve realized that the only way to grow with our young people, to grow our organization and, to grow our message is to simply keep going. Despite the challenges of the last year, America SCORES New York was recognized for adapting and growing, though not in the ways we had expected. We grew our board and staff, engaging more community leaders to work alongside our poet-athletes. We launched our Committee for Racial Equity and Social Justice, bringing together youth, staff, and board members to ensure that America SCORES New York continues to pursue equity and justice in every aspect of our organization. And we are committed to pushing forward. Ahead of our 20th Anniversary in 2021, we want to thank you for consistently cheering on our poet-athletes. We’ve been able to work and grow alongside them this year in ways we’ve never done before and we are eager to begin our third decade in New York City with them continuing to feel safe, supported, connected, and hopeful.
In community,
Shannon Schneeman, Executive Director
Statement for Racial Equity and Social Justice As a youth development organization operating in New York City, America SCORES New York recognizes its responsibility to act as an organization that stands against all forms of oppression. As an organization, we strive to model the racial equity we believe should be present throughout society at large by working to ensure all stakeholders are united in our commitment to racial equity. We firmly believe no family or child should be denied access to quality after-school programming due to the color of their skin. This last year, we have renewed our commitment to racial equity with the formation of our Committee for Racial Equity and Social Justice and our updated statement below:
America SCORES New York (ASNY) is committed to advancing racial equity - equitable opportunity for everyone regardless of race, color, ethnicity, and how they intersect with other forms of identity - by combating individual, institutional, and structural forms of racism throughout all facets of its operations. Its dedication to free, highquality after-school programming seeks to eliminate socioeconomic barriers to participation, promoting access, and inclusion. ASNY provides safe and welcoming program spaces for youth and families who identify as Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and all communities of color throughout New York City, where young people can express themselves through soccer, amplify their voices through poetry and connect with their communities on a deeper level through civic engagement projects. ASNY strives to ensure that staff, coaches, leadership, and Boards are reflective of the racial demographics of the communities it serves and incorporates anti-racist practices into all aspects of its programming including curricula design, implementation, and evaluation. It seeks to unite the diverse community it serves by celebrating and centering the voicesof Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people, as well as all communities of color. ASNY’s Statement on Racial Equity and Social Justice is a living document that will be revisited regularly,intended to guide the organization in every facet of its operations.
2019 FALL PROGRAMMING BEGINS
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER
TCS NYC MARATHON CELEBRATION WINTER SCORES CUP WINTER PROGRAMMING BEGINS
VIRTUAL SPRING PROGRAMMING BEGINS
FALL FRENZY
NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH
POETRY SLAM
WINTER SCORES DAY EASTERN REGIONAL POETRY SLAM
APRIL MAY SUMMER PROGRAMMING BEGINS AN EVENING WITH AMERICA SCORES NEW YORK
JUNE JULY AUGUST
2020
VIRTUAL JAMBOREE
VIRTUAL FAMILY DAY COACHING FOR CHANGE ACADEMY LAUNCHES
Safe Play Programming Pre-COVID: During Fall 2019, ASNY poet-athletes participated in our core offering, a free after-school program consisting of soccer practices and games, creative self-expression, civic engagement programming, and social entrepreneurship.
COVID programming: After the closure of public schools due to the pandemic, ASNY immediately shifted the spring season to virtual-learning and continued this format throughout the summer. We will continue to work diligently to safely help youth heal, grow, and learn through sports, writing, and leadership development.
A Year in Numbers Partnered with
25
Enrolled over
New York City public schools
1,000
in ASNY after-school and summer programs
Hosted over
100
community events Maintained programming for
Hired over
over 200
110
students at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic
coaches
Average attendance of
75% during Fall 2019 81% during Winter 2020
228
200
100%
soccer games
SCORES kits
throughout Fall 2019
school retention rate
packed and distributed
Over 30 partnerships with local CBOs
5,000 views
on 70 Instagram Live lessons
225 hours
of virtual programming
PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT: ALUMNI AND OLDER YOUTH Over the several years, America SCORES New York has reached beyond our core programming and engaged older youth and alumni of ASNY program. Throughout the last year, these programs have expanded to include two partners -- Saturday Night Lights and Nike -- who are committed to working alongside the future leaders of our city and giving them the tools to lead their communities forward.
Saturday Night Lights A violence prevention program called Saturday Night Lights (SNL) was developed through a partnership with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, local law enforcement. and sportsbased youth development organizations throughout New York City. In 2019, we were able to expand on programming and provide a safe space for students to play soccer on Saturdays during high crime times in Washington Heights and build team culture as students are coached on various soccer technical skills, followed by team scrimmages.
Coaching for Change Academy powered by Nike America SCORES New York's Coaching for Change Academy powered by Nike has hired 20 New York City aspiring youth coaches for a year-long paid professional development and mentoring academy. Youth coaches will build mentoring relationships, explore self through healing-centered engagement, learn to coach and navigate in digital spaces, develop professional skills, and make a difference in their communities. By building peer to peer relationships, experiencing digital coaching, exploring healing-centered engagement practices, and ostering adult-youth partnerships, we aim to create pathways for the future coaches and leaders of tomorrow.
I feel like we were connected because all of us were still playing as a team
I enjoyed being the DJ during sessions when coaches would allow me!
2020 proved to be a very different year for America SCORES New York, but we continued to remain engaged with our poet-athletes throughout the year. To understand the impact of ASNY programming during this difficult time, we spoke to a focus group of 12 poet-athletes who reflected on their experience with our program. I was able to talk to many adults and coaches about anything that goes on in my life. I was able to express myself freely with no fear of being made fun of or any other circumstances
It felt good to continue to be part of ASNY!
Social-Emotional Learning
100%
of participants agreed that ASNY provided them a safe space throughout the pandemic*
100% 100% 100% 92% *In Fall 2020 ASNY conducted a
of parents surveyed stated the coaches in ASNY respect and care about their child*
of participants reported feeling connected and hopeful from their involvement with ASNY*
93%
of parents stated that ASNY programming is helping their child feel better about themselves and build confidence*
71%
of parents surveyed feel ASNY has helped their child overcome challenges in their lives by making them more motivated, more positive, less angry, and more confident*
of participants felt SCORES gave them the confidence to speak freely and express themselves*
reported SCORES programming supported them over the course of pandemic*
focus group discussion with 15 young people from program sites across the city. All of the students who attended the focus groups had attended ASNY programs throughout the Fall 2019 and into the Spring 2020 program conducted during the height of COVID in NYC
*Based off parent surveys conducted In December 2019
Academic There is little question about the value that sports participation can have on school performance. Research shows that both in-school and after-school sports programs provide an incentive for students’ attendance and behavior, and sports programs are increasingly tracking and measuring social-emotional learning outcomes that are linked to academic success. But the correlation between the impact of sports participation and a focus on social-emotional learning on standardized test scores have generally been specious at best, and very few sports programs are designed to take on this challenge. America SCORES New York has spent four years working to change that. Since 2016, America SCORES New York has worked alongside UpMetrics to collect data from the New York City Department of Education to evaluate our program's impact on academic performance.* Because of a curriculum that aligns with federal and state learning standards, a policy of employing teachers as coaches to help students, and an environment that welcomes and Includes everyone, ASNY students on average outperform their non-SCORES peers.
Average Daily Attendance (ADA)
ELA Test Average Scores Since 2016, an average of 40.2% of America SCORES New York poet-athletes received ELA high scores (a 3 or 4) compared to 40.1% of their non-SCORES peers
96%
Math Test Average Scores Since 2016, an average of 42.1% of America SCORES New York poet-athletes received Math high scores (a 3 or 4) compared to 41.5% of their non-SCORES peers
Chronic Absence On average, America SCORES New York poet-athletes are chronically absent from school less often than their non-SCORES peers
95% 45%
94%
50%
93%
40%
35%
92%
30%
20% 30%
91% 25%
90%
10%
20% 89% 15/16
Indicates ASNY participants
16/17
17/18
18/19
15/16
16/17
17/18
Indicates non-SCORES peers
*The 433 ASNY participants were enrolled on a first-come, first-serve basis, without any consideration given to their academic (or athletic) ability. ** Non-SCORES participants include students who attended school In the same districts as participants (years 1 through 3 of the study) and In-school, non-SCORES peers (year 4)
18/19
15/16
16/17
17/18
18/19
ASNY poet-athletes
Non-SCORES peers
2020 Spotlight: In February 2020, almost 50 students from 12 America SCORES affiliates took to the stage over the course of three weekends in the Bay Area, Chicago, and New York to perform and compete in poetry slams. Here in New York, we hosted the Eastern Regional Poetry Slam at the world-renowned Nuyorican Poets' Cafe. NYC poet-athletes joined their peers from Boston and Washington DC to share their poetry with the top three being presented with the opportunity to advance to the National Poetry Slam at the historic Kennedy Center in Washington DC in March. However, due to COVID-19, all plans for a National Slam were postponed which had a knock-on effect on the production schedule for the America SCORES documentary, Our Words, Our Cities. Our Words, Our Cities is a dynamic, engaging, and enlightening feature-length documentary which follows this nationwide youth poetry slam series. More than just performances, this film introduces characters – youth, professional poets, coaches, and poetry experts and dives into the evolution of poetry – from Ancient Greece to rap battles in Brooklyn – told through the voices of these amazing poet-athletes, and with a real-time look at the struggles faced by children brought on by racial injustice and violence in America during a global pandemic. We're looking forward to the documentary premiere in 2021!
OUR SUPPORTERS AND PARTNERS
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS