Lenny Haynes remembers the moment his math teacher pulled him aside, wanting to talk to him. It had happened before, lots of times, but this was different.
"What's happened to you?" she asked. "You've changed. What's with you?"
Words repeated over and over to students in trouble. Haynes smiled. He knew the words might be the same as those directed to students whose grades had suddenly slipped, but not in his case. Same words, differently meaning.
Those comments came because Lenny Haynes' grades, not to mention his attitude, had shown remarkable improvement. "All through school I'd done whatever it took to just get by," said Haynes, a 16-year-old sophomore at Madison High. "Whenever I got a good grade, no one ever recognized it."
He's getting plenty of attention now since he became a member of the county's inaugural PASS (Promoting Achievement in School through Sport) class, a pilot program that melds athletics and academics.
Since September, Haynes has raised his GPA from 2.3 to 3.5. Virtually every member of the two classes, taught by basketball coach John Anella and football coach Steve Jacobacci, has improved his or her average. Some from well below 1.0 to close 2.0 and others from 3.5 to more then 4.0.
The object is to relate aspects of athletics with those in the classroom. Flexibility, relaxation, power, rhythm, instinct, balance, attitude and concentration—athletic staples all—are addressed.
"We noticed many of the athletes were motivated on the basketball court but not in the classroom," said Anella. "They'd run bleachers all day but not want to open a book. Both Steve and I were looking for something different, something that incorporated athletics and academics. While we were working on our Masters theses, we found out about PASS."
PASS is the brainchild of Joel Kirsch who, as a member of the non-profit American Sports Institute in Northern California's Mill Valley, tested the program for three years, using an inner city school (McAteer) and a suburban school (Tamalpais) as test groups with a high degree of success.
"We thought that would happen (similar findings at two very dissimilar schools)," said Kirsch, noting PASS programs now exist in Northern California and Chicago in addition to San Diego. "Kids are kids and sports is sports. We looked at what it was that attracted kids to sports and tried to bring those things to the classroom.
"There are many positives in sports but many educators have looked at sports as something less then academic. It doesn't have to be that way. At the center of Athenian culture were the gym and music. The gymnasium is where Plato taught. Everything in education relative to sports is backwards. You can't separate the physical from the total person."
The true test would be what the impact of the program would be on the student-athletes and how it would be received by administrators.
"I noticed the difference right from the beginning," said Haynes, who plays football, basketball and competes in track. "Each week we read stories about pro athletes. For example, an athlete may talk about how it's important to concentrate while on the football field.
"You carry that over to concentrating in the classroom. What this program does is make you more aware, it makes you think. I used to just go out and play on instinct, but I was never aware of what my instincts were and how they worked. You learn things like why you're tense and how to handle it. The same thing applies in the classroom. My whole attitude changed. I look at both school and sports a lot differently.
"Before I'd be thinking, 'I don't want to do this' or 'I can't do this' but now I understand those feelings and how to handle them."
Madison principal Russell Vowinkel said the concept of PASS interests him from the start. "It intrigued me," said Vowinkel, who as already planning for next year. "You're always looking for a leverage point in motivating students. PASS has exceeded all expectations, it allows kids to reach heights they couldn't have dreamed of.
"What we've learned is to be successful in the '90s, you have to be able to work in a group. This program emphasizes teamwork, just as in athletics. It takes highly motivational teachers, though, John and Steve are two of the best.
"I believe this program has barely touched the surface of what can be done. There are program out there and I'm sure there'll be more in the future trying to reach students through what interests them."
Anella says the yearlong class follows sports themes throughout. "The students set realistic goals, both athletic and academic," says Anella. "They learn about time management, keep logs and they check every week on their progress, both athletically and academically.
"For example, a basketball player will set a goal of making a certain percentage of his free throws. He keeps a log on his improvement. Same thing in the classroom.
"They read (material related to the eight areas of emphasis) and write about that every week. There is an Athlete of the Week every week and that person explains what he or she has accomplished athletically.
"They learn to be comfortable in front of a video camera, for example. Why? Maybe one day Brent Musburger will put a mike in front of them and they'll know how to react. If not that, one day they'll be in a job interview and what they've learned here will help.
"The class is tailor-made for sophomores and juniors," says Anella. Mature freshmen could also benefit. Seniors, too, would gain depending upon how they use the class, although the seniors who started this year at Madison did not stick with it.
Anella has proof PASS works. "The grades of the students who are in the PASS class have improved an average of 38 percent," he said. "The grades of athletes who didn't take PASS class have as a whole gone down 1 percent. We've documented that."
Success has not been without some minor annoyances. "Nobody says much about the class," said Haynes, "except the seniors who were in it. They tease me but I just show them my grade point average. I've learned how to handle that from this class, too. I'm going for a 3.7 GPA by the end of the year. I know I can do it."
Although he won't be in the class next year, the word has gotten out. Even though the school hasn't yet offered the class for fall of 1995, 71 student-athletes have already indicated their interested.
If it worked for Lenny and the others, it might work for them. |
