This proposal was sent in for consideration.
Enrichment
Provider Application
Pittsburgh
Public Schools is now accepting applications from enrichment
providers who are interested in providing services at 21st century
funded After-School Academy sites. Special consideration will be
given to APOST quality campaign members. Grants for programming will
be awarded between $500 and $3500 based on the proposal submitted to
APOST. The application is open until all enrichment providers are
filled.
Name:
Mark Rauterkus
Phone
number: 412-298-3432
Organization
name: Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation (BGC)
Program
name: The GUARD, from BGC's Swim & Water Polo Camp
Program
description:
The
GUARD is an aquatic fitness and job leadership activity proposed for
both Perry High School and Brashear High School.
At
basic levels, students get to visit, use, explore and discover at the
school's indoor, six-lane, 25-yard, shallow-deep swim pool. Swim
pools are powerful learning laboratories. Swim pools are places built
for the crafting and study of individual and group excellence.
Typical competitions at swim pools are measured in increments of .01
seconds. Swimming is a lifetime, lifesaving sport done all around the
world. The oldest team sport in the modern Olympic Games is water
polo. Furthermore, diving, synchronized swimming, scuba, fin
swimming, underwater hockey, SKWIM, lifeguard competitions, paddle
sports, deep water running, and water basketball are a few of the
other pursuits that can and should unfold at public school swim
pools.
Learning
to swim, pool safety, following instructions, personal health,
fitness, problem solving and other aspects of playing well with
others are some of the elementary elements with The GUARD. Team
building, demonstrating, rule following, competitions and matters of
effort, energy and efficiency are explored from many perspectives.
The
more advanced concepts within The GUARD concern the strengthening of
knowledge, skills and confidence of high school participants to
become lifeguards, swim instructors, camp aids and counselors. The
GUARD is for job training and mentor development. Within The GUARD,
the participants stride along a pathway to certifications and
meaningful employment in health-related, educational rich, tech-savy,
athletic professions. Knowing First Aid, CPR, and responsible
behaviors at the age of 16 could lead to medical school one day or
even a more knowledgeable and confident Good Samaritan in a city
neighborhood in the hours to come. Most of all, participants in The
GUARD get the inside track on summer jobs in roles such as Citiparks
Lifeguards and Coaches with the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation's
Swim & Water Polo Camp as part of Pittsburgh Public Schools'
Summer Dreamers Academy.
Activities
can begin at Perry in Feburary 2015 and at Brashear after the high
school swim season ends, in March 2015.
What
is the primary focus of your program? (Ranked checks applied below.)
Priorities
in ranked order.
1.
Recreation, Sports, or Physical Fitness
2.
Career or Employment
3.
Leadership or Character Development
4.
Mentoring
5.
Service Learning or Community Service
6.
Social, Emotional, or Behavorial
7.
Civic Engagement, Activism or Organizing
8.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math)
9.
Academic or Education Enrichment
What
grades do you serve? (Please check all that apply)
The
GUARD in year one is to serve those in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12.
Furthermore,
The GUARD enabled special events throughout the fall, winter and
spring can refresh relationships from the ranks of past and future
Swim & Water Polo Camps. Therefore, Swim & Water Polo Camp
participants from recent summers, from grades 3 and above, get to be
involved too. So, in essence, The GUARD can serve students from a
wide rage of grades.
What
is your staffing model? (Please check all that apply)
The
GUARD's staff includes Executive Head Coach, Mark Rauterkus, Varsity
Swim Coach at Obama Academy. Another Obama Varsity Swim Coach
expected to work with The GUARD is Jacob Boyce, PPS Teacher. Both
have been contracted employees with the Bloomfield-Garfield
Corporation.
Most
of the other employees in leadership roles are swim coaches in the
area. Volunteers are expected as well, but they will have minor roles
in operations, helping with certain topic areas as guest presenters
and as on-going competitors and mentors. All workers / employees are
to be paid as part-time staff with the BGC.
What
type of training does your staff receive?
Staff
gets ongoing professional development with certifications in
Lifesaving, CPR, First Aid. Additional training happens with online
lesson plans, technology tools and joint practices where coaches work
sessions with students together.
What
is your behavior management policy?
Mr.
Igims, PPS P.E. Teacher at Langley K-8 and Activity Coordinator for
Summer Dreamers in the past years, said, “Kids in Swim & Water
Polo can't miss-behave because they are swimming.” At the pool we
have a respectful and mindful approach to our bodies and
communications among teachers, lifeguards and students. More specific
“rules” and “guidelines” can be crafted for these activities
with the advice of other staffers and program leaders.
Of
course pool rules and safety first policies must be followed.
What
is the standard ratio of students to staff in your program?
Ten
to one is an average. A good coach and a functional team can operate
at 20-1 ratios, but that would not be ideal in these settings with
the initial programming seasons.
How
do you track attendance?
Our
attendance tracking software, TeamUnify, is fantastic. It matches
photos, emergency contact info, and other results to every trusted
teacher via smart phones.
How
much experience do you have working with PPS students and
communities?
Extensive.
Sessions
are generally 90 minutes each. How many days a week do you need to
operate?
Seems
as if PPS and APOST seek to have ONE session per site per week at
this time. That is fine.
Extra
swim sessions every week are going to be made available to the
students in that every FRIDAY is COMMUNITY WATER POLO at the Thelma
Lovette YMCA on Centre Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District. That
program is open to high school students and adults, free of charge.
Our students are strongly encouraged to attend those sessions on
Fridays from 5 to 8 pm. Saturday sessions and sessions at other city
facilities are hoped for as well.
What
do students accomplish by the end of a semester?
By
May 2015, students can accomplish steady improvements in swim
fitness, stroke technique and understanding of various water games
including SKWIM and Water Polo. Students get a framework for
progression from newbie to varsity competitive swimmer speed.
Finally, an awareness of Lifeguarding, CPR and First Aid is shared
with the students. Those seeking those certifications would be better
prepared and need to take additional classes, perhaps with Citiparks
on nights and weekends. Also, The GUARD could be made to expand to 3
or more days per week and the CERTIFICATIONS can be delivered then.
How
do you motivate and engage the students?
Pay
checks and employment contracts help motivate students. Being hired
as a staff member is valued come June, July and August. Seeing
improvement in abilities is always rewarding. Doing things never done
before, such as swimming in the deep end or swimming a non-stop for
500 yards are big milestones.
Our
technology tools that use photos, apps and wiki pages can be
important to show progress and to make the work documents that are
repeatable and reviewable for others in the years to come.
How
do you engage parents/guardians?
We
have robot auto calling capabilities. We use wiki pages, blog
postings and Facebook often. We could establish our own web pages
for each site. We expect to offer open-house visits at the schools
too.
How
do you incorporate 21st century skills?
See
other artice on 21st Century skills.
How
do you incorporate high-school and/or college-readiness? *This
question applies to middle school and high school programs only.
There
are college scholarships for LIFEGUARDS. Every college campus hires
lifeguards for hourly work too.
Most
colleges have swim teams, water polo teams and other happenings in
aquatics that our students could join when they get to campus for
fun, personal recreation, new friends and support.
Some
colleges REQUIRE students pass a swimming proficiency test to
graduate.
To
certification process for lifeguards, for example, covers content
similar to a low-level college course. Independent study and
following established, standardized course curriculum with multimedia
part of the process.
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