Collin_Frietzsche

r te n e C d o o h r o b h ig e N y a Gatew Written, Photographed and Designed

by Collin Frietzsche 1

Dedication This book is dedicated to the members of Reach Potential, Police Activies League Boxing, Mountain View Volleyball Club, Trinity Church, and other organizations using the Gateway Neighborhood Center.

The effort and support you provide to the community of Sunnyvale is unparralled and I hope that you inspire other communities to have a similar impact through sports and education.

Special thanks to Freestyle for helping me produce this book.

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High school students speak to the youth group about bullying.

Members of all ages participating in a warm-up before a boxing workout.

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Table of Contents Dedication..............................................................................................................................................2 Table of Contents...................................................................................................................................4 Members.................................................................................................................................................6 History.....................................................................................................................................................8 Foreword...............................................................................................................................................10 Introduction.........................................................................................................................................12 Quote One............................................................................................................................................14 Chapter One.........................................................................................................................................16 Quote Two............................................................................................................................................18 Chapter Two.........................................................................................................................................20 Quote Three..........................................................................................................................................22 Chapter Three.......................................................................................................................................24 Conclusion............................................................................................................................................26 Works Cited..........................................................................................................................................28 4

Coach helping youth boxer with his boxing form.

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Members Rob Schulze is the activities coordinator at Gateway Neighborhood Center. As well as running the activities he also runs Reach Potential, a program that focuses on furthering the education of youth.

Dori Fontaine works at Sunnyvale Department of Safety as the volunteer supervisor.

She also co-heads the PAL boxing program at Gateway, as well as many other programs run through the Police Activities League.

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Tom Greene is on the board at Trinity Church and has been making an impact in the reality of the Gateway facility. From the beginning he has fought to make this dream a reality.

Brian Wahl is a director at Mountain View Volleyball Club focusing on the finacial and “behind-the-scenes� portion of the club along with head coach, Mike Rubin. They run a competitive volleyball program and have helped in enhancing aspects of the facility.

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HISTORY

Back in 2005, Trinity Church was located in Fremont in the middle of many houses. The building was not able to fit the needs of Trinity so in 2006, the board of Trinity Church began looking for a new location. During this time, many churches were moving into unused office building because they were cheap and provided a building that could be easily modernized. After looking at many different buildings in Sunnyvale, they located the building they are currently located in off of 237 and El Camino. However, the journey to purchasing and using the facility is a story in itself.

During the time that Trinity was looking for a new building, many other nearby churches were doing the same. The result was a rejection by the city for Trinity to purchase the building. Sadly, Trinity was already in the process of buying the building because they thought they were in the so called “safe-zone” that churches could purchase property in. Instead of letting the situation unfold by the city, Trinity decided to make an appeal because it believed the property was a prime location to serve the community.

After many discussions with the city board, they were allowed to purchase the property, however it was in a “no-kids” zone due to the hazardous industries nearby, and also being in the crash landing path of NASA’s Moffet field. This was definitely a big decision because it could be dangerous to have children at this facility if there was a real chance of a crash landing. However the zone ended right at their front door, so the city of Sunnyvale allowed Trinity to have kids.

When everything seemed to finally be resolved, Trinity ran into trouble selling their building.

The previous location of Trinity Church provided a lot of greenery that the neighbors wanted to stay.

Trinity church was planning on selling the property as new housing complexes, but the neighbors protested this decision. The money that Trinity would make from selling the houses were needed to help modernize the new facility, and help it pass regulations of safety for use by children. After another series of discussions, Trinity sold the property and were finally able to start the vision of the Gateway Neighborhood Center.

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In 2008, the renovation of the facility began. This included the front building, for the church, and the back building, to make it usable for whatever activity it was going to be used for. There were many discussions about what to use the back area for, but eventually, Trinity decided that it would become a facility to provide sports for the community.

At a city council meeting, Tom Greene, a member of the board at Trinity, met with a police officer whose ideas definided the purpose of Gateway today. A member of the Police for of Sunnyvale, he was told Greene about his ideas of using Gateway as a home to the Police Activities League’s boxing program. This sparked the idea of using the back building for mulitple sports that give the city of Sunnyvale a facility to partake in athletic activities.

On April 2nd, 2011, Gateway opened its doors to the public with PAL boxing. During this time, Mountain View Volleyball Club, was transitioning to practicing in the facility with four sportcourts. These courts are also able to be used for many other activities such at indoor soccer.

While the back area was largely used by volleyball and boxing, Reach Potential used the middle section between the two buildings. Acting behind the scenes, Reach Potential’s Rob Schulze, was the glue behind the entire transition. Currenlty he is the activities organizer, and helps facilitates programs such as the kids’ club and tutoring program.

Over the past couple of years, Gateway has held many different activities from sports, to events, and even to a teachers’ training session.

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Foreword

In 2009, I began playing club volleyball for Mountain View Volleyball Club (MVVC). Their goal from the beginning was to offer athletes the opportunity to compete at a high level of play even if they were unable to completely pay to play. After being initially drawn to this amazing sport because of my mother, I decided to continue playing year after year, to this day. During the summer season of my 15-and-under season, MVVC announced that we were going to start practicing at a new facility in sunnyvale, with Sportcourt, and that it would be awesome! Indeed it was.

For the longest time however, I was not aware to what the other organizations were that operated out of the Gateway Neighborhood Center. That is the purpose of this project: to expose the natural greatness that is upheld under the roof of Gateway. I find it saddening that there are students in the United States with potential to excel and succeed, yet do not, because they do not have the opportunities or resources to do so. There are communities full of willing families trying to make something out of the little they have. That is why I wrote this paper.

For those current volleyball players at MVVC, I hope you continue reading so that you understand about the history of Gateway and dedication that MVVC, the Police Activities League and Reach Potential have for the athletes, students, and families who attend it. For the families who make up the Sunnyvale community, I hope you understand how fortunate you are to have a facility like Gateway, and to have such dedicated people working there.

To the members of Trinity Church, who made this idea a reality, Reach Potential, for inspiring education, PAL Boxing, for your dedication to character and exercise, and MVVC, for your passion of volleyball, I commend your hard work and dedication to the creation of an organization that reminded me to be grateful for all that I have and to remember that there still are people making a difference in their communities.

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Kids club asks questions after watching Fremont High school students’ presentation on bullying.

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Introduction

What do a boxing rink, a church and a gym have in common? They can all be found at Gateway Neighborhood Center. Most would think that boxing is a very violent sport and would not usually have an affiliation with a church, but when three organizations come together with the help of Trinity Church in Sunnyvale, the result is life changing for the city of Sunnyvale.

Opening in 2010 to the public, Gateway became the home to Reach Potential, the Police Activities League (PAL) Boxing, and Mountain View Volleyball Club. The activities coDecorations in the tutoring room. ordinator at Gateway, Rob Schulze, believes that “...education, along with sports, allows kids the opportunity to succeed in life” (Schulze). The facility promotes itself as a place for healthy bodies, spirits, and minds (Reach Potential).

Reach Potential is an organization that takes on many projects, but at Gateway, they focus on current and future education. They have a tutoring program Monday through Thursday after the regular school day. Only about ten percent of the kids’ parents at tutoring are able to speak English (Schulze). The tutoring program helps them with basic fundamentals in math, reading, and writing. They also have worked with students who have run into trouble with the education board and were in need of a fresh start.

PAL Boxing is a grassroot organization that finally has a home at Gateway after being on “standby” for the past four years. The program was originally founded in 1962 to provide a football team for the area. The school was not able to have a team due to high crime and gang activity. Over the years they added sports and other activities to their program. Today, under the guidance of Jose Ramirez, 12

the PAL Boxing program has its home at Gateway. Once a member of the boxing community as a youth, Ramirez brings character and will out of the many individuals that participate in the program.

Mountain View Volleyball Club started in 2009 to provide a competitive club for the lower Bay Area. Through volleyball, Mountain View Volleyball Club hopes “to support anyone who has a desire to play� (Wahl). Although Gateway Neighborhood Center is tailored to help the low-income area of Sunnyvale, the volleyball club provides higher level competition with a high cost, but provides scholarships to those who are willing to pursue the sport of volleyball.

All organizations at Gateway are extremely passionate at progressing character, sports, and education to increase the success and sense of unity found in Sunnyvale, California. However, gang activity, average low-income rates, and lack of advance education among the parents, has led some students astray from becoming well-developed, young adults. It is important to identify and target the issue of education in communities consisting inadequately supported students. There is a need for organizations like Gateway, to provide a place to foster education, as well as foundations in character.

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“Gateway is a great place to do homework and get a good workout, while being part of the community�

(Schulze).

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Chapter 1: What classifies an “at-risk” teenager?

“In 2009, forty-two percent of our nation’s children [belonged to] families with incomes below twice the federal poverty line or $43,512 per year for a family of four, a minimum needed for most families to make ends meet” (Laura Speer). Generally, poverty stricken areas hold workers of menial jobs such as house-cleaning, plumbing, and construction. These jobs and others like them, require little past education, and in turn, leave their kids without help at home. Studies show that suburban cities with income levels averaging above the federal poverty line are five times more likely to provide alternative education programs than cities far below the federal poverty line. This includes tutoring programs, after school care, and community organizations like Reach Potential. It is not a surprise that inadequately equipped schools do not have the resources nor time to facilitate programs that engage “at-risk” students in their schoolwork.

What characterizes a student as “at-risk”? The Cupertino school district identifies students with previous family issues and they monitor these students. “One boy who went through our program had an older brother who was in prison...the board thought it was only a matter of time until he eventually was involved in a big fight” (Schulze). One day he found himself expelled after getting into a significant fight with another student. One school administrator suggested that he attend the tutoring program at Gateway. It was important that he learned how to approach his schoolwork and become involved in the learning process. The tutoring program, run by Reach Potential, believes in promoting future education through a program called “Dream for College”. This program allows forth and fifth grade students to develop a passion for school, and a desire to attend a college or university. By creating this aspiration for students at such a young age, they will be far more engaged in their schoolwork, thus keeping them out of trouble. I asked two students where they got their motivation for school. The first student, with a high grade point average shared “The high academic standards upheld at Mountain View High School inspire me to achieve excellence everyday ” (Joshi). I also talked with another 16

Above: Young student practicing coloring.

Right: Trinity Church tower in front of the building.

student with a lower grade point average, “School is fun, but I don’t like to work hard” (Anonymous).

This student decided to remain anonymous because of the hardship that can be caused by peer pressure. I asked two students where they got their motivation for school. The first student, with a high grade point average shared “The high academic standards upheld at Mountain View High School inspire me to achieve excellence everyday ” (Joshi). I also talked with another student with a lower grade point average, “School is fun, but I don’t like to work hard” (Anonymous). This student decided to remain anonymous because of the hardship that can be caused by peer pressure. In one case, the student feels adept at their skills, and can build and strive because of these characteristics; the other student feels inadequate and is not motivated to complete the assigned work. This is just one factor among many others, including child poverty and parental background, which can lead to problems in school.

A single-mother household is over twice as likely to live in poverty than a married-couple (Edgar).

What if they were of African American or Hispanic race? They are three times as likely to be in poverty. The initial interpretation of what causes students to do poorly in school has many deep roots.

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“The kids can get their homework done, get a snack, and stay off the streets� (Josh).

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Chapter 2: Overcoming the Challenge

Today, we live in an era where one has to stay on top of their work or will get left behind. Colleges, Universities, and employers only care about results, not the journey to the end.

At Gateway, each organization in the facility has their own impact on the lives of troubled students. Jose Ramirez, the co-founder of the Police Activities League Boxing Club, used to get into fights when he was younger. He needed to find an active to keep him out of trouble and found it through boxing.

“You know boys fight, and it gave him a place where he could fight and be okay. There he learned the 3 D’s: Discipline, Desire, and Dedication. And once he was there, he didn’t have to fight outside because he knew that he had the ability so he had the confidence and it really helped keep him out of trouble” (Dori).

Boxing is a great supplement to school because it provides a base in character development, support through a new “family”, and gives “at-risk” youth a second chance. Along with boxing, however, most students that have constantly been suspended or even expelled have a lot of catching up to do. Reach Potential is an organization that facilitates a tutoring group for young kids all the way up to high school kids. Their goal is to help students get back on track in school so they can succeed and go to college. In the case of the boy who was expelled, Reach Potential had a lot of immense impact. First, the tutors worked with him to strengthen his fundamentals and basics, but without motivation, he was never going to be able to return to school. Over the weeks that he 20

attended the tutoring program, the heartwarming care and attention he received to help him return to school changed the course of his life. He began focusing and was on top of the work assigned to him. Eventually, the board at Gateway brought their case to the school board of Cupertino where they appealed to have the boy reinstated in school. With the statements from Reach Potential, he was allowed to return to school as a changed student.

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“We are trying to give kids the opportunity to play volleyball if they have to passion and dedication to the sport� (Wahl).

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Chapter 3: What are the effects on students?

Communities can be one of the greatest support groups if they band together to help each other in a time of need. Gateway Neighborhood Center has provided a facility for the community, where life altering events may take place. In the case of Jose Ramirez, sports helped him stay out of school fights and to productively use his talents. Likewise, the boy used his education to refocus and reorient his life around something he could rely on, without going down the same path as his brother. Students need to understand the importance of education has on in their lives because knowledge impacts their ability to find jobs and succeed in life. A study by the Huffington post revealed that the unemployment rate for college graduates is just 4.2 percent, but the unemployment rate for high school graduates is 8.4 percent -- twice as high, and more closely matching the overall national jobless rate of 8.3 percent. The picture is even worse for high school dropouts, 13.1 percent of whom are out of work -- more than one in every eight (Eichler). By imply graduating high school, graduates double their chances of being employed in comparison to a dropout student. Today, over half of high school dropouts who are now over the age of 25 in the United States are unemployed. When the job market became exponentially tougher due to the 2008 recession, workers with an education were in higher demand than those without a degree at all. Gateway has proven itself capable of changing lifestyles, but are there any other programs in the Bay Area doing the same? In areas where there is a large socio-economic gap, there tend to be more programs that facilitate a form of tutoring or “homework help�. At Mountain View High School there is a program called Unidos that tutors elementary students at Castro School and Crittenden Middle School. They work to help troubled students who are unable to receive help due to being in a low income neighborhood. Both Reach Potential and Unidos embody the same philosophy: college education will help in the future. Despite many opportunities in communities near higher income communities for education programs, 24

impoverished communities lack resources needed to help their youth students. Rob Schulze believes that these programs like Reach Potential are able to be supported in many communities. In an interview with Schulze he said, “It is a lot easier with dedicated volunteers that love having the opportunity to support their community” (Schulze). By implementing a similar structure that Gateway has created in Sunnyvale, other communities in the “inner-city” or other low-income areas will be able to come together to help the next generation youth. From another human who faced adversity, “The weak fall, but the strong will remain and never go under” (Anne Frank).

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Conclusion

While there are many “at-risk students struggling in school, programs like Gateway Neighborhood Center are taking a stand. By integrating sports and education, Gateway has created a community that facilitates the growth of well-rounded individuals who are passionate about what they do. “Kids learn the life skills that they can apply later in life” (Fontaine). While education is a large portion of Gateway’s goal, they strive to produce greater characters. The basic fundamental principles that Gateway embodies is much more than educating and teaching; it is about bring the community together as a tight knit family that can overcome adversity.

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Tutoring program at Gateway.

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Works Cited “2011 Data Book shows recession increases number of children living in low-income families to 31 million.” Policy & Practice Oct. 2011: 6+.

Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.

Eicheler, Alexander. “More than half of older high school dropouts not employed today.” Huffingtonpost. 21 Feb. 2012.

Fontaine, Dori. Personal Interview. 28 Jan. 2013.

“General Youth Statistics.” Youth Violence, Crime, and Gangs: Children at Risk. Ed. Kathleen Edgar. 2004 ed. Detroit: Gale Group, 2004.

Information Plus Reference Series. Student Resources In Context.

Web. 22 Mar. 2013.

Greene, Tom. Personal Interview. 24 Jan. 2013.

Joshi, Samir. Personal Interview. 10 Mar. 2013.

Schulze, Rob. Personal Interview. 28 Jan. 2013.

Wilson, Aliya. “Sunnyvale PAL back in the swing of things”. Mercu rynew.com. 20 Jan. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.

VAN Alst, DONNA, and N. ANDREW PETERSON. “Youth Develop- ment Programs.”Encyclopedia of Education. Ed. James W. Guthrie.

2nd ed. Vol. 7. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. 2708- 2717. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 26 Mar. 2013.

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