OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF
APRIL 8, 2019 | VOL. 2, ISSUE 8
EDUCATIONAL UPGRADE Extra Yard for Teachers revamps learning environments in schools coast-to-coast BY JAIME ARON
T
alk about being too good for your own good. The first few years that the College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation’s Extra Yard for Teachers (EYFT) initiative invested in overhauling classrooms — dubbed “classroom makeovers,” a la the home-improvement TV shows — the final products were dazzling. So dazzling that they illuminated the inadequacy of the surrounding rooms. For instance: When rooms 101, 102 and 103 all had rickety desks, worn carpet and dented shelves, everyone figured that was just the way things were. When room 102 got a face-lift, suddenly the rooms on either side looked even more rickety, worn and dented. “We looked around and said,
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`We need to be able to share this with the whole school,’” said Britton Banowsky, executive director of the CFP Foundation. Since rebuilding every room wasn’t feasible, they had to pick one common area that could be
upgraded in a way that would benefit every student and every teacher. And it wasn’t just the people currently roaming the halls. Because of the amount of the investment, this project would last many years, thus impacting
INSIDE THIS ISSUE //
↗ BAY AREA MAKEOVER PG 3
↗ GO TEACH PG 4
↗ APRIL 2019 HONOREE PG 7
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future generations of teachers and students. Considering that many upgrades are done at elementary schools, this decision would impact children not even born yet. Those are some pretty high stakes. Yet the solution proved to be quite obvious: the libraries! (Or, as some schools call them “media centers.”) “We found that schools hadn’t invested in those spaces in decades, sometimes,” Banowsky said. “They were often dark, dreary, tired spaces — not what you’d consider an innovative learning environment.” The switch began more than a year ago, and has become the new standard for the EYFT makeover program. The latest examples span the United States, ranging from coast to coast with several stops in between. Each cost upwards of $50,000, paid for through grants from the CFP Foundation and their local partners. They include not only books and screens, but also furniture — from tables and bookshelves to kid-friendly sofas and chairs. In conjunction with the Big 12, makeovers were completed at:
+ Noble Prentis Elementary in Kansas City, Kansas, site of the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament
+ Heronville Elementary in
Oklahoma City, site of the Big 12 women’s basketball tournament
+ Berry Elementary in Arlington,
Texas, site of the Big 12 football championship
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LOOKING GOOD: The Big 12 and the Capital One Orange Bowl have helped improve learning areas in elementary schools. In conjunction with the Capital One Orange Bowl, makeovers were made at:
+ North Grade Elementary in Palm Beach County, Florida
+ Sea Castle Elementary in Broward County, Florida
+ Miami Gardens Elementary in Miami-Dade County, Florida
In conjunction with the Bay Area Host Committee (overseers of the most recent CFP National Championship), makeovers were done — or are in the process of being done — at:
+ Bret Harte Elementary in San Francisco
+ Manzanita Community School in Oakland
+ San Jose High School
Schools were selected with the help of local leaders. For instance, once the Big 12 chose to select an Oklahoma City-area campus, league officials reached out to Partners in Action, a joint initiative of The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools and Oklahoma City Public Schools. Heronville Elementary offers both a long history — the school is coming up on its 100-year anniversary, having opened just 17 years after Oklahoma became a state — and a crucial need: the campus serves more than 700 students, 96 percent of them Hispanic, and many of whom speak English as their second language. The combination makes it easy to imagine how much the school will benefit from new tools and technology. “In public education, we are not
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SEEING IS BELIEVING: Bret Harte Elementary School in San Francisco was a recipient of the CFP Foundation EYFT STEM Media Center Makeover. used to being able to dream like this,” said Karen Mock, the school’s principal. “A library should be a gathering place that is welcoming and inviting. With this gift from the Big 12, the CFP Foundation, and Phillips 66, it will accelerate our vision for helping promote literacy.” Another key partner for the CFP Foundation is School Specialty Inc., a company that not only sells every product needed but also understands the importance of every item, as evidenced by a corporate tagline that’s perfect for this project: “Transforming more than classrooms.” For each of these projects, SSI
also taps into its subsidiary SSI Guardian, which — as the name implies — provides solutions for added safety and security. Just like schools learned to embrace the internet as a way to improve their mission, campuses need more safe spaces in case tragedy strikes, or simply as a peace of mind in the wake of frightening incidences at other schools. “The society we live in has to account for all kinds of challenges,” Banowsky said. “If a school doesn’t feel like a safe environment for students and teachers, it makes learning very difficult.” Of all the programs EYFT is involved in, this is one of the most
fun because it’s so tangible. Like those TV shows where folks move out of their house and come back a few days later to a completely new environment, these library makeovers turn tired old spaces into vibrant, enticing environments where kids want to hang out — and, ultimately, learn. “Each rebuild is unique in the sense that they rebuild a reflection of the needs shared with us by their school leadership, but they are all similar in the looks on the kids’ faces when they come into the new space,” Banowsky said. “It’s amazing to be part of that. The response is so positive, we’re going to keep doing it for a long time.”
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GO TEACH
Turning current student-athletes into future teachers BY JAIME ARON
I
magine that you are part of an industry that requires a large workforce of people fitting a certain skill set. Your number of staffers is down, sometimes drastically, so you are willing to hire anyone you can find. Then you realize there’s a large pool of people who fit that exact skill set. They just don’t know it. If only there was a way to bridge that gap. Now let’s go from make-believe to the real world. Elementary, middle and high schools across the country are in dire need of people who are disciplined, understand the importance of preparation, know how to manage their time and are open to being coached. Energy, passion and an ability to relate to kids are desirable traits, too. A high percentage of college student-athletes check those boxes. Yet there’s never been a clear path for them to go into education. Until now. The College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation and its Extra Yard for Teachers initiative recently unveiled the “Go Teach” project, an effort that’s bringing together all the various ways for athletes to become educators.
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SKILL SET: Student-athletes are disciplined, understand preparation, are good time managers, and are easily coached. “Go Teach” is not a fast-track program to turn student-athletes into teachers. Its focus is more about bringing awareness to options. The aim is to alert college students of the need for more teachers and to help get them there by tapping into existing opportunities on their campus. The earlier they are exposed to the concept, the easier it becomes to fulfill the requirements and leave college with both a diploma and a teaching certificate. As the project was being designed with the University of Texas in Austin, CFP Foundation officials asked UT officials, “How does one go about becoming a
teacher here?” It took some time to figure it out. The answer: 14 pathways. “Fourteen!” said Britton Banowsky, the CFP Foundation’s executive director and a driving force behind “Go Teach.” The story to all this dates back to the 2016 CFP National Championship. Banowsky and Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby heard a speech about a projected teacher shortage and decided the Foundation needed to become more involved in the retention and recruitment of teachers. They created a coalition of organizations that worked together to take on the shortage. They also created videos of student-athletes,
OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF
of college football and the national championship game to support education. The CFP Foundation’s primary cause, Extra Yard for Teachers, supports education by elevating the teaching profession.
RECOGNITION
RESOURCES
We recognize that teachers are the real champions and key to the success of the future of our country. We provide the recognition that teachers deserve.
Teachers spend on average $500 out-of-pocket on school supplies, so we put dollars directly into classrooms and supplies teachers need.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION
We partner with organizations who have a strong track record in classroom preparation.
We elevate the teaching profession to inspire and attract quality future educators.
THE CHALLENGE
THE OPPORTUNITY
Across the country we are facing
Studies show that student-athletes and students that possess the same characteristics, make great teachers.
workforce of educators who also better United States student population
THE GO TEACH PROJECT By providing athletic and academic departments a platform to assist with the the teaching profession, we can make an immediate impact across the country. For more information visit GoTeachProject.org #GOTEACH
the more great teachers we will have in our classrooms. GREAT TEACHERS, CHANGE LIVES.
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past and present, talking about the educators who meant the most to them. The aim was to glorify the job in hopes of inspiring others. The notion of encouraging, or even guiding, student-athletes to become teachers was mentioned, but never gained traction.
turns people — often new college graduates — into educators in lowincome schools for at least two years. “She told me that Teach for America recruits student-athletes to come into their program because they have the perfect skill set that transfers into becoming a teacher,” It’s a win for student-athletes Banowsky said. because they have a meaningful The traits she listed were the ones used at career path after they the start of this story. graduate…” “So,” Banowsky BRITTON BANOWSKY continued, “a light bulb went off.” Then Banowsky met Elisa With roughly 500 studentVillanueva Beard, the CEO of Teach athletes on all 129 campuses in for America, an organization that the Football Bowl Subdivision,
that’s a huge, diverse population of potential teachers. Once they had identified this target audience, the next challenge was figuring out how to reach them. “Why not develop a program or a strategy that we can share and gift to universities to better enable them to do that?” Banowsky said. About a year ago, Banowsky pitched the idea to conference commissioners. They loved it. “It’s a win for student-athletes because they have a meaningful career path after they graduate, it’s a win for athletic departments because they have a responsibility to their athletes, it’s a win for colleges of education or other
GO TEACH: Learn what the “Go Teach” program is all about. So many college students can make a difference with a career in teaching, including student-athletes!
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OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF
teacher-prep departments on campus that need more students, and it’s a win for the communities where they find jobs, often around their university or wherever they grew up,” Banowsky said. At first, the program was called “Pathways to Success.” Accurate, but generic. It was so lacking in pizzazz that Banowsky joked that the name was “a pathway to failure.” Then they came up with “Go Teach.” Soon, momentum flowed. UT was chosen as the design partner. Formally launched at an on-campus career fair on Feb. 28, “Go Teach” proved to be so popular that non-athletes asked if they could participate. Of course, they were told yes. Washington State, UNLV and the University of New Orleans have either launched the program or will be soon. Another 20 or so schools have shown strong interest. Banowsky is quick to note that the CFP Foundation didn’t do this alone. Crucial thought partners included Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, and Lynn Gangone, president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. What they came up with includes an eight-step plan. The rollout is plotted over four phases, with a full-scale rollout across all colleges by 2022. The ultimate goal: 10,000 students into teaching careers in 10 years.
APRIL 2019 HONOREE
May Ng
M
ay Ng, a teacher at Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra, Calif., spent most of her academic life preparing to become a doctor. A daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong, Ng grew up in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles and moved with her parents to Alhambra after the 1992 L.A. riots. When her father died of leukemia when she was 12, Ng’s mother found work as a seamstress to support her daughter. “She was the one who made sure that education was important to me,” Ng said. Ng’s mother dreamed that her only child would become a doctor: Ng attended a health science magnet high school and then enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles on the pre-med track. Teaching was, at first, something Ng did on the side — for fun. Despite a full course load, she would drive on Saturday mornings to the University of Southern California to tutor and mentor younger students who arrived on buses from all corners of the city. Ng’s love and talent for teaching was immediately obvious even to her professors. In a conversation about what medical specialty she might choose, her mentor encouraged her to follow her passion into teaching. “Doctors save lives,” he told her. “But teachers shape them.” Ng recalled, “When he told me that, it just clicked. It’s like, what am I doing?” Ng has now been teaching for 17 years at Mark Keppel High School. She teaches a heavy course load including freshman biology, honors biology and statistics, and is famous around campus for igniting a passion for the sciences in her students. “You start to see that whole spark in the eyes of a student who just realized, ‘I get it. The way you explained it to me, I can see how to do it myself,’” Ng said. “That, to me, is most rewarding.” Visit honored.org to read May Ngs full story.
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