Children growing up in Cincinnati and throughout the country are being introduced to drugs, tobacco, and alcohol at an increasingly younger age.  Activities Beyond the Classroom is working to help counter this epidemic by giving students the tools they need to steer clear of drugs through the Steer Clear Program.

Drug Prevention is Key

Through our partnership with Cincinnati Public Schools, we are teaching children in grades 4 through 8 about the risks associated with drugs, tobacco, and alcohol in a safe, fun, and interactive environment. Our goal is to educate and empower youngsters on ways to avoid the dangers associated with these harmful substances. The information they acquire through the Steer Clear program can help them resist peer pressure and make healthy choices that lead to a drug-free life.

Through the Steer Clear program, participating students attend five 45-60 minute sessions. Each session covers a broad range of topics, from how drugs effect our bodies to techniques that help young people get out of sticky situations that arise from peer pressure. ABC works with CPS schools and teachers to coordinate sessions. In addition, sessions are offered to students who are involved in various ABC sponsored activities including the ABC Clubs, and events such as the ABC Tennis and Soccer Invitational. 

The Impact of Steer Clear

Teachers and students who have participated in the Steer Clear program have enjoyed both the relevance and truthfulness of the Steer Clear curriculum.  One teacher commented, “This class was so relevant to the students’ lives, with music and culture they can really relate to! I wouldn’t change anything.” A student added, “I liked that me and my classmates were able to ask questions, and our questions were answered truthfully.”  

One great story came from the 6th grade teacher at Cheviot. She said:

What a fantastic program! The students were on the edge of their seats during each class. The class was not only informational but also very interactive and the students had the opportunity to practice the skills they learned as well when one of our students brought marijuana to school with them.

When I walked into the classroom, all the students were huddled
around and I overheard them saying, “Marijuana is a GATEWAY drug! Don’t do it because Ms. Meredith said it can lead to other stronger and harder drugs AND it’s illegal!” When I approached the students I saw the marijuana. The student was suspended but we learned that she took it from her mother—she didn’t want her mother to smoke it because of the health concerns and the consequences she learned about in Drug and Alcohol Prevention class with Ms. Meredith.

When the student returned to class, we were worried that this incident would follow the student and give her a poor reputation. One of the skills the students learned from Ms. Meredith was NOT to judge others for making mistakes but rally around them and encourage them with facts, knowledge, empathy and support to not repeat the mistake.

Sure enough, when the student returned, I walked into homeroom and saw the students gathered around again. I listened and overheard the students saying, “Welcome back! We got your back. You should just move forward because we are all family!”

*Please note: Student names are omitted to maintain anonymity

This compelling story exemplifies how the Steer Clear program changes the lives of students by empowering them to make the right choices.

ABC encourages parents and caregivers to talk with the children in their lives about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. If you’d like to learn more about age-appropriate ways to talk to kids about drug prevention please visit Partnership for Drug Free Kids.

ABC is constantly expanding the number of CPS schools in which Steer Clear is offered. If you would like to help us reach even more students with programming such as this, please consider making a donation towards the Steer Clear program.

When Coach Bryan Wyant first arrived Hughes as the new boys’ basketball head coach, he didn’t know what he’d gotten himself into. For one thing, most players were barely academically eligible to play due to their low GPAs. Plus, they didn’t look, feel, or act like a team. “At the first game I coached, the kids all showed up wearing different pre-game outfits—some in sweats, some in jeans, some in their school uniforms—and with their game gear in plastic grocery bags,” Wyant said.

My, how times have changed. Now, in his 11th season, 12 of his 14 Varsity players are on the Honor Roll, and they show up to play with matching team bags, travel suits and shoes. In addition, many of the boys Wyant coached have gone on to do great things in their community—and come back to help Wyant coach younger players.

From Humble Beginnings

When Coach Wyant took over as head coach, he stepped into a basketball program in disarray. “There had been four coaches in the previous four years,” he said. Expectations were low, teamwork was even lower, and there was no financial support of the basketball program.

Then Wyant got to work. First, he made a point to get the players the gear they needed to look like a team. He started with shoes, so all players had at least one item that matched each other. Then, he got travel suits, so the players would look like a team when they entered an away game. Finally, he got everybody team bags so they no longer had to carry their gear in plastic grocery bags.

Wyant also successfully worked with supporters to start an Athletic Booster program. Spearheaded by Kelly Whelan, the booster program began with 15 of Kelly’s friends; it grew, and now it has over 100 dedicated supporters. Boosters raise funds to pay for team gear as well as personal care items for the players.

A Focus on Academic Achievement

Thanks to the Athletic Boosters program, Coach Wyant was able to turn his attention to the academic performance of his players. In the early years, he simply helped the kids maintain passing grades so they would be eligible to play. Once the support of the boosters had gotten vast enough, they hired an Academic Advisor to work directly with each player, to reach the goal of making Honor Roll— which 12 of his 14 current players are achieving.

Coach Wyant said, “My goal is for every player to have the chance to go to college.” This year alone three of the five graduating seniors qualify for UC’s Pride Grant by having a 3.0 GPA and scoring at least a 22 on the ACT. Coach Wyant strongly believes that all five seniors will go on to college this upcoming fall. Wyant’s dedication to his players has led to him being named Co-Coach of the Year by Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference. (Source: CMAC Stats).

Now the players are inspiring each other to maintain good grades. For the past two years, the point guard has maintained straight A’s. This year’s standout freshman, Paul McMillan, was inspired to do the same; not only does McMillan have straight A’s, but all while averaging 20 points per game. McMillan’s performance on the court has earned him the honor of being named Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference Player of the Year (Source: CMAC Stats), and has him ranked among the Top-10 high school basketball prospects in the Class of 2022 (Source: Cincinnati Enquirer).

In addition to academic success, Coach Wyant wants basketball to “help the kids see other parts of the world.” For this reason, he helped get the players set up with jobs working at Bengals’ games. Through the Bengals job, plus odd jobs for people in their community, the basketball team raised $10,000. With that money, they traveled to Clearwater, Florida over Christmas break, and played in the Nature Coast Holiday Tournament. Their next goal is to raise enough money to take the players out west, so that they can play in LA or Phoenix. “I want the kids to understand that with a great education and hard work, anything is possible,” Wyant said.

Building a History of Greatness

In Bryan Wyant’s 11 years as head coach, 53 student-athletes have graduated from his program. Every single one of those 53 students have come back to work with the team at some point. That 100% give-back attitude speaks volumes about the positive influence Wyant and his program has had on the players.

Many of his players have also moved into noteworthy roles in the community. Player BJ Lowery went on to play professional football for the Denver Broncos. Player Doug Turner, now a financial advisor, recently volunteered to teach the student-athletes about finances and investment. Another past player, Troy Crowell, just received his Masters in Education and hopes to teach at Hughes next school year. One former player, Jamar Mosley, is now the girls’ Varsity basketball Head Coach at Purcell Marian High School (Purcell went 22-6 this season on their way to becoming District Champions for the first time since 2002. Coach Taylor was subsequently named District 16 Coach of the Year). In addition, three of Coach Wyant’s past students are currently on his staff..

The Five Core Values

The Hughes basketball program has changed over the years, but throughout it all, Coach Wyant has stayed focused on teaching five core values to all of his players. He encourages them to take these values and apply them to everything the kids do—whether in athletics, academics, or outside of school.

Appreciation – Appreciate the opportunities that the kids have been afforded and the generous gifts that the boosters have provided them.

Teamwork – Work together for a common goal.

Enthusiasm – Be enthusiastic both on and off the court.

Competitiveness – Perform at their highest level, especially in the classroom.

Teamship (a term that Coach Wyant coined) – Align themselves with the mission of the team. Not everyone gets a chance to play, but all players are expected to attend 7 A.M. study tables, work out in the weight room after school, and attend practices, often resulting in 12-13 hour days during the basketball season.

ABC is extremely proud to manage the athletics programs at Hughes, and with coaches like Wyant, we look forward to seeing what else can be accomplished. Congratulations, Coach Wyant, on being a true role model and leader for the kids at Hughes High School!

On Saturday, January 26, 2019, twenty students from ABC’s Martial Arts program and their parents traveled to Westfield, Indiana, a town outside of Indianapolis, to compete in the Midwest Taekwondo Championships. During the event, students participated in a variety of martial arts competitions including forms, board breaking and more. Many of the students who participated placed in the top three of their respected competitions.

Master RJ Trusty, the martial arts instructor, said, “We showed up to a tournament that was much larger than we expected with a level of competition that was much tougher than we have been exposed to in the past. Our students showed great poise, behavior and resilience throughout the competition. I cannot be prouder of our students and this program.”

ABC’s Martial Arts program is currently offered at two CPS schools, Mt. Airy and Hartwell Elementary. In partnership with Five White Tigers Martial Arts, the program teaches students both the technical aspects as well as the personal development aspects of martial arts training. Of the 24 students who are involved in the after-school program, eight have increased in rank from white belt up to as high as green belt—the highest level available for junior participants.

The ABC Martial Arts program provides year-round training at no cost to the students and their families. Our goal is to expand this program, so even more children can participate next year.  The program is only possible thanks to the generous support of our donors.  Please consider making a donation today.

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Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Activities Beyond the Classroom (Winton Hills Academy), the National Youth Foundation, Kappa Alpha Si, Alpha Delta Boule, and Families Forward (Bond Hill Academy), elementary school students in grades 5th through 8th are now published authors.

Big O was authored by students at Winton Hills Academy under the leadership of Shelby Zimmer, Resource Coordinator of Activities Beyond the Classroom. Judge Jones was authored by students at Bond Hill Academy, under the leadership of Ms. Nettles from Families Forward. 

Living Legends Shared Stories with Students

To write the books, students at two CPS, Bond Hill Academy and Winton Hills Academy, were given the opportunity to learn first-hand about the city’s past from two living legends. Civil Rights Icon Judge Nathaniel Jones and NBA Hall of Fame Legend Oscar Robertson spent time with the students at their respective schools, and shared their stories of overcoming obstacles. The students used this information to write and illustrate a biographical book about each of the living legends.

Students Share Their Published Books at Library Book Ceremony

On Saturday, January 19, 2019, a special ceremony honoring the students and living legends was held at the main branch of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.  At the ceremony, the students saw their printed books for the very first time. The students loved being able to see all of their hard work and dedication pay off.  Marcus D., a student at Bond Hill Academy, shared his excitement as he thumbed through the pages. 

“It took so long to draw the family portrait of Judge Jones that I thought I never would finish.”  Marcus spent his entire lunch hour, his recess time and much of his afternoon class time working on the drawing.  “I’m just so proud,” he said, as he held up the drawing to show his dad.

Jim Anderson, former running backs coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, was one of the Project Assistants who helped put together the books. Planning included a week-long workshop at each school, interviews with Judge Jones and Oscar Robertson, and coordinating with Sophia Henson (the Executive Director of the National Youth Foundation) to put it all together. Anderson also served as the emcee at the book ceremony.  When asked about the impact he hopes this project will have he indicated that “I am still coaching, just at a different level.”  To complete the project students had to exercise “teamwork, cohesive collaboration, commitment and learn to stick with it,” added Coach Anderson.

During the festivities, library patrons were treated to awesome performances. One such performance was done by Amiri West, an 11^th grad Pianist who attends Walnut Hills High School.  Dr. Wilson Kwamogi Okello performed a powerful spoken word piece in which he encouraged the students to continue to strive for excellence.  After his performance, Dr. Okello thanked Judge Jones for a scholarship that helped him pursue his higher education and led him to become an educator at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.  Nakinah W., one of the students from Winton Hills, shared a poem in which she thanked Judge Jones and Mr. Robertson for continuing to serve as heroes in the community.  

 

The National Youth Foundation, whose goal is to enrich the lives of children through creative educational programming, presented copies of the book to the library staff.  Thanks to the generosity of the National Youth Foundation the books written by the young authors will be available at libraries throughout Greater Cincinnati and Hamilton County.

 

Due to this collaborative effort, children throughout the region were able to learn about the city’s rich history.  These stories, written by the students, provide a unique perspective about life in Cincinnati, and prove to us all that when we work together, we can accomplish great things.

 

Activities Beyond the Classroom strives to provide equitable opportunities for all Cincinnati Public School students.  Beginning in the 2016-2017 school year CPS launched a district-wide initiative to help cultivate young girls into strong, respected, and compassionate leaders—transforming school-aged girls into agents of change now and well into the future!  The Girls To Women Leadership Collaborative (“Girls To Women”) focuses on developing solutions for issues specific to the maturation of girls into women. 

About Girls To Women

The Girls To Women Leadership Collaborative began as a small gathering with only five girls in attendance.  In just two years it has grown to include over 200 school-aged girls throughout the district. The program consist of female students in grades 5 through 12 at twenty Cincinnati Public Schools.  CPS is hoping to expand the group’s reach by including girls as young as grade 4 by the 2020-2021 school year (Source: CPS Website). 

Student leaders and facilitators at each school are responsible for defining their own campaigns for change.  Together the girls work collaboratively to address issues that matter most to them.  Throughout the school year the girls meet weekly with their facilitator.  During these sessions, the girls work on assignments and activities that reinforce the Girls To Women curriculum created by one of their many community partners, The Sister Accord.  The curriculum for the district-wide initiative includes leadership development, anti-bullying, and conflict resolution. 

In addition to these weekly sessions, the girls are introduced to career pathways in STEM through a collaboration with The Christ Hospital.  Once per month the girls attend mentoring sessions hosted by professional women who consist of a pool of community partners and local community organization leaders.

Onward and Upward

Each school year, new student recruits are identified by peer leaders as well as the school’s facilitator. Girls are then invited to join the Girls To Women program, with the intention to recruit young ladies from all academic achievement levels. Shelly Conrad, Program Director of Girls To Women, explains the intent behind this recruiting practice.  “Even girls that are not at the top of the class need to be influenced and encouraged to become better leaders, obtain better grades and improve their self-confidence,” stated Conrad. 

Since its inception in 2016, the students involved in Girls To Women participate in annual leadership summits each fall.  There are two separate summits, one for elementary school-aged girls and one for high school-aged girls.  During these summits, the girls participate in group mentoring sessions focused on four core topics designed to enhance their leadership skills. 

The Mentoring Experience

Mentors, like Kelly Dehan, meet with the young ladies and talk with them in a group setting.  The mentors facilitate role playing activities and help the young ladies work through issues in an effort to reinforce a positive self-image and help the girls reach their fullest potential.  Kelly Dehan, a member of the Women of Tocqueville (a volunteer impact group of philanthropic, community-minded women), finds the experience mutually rewarding.  “Working with the girls allows me to both give and receive,” said Dehan, “I believe we [the mentors] get more out of it than we give. Just seeing the smiles on their faces and being able to give a few nuggets learned of our experience makes the time invested very worthwhile!” 

Girls To Women is currently looking to expand its reach by recruiting new female volunteers to mentor the girls in the program.  Mentors meet with the girls and discuss relevant topics for about 90 minutes per month. “Girls To Women volunteers can expect great things!” added Kelly Dehan.  If you are interested in volunteering, apply by clicking here. If you have questions about mentoring contact Shelly Conrad at conrash@cpsboe.k12.oh.us . 

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Activities Beyond the Classroom is honored to be selected as one of the four recipients for a Cincinnati Bengals grant benefitting social justice efforts in Cincinnati.

Check out this great video spotlighting the NFL’s Social Justice Initiative and hear from ABC Executive Director Brian Leshner, as well as other recipients, about how the grant will benefit the community: https://go.bengals.com/2T9RzlN

As part of the grant, the Bengal’s Positive Impact Committee selected four local organizations to receive a portion of $300,000 raised by the team and players. These funds are designated to help organizations that focus on poverty and breaking down barriers in education and economic advancement as well as community and police relations throughout Greater Cincinnati. 

Activities Beyond the Classroom will use the funds to support the Academic & Athletic Accountability Pathway (AAA Pathway), a program in which ABC provides mentoring and resources to student-athletes throughout CPS high schools. The goal of AAA Pathway is to help students perform at their grade level, graduate from high school and understand their options beyond high school, whether that is college, the military or the workforce. AAA Pathway also helps 11th-grade and 12th grade students prepare for post-graduation, with resources such as ACT Bootcamp Training, athletic-specific college resources and more.

Brian Leshner, Executive Director of Activities Beyond the Classroom, said, “We are very grateful to the Bengals and the players for their support of AAA Pathway. This district-wide initiative takes a holistic approach to helping students prepare for life beyond high school. The Bengals players actively mentoring and supporting CPS’s athletes will go a long way in setting these student-athletes up for success.”

Activities Beyond the Classroom works year-round to ensure that CPS students are afforded the same opportunities as students in wealthier school districts. You can help us support even more Cincinnati Public School students through educational and extracurricular programming by making a financial contribution to Activities Beyond the Classroom today!

 

Activities Beyond the Classroom helps provide enrichment opportunities for all Cincinnati Public School students to participate in extracurricular activities including competitive sports, sports camps, and afterschool clubs. We work to expand opportunities for students to be active, engaged and have fun. When we learned about Gamble Montessori High School’s female kicker, Simone Christmon, we were excited to find out more about her.

Gamble Gators Welcomed Simone To The Family

Simone Christmon, a 17-year old senior at Gamble Montessori, joined the high school football team midway during the 2017-2018 season. Christmon was inspired by her gym teacher, Mr. Miller, to join the team after Miller saw her kicking ability during an outdoor physical education class. “We started at the 20-yard line and my gym teacher saw that I could kick so he moved the ball back to the 25, then the 30, then the 35.” Miller saw the potential in Simone and he took the initiative to speak with the football coach Rob Rachel, aka “Coach Rob,” about Simone.

When Christmon spoke with her family about joining the football team, they were very supportive. “My dad was a little hesitant at first. He did not want me to get hurt. But he quickly came around,” she added. “My family has been my biggest supporters. They told me ‘Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do anything because you can. If you want to do something, then do it!’, so I did”.

Christmon felt a little awkward joining the football team mid-season, but she said the feeling quickly faded. Playing on the team allowed her to bond with a new group of students, ones she had not yet had an opportunity to get to know. “It felt like a family when I arrived,” stated Christmon. “Everyone was really welcoming.”

Paving The Way For Other Girls

Christmon is not new to competitive sports—she also plays basketball, volleyball, softball and runs track. Wearing jersey number 33, Christmon got the opportunity to play against another female during her senior year, one who kicks for Clark Montessori. She is hopeful that other girls will be encouraged to try out for the football team, including her younger sister. “My sister can kick too, so maybe next year!” hinted Christmon.

When asked what words of wisdom she has for individuals who are interested in doing something different she said, “Follow your dreams and don’t let anybody hold you back. If you want to do it, nobody can stop you!” Christmon plans on playing basketball at the collegiate level for either Tennessee State or Tuskegee University.

Coach Rob speaks very highly of Christmon. “Simone is great!” exclaimed Coach Rob. “She came out every game and supported her teammates, whether she had a kicking opportunity or not!” Coach Rob added that during her junior year Simone was responsible for helping her team secure a victory against Schroeder. “Simone’s kick tied up the game.

She was so happy to contribute to her team. It was amazing to watch,” he added. Coach Rob stated that in addition to her outstanding character, “Simone was a great asset to the team.”

Gamble Montessori High School currently has 32 competitive sports teams, according to their Arbiter Live page. Students at Gamble Montessori are encouraged to get involved in whatever extracurricular activities they desire without regard to their gender or societal norms. Activities Beyond the Classroom will continue to celebrate the achievements of Cincinnati Public School students such as Simone Christmon. We believe that giving students opportunities to try new things helps to broaden their horizons and makes them better students in the classroom and better citizens on and off the field.

Atop the century-old edifice that encompasses the corner of Main and East McMillan Streets in historic Over-The-Rhine sits a robust urban green space, the Rothenberg Rooftop School Garden.  The garden is used as an outdoor classroom, providing a unique learning experience for students who attend Rothenberg Preparatory Academy. Activities Beyond the Classroom helps organizations, such as Rothenberg Rooftop School Garden, that are impacting the lives of Cincinnati Public School student in a variety of ways. As a result of our partnership with Rothenberg Rooftop School Garden, students are afforded the opportunity to learn where food comes from, their environment, and the vital role the students play in the preservation and conservation of our natural resources.

Reopened during the 2013-2014 school year, Rothenberg Preparatory Academy’s building was beautifully refurbished. Thanks to the generosity of the Over-The-Rhine Foundation, during the restoration the rooftop was converted into a garden. The rooftop space that currently houses the garden was once the school’s playground, with distinct space for both little boys and little girls. In 2016 Rothenberg Rooftop School Garden was designated as a 501c3 and the organization took over operations of the school community garden. Activities Beyond the Classroom helps support the Rothenberg Rooftop School Garden by acting as the garden’s fiscal agent, allowing the non-profit organization to employ the two part-time staff members who are responsible for the coordination of educational and volunteer activities.

Rooftop Garden Serves As an Outdoor Classroom

Students at Rothenberg Academy are involved in the plotting, planting, watering, tending, and harvesting activities in the garden. Additionally, the school is home to hydroponic tower gardens that allow the students to grow food throughout the year. The youngsters actively pollinate the hydroponically-grown plants by using paintbrushes to spread pollen from one plant to the next.

Teachers utilize the outdoor classroom to enrich the lessons taught in the subject areas of science, mathematics, social studies, and language arts. “It is not just about feeding people,” advised Sara Storjohann, President of Rothenberg Rooftop School Garden. “Our goal is to expand the children’s knowledge of the world around them.” Through their use of the garden, students learn life skills such as food preparation and how to use herbs to season food, in an effort to reduce salt intake. The students also learn about the symbiotic relationship between plants and living things such as worms, bees, and butterflies, all of which consider the rooftop garden to be their home.

Cultivating Students Into Responsible Citizens

Another learning opportunity provided by the rooftop garden is its ability to teach youngsters about sharing and being responsible citizens.  These lessons are designed to reinforce the premise that everyone has something to share.  The surplus of food produced in the garden is given to the school community (students and their families) to take home, helping to address the food dessert that plagues urban communities such as Over-The-Rhine.

During the summer months, Rothenberg Rooftop School Garden hires 11 to 14 year olds who are current and past students from Rothenberg Preparatory Academy to work as interns in the garden. The student interns are required to apply, and interview for the position. In addition to extensive hands-on learning about gardening, the student interns gain employment skills by being required to dress for the job, arrive on time and work in teams. Student interns also learn about entrepreneurship and future employment opportunities that can lead them to a variety of career paths. “We want to ensure they have every single opportunity to succeed in life and follow their own natural path,” stated Storjohann.

The Future of Rothenberg Rooftop School Garden

Rothenberg Rooftop School Garden is actively looking to increase the number of volunteers who can work with the student in the garden. The goal of this initiative is to break the students down into smaller learning groups in an effort to increase learning outcomes for the students. If you would like to volunteer at the Rothenberg Rooftop School Garden please contact, Bryna Bass at rothenbergrooftop02@gmail.com to learn how you can help the students achieve academic success, increase their self-confidence and self-esteem while strengthening their relationship and communication skills.

Activities Beyond the Classroom supports organizations by providing much-needed resources including Human Resource services, Fiscal Sponsorship, and much more.  We are always looking for new and innovative ways to help improve the outcome for CPS students by supporting organizations that do the most good. To learn more about partnership opportunities, please contact ABC at (513) 281-9870.

Activities Beyond the Classroom manages and funds a variety of after-school programs throughout Cincinnati Public Schools. One of these—in partnership with the Live A Language Foundation—is an initiative to teach Mandarin Chinese to CPS students as young as Kindergarten. The program is currently at two schools, and because of the wide range of benefits for children learning a second language, the hope is to secure additional funding that will allow us to expand the program even further. You can see a video of the program in action (and trust us when we say there are fewer things cuter than elementary-aged children singing Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Mandarin Chinese.)

Key Factors That Impact Language Learning

Psycholinguists have been studying how the human brain reacts to language learning for many years. Researchers have found that there are sensitive periods of brain development that are optimal for learning a second language. Key factors that impact the way in which the brain responds to an auditory stimulus such as a foreign language include the quality of inputs as well as the techniques used to teach the second language.

During the Early Learning Mandarin Language Adventure students were taught by native-speaking instructors. Gini Browsch, President of Live A Language Foundation, stressed the importance of utilizing immersive language learning taught by instructors whom are native speakers: “Especially for tonal languages like Mandarin,” indicated Browsch, “this helps students learn proper tone and inflection.”  The instructors used hand gestures (similar to those used by a music teacher) to help teach the young students to properly speak Mandarin Chinese.

Research shows that the brain reacts to a foreign language similarly to how it reacts to hearing a new song. The sound is received in the Auditory Cortex and sent to the Wernicke’s Area for processing. The Broca’s Area of the brain is responsible for the formation of speech sending signals to the Motor Cortex, which controls the lips and mouth.  The more often a child hears the foreign language inputs, the faster the brain is able to respond to the stimuli.  (White, 2013)

The Best Time To Teach A Language To A Child

According to Joseph Dick, the Director of the Second Language Learning Institute of Canada, the optimum time for children to learn a foreign language is during the Cognitive Operational Stage, which typically occurs between the ages of 7 to 11 years old. (Dick, 2009)

Dick attributes the ease of language learning to four key factors that occur during this time frame.

• They possess the ability to acquire a good command of sound
• They are less “language anxious” allowing them to better absorb the information
• They are more intuitive and less analytical at this stage
• They have more time available than their older counterparts

Language Learning Increases the Brain’s Capacity For Learning

Further research shows that the brains of people who are bilingual or multilingual are better at switching between tasks than the brains of people who only speak one language. This has been attributed to the brain’s need to inhibit one language while utilizing another. In other words, by studying and learning another language, you are training your brain to function at a higher level, increasing your capacity for learning other subjects. (Marian, 2012)

How Activities Beyond The Classroom is Making An Impact

Helping students who attend Cincinnati Public Schools become lifelong learners is critical to the goals of Activities Beyond The Classroom. We are proud to be a fiscal sponsor for Live-A-Language, allowing them to offer programming such as the Early Learning Mandarin Chinese Adventure. “We would not be able to [teach Mandarin to elementary school students] without funding from Activities Beyond The Classroom. We used their financial support to pay for instructors and to purchase software subscriptions,” added Browsch.

Activities Beyond The Classroom is always looking to expand program offerings to include activities that are enhancing the lives of CPS students. If you would like to learn more about partnership opportunities please contact Rachel Stallings, Program Director at (513) 281-9870.

The KISR! Program is a collaborative initiative between Cincinnati Public Schools, Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati, Hamilton County Juvenile Court, Hamilton County Job and Family Services and Activities Beyond The Classroom. The goal of the program is to create equitable opportunities for children in foster care to participate in after school and extracurricular activities. At ABC, we realized that children who are in the foster care system face additional challenges that make it more difficult for them to enroll and remain enrolled in such activities. Some of these challenges include lack of transportation, caregiver turnover and less previous exposure to athletic programs.

How It Works

Through the KISR! Program caregivers are encouraged to get the youngsters involved in a variety of activities. These activities include team sports, afterschool clubs and other activities such as overnight camps, sports camps, gymnastics, swimming, horseback riding, tutoring and much more.

Kyle Vismara, KISR! Enrichment Coordinator, works with the school athletic director, KISR! Liaison and individual caregivers to ensure that students who are in the foster care system have the same opportunities as their classmates. Furthermore, he meets monthly with the Education Specialist and Caseworkers assigned to each student by Hamilton County Jobs and Family Services to provide updates on student involvement, including current enrollment and potential enrollment opportunities that he is working to fulfill.

Caregivers such as Tracey Porter, are excited to have the young people in their care be afforded the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities. “Every time I reach out to [Kyle], he responds very quickly. I will be enrolling my foster child in karate this September. KISR has been great!!!”

Breaking Down Barriers

KISR! works to transcend barriers that typically exist between child welfare and educational systems and boosts education outcomes for KISR! students through:
• Increased school stability
• Improved coordination among systems
• Improved direct communication about individual students
• Reduced disruptions and removals from school for discipline or other reasons

Kyle and the team at ABC are working to ensure that additional resources are provided at each school in an effort to help create a support system for the young people involved in the KISR! Program. At any given time KISR! supports between 300-400 CPS students, “We’d like to increase the number of students supported by KISR! as well as increase the amount of support each child receives,” said Sally Grimes, Development Director of Activities Beyond The Classroom. “If you would like to help us reach our goals, please consider making a donation to ABC today!”

Learn More

If you are a caregiver living in Hamilton County, Ohio with youngsters who attend Cincinnati Public Schools and would like more information about the KISR! program, contact Kyle Vismara at kyle@abccincy.org.  To receive updates on the KISR! program, sign up for the KISR! newsletter.