Creating Scholar Athletes: Tennis & Education

Summer has come to a close, and with the first days of Fall have come the winds and the rain and the cold. But, because of generous donors like you, Portland Tennis & Education's Scholar Athletes have a place that is dry and out of the elements, where they can play and exercise and stay healthy. And, just as important, their summer activities have readied them for another school year.

Having spent their summer at our Serving Up Success summer program, scholar athletes have remained mentally and physically active. They have had little chance to suffer the summer learning loss that affects so many low-income students. They are ready once again for a new school year and will not waste time playing catch-up with their more affluent peers.

This summer two of our scholar athletes received national recognition for their athletic and intellectual prowess. Ashley was selected as national winner in the USTA Foundation's 2016 Arthur Ashe Essay Contest in the Girls 11-12 category. In recognition of her essay, inspired by Althea Gibson, about how lessons learned on the tennis court can help development and character off it, Ashley was invited to NYC for Arthur Ashe Kids' Day. While in New York, Ashley gave a speech, celebrated with her fellow contest winners, and watched some of tennis' greatest stars practicing for the US Open. 

After intensive training and tryouts, this summer PT&E High School Academy scholar athlete Miguel was selected as a ball person for the Davis Cup quarterfinals held here in Oregon. Going from strength to strength, Miguel was selected as a ball person for the US Open, one of the four Grand Slam titles! Miguel traveled to New York City where he was a ball person for several matches, including for US player Christian Harrison. While there Miguel got to see John Isner compete and Jack Sock in warm-up. And on a trip to Central Park, Miguel ran into Ukrainian player Alexandr Dolgopolov. Miguel was inspired by seeing all how far hard work and dedication can take one in the sport, and he has brought that energy back to PT&E where it has infected his fellow High School Academy students Rosie and Alberto.

Though we don't always trumpet the fact, your generous contributions benefit more people than the scholar athletes at PT&E. As a top National Junior Tennis & Learning Network we are frequently used as a model for new NJTL chapters, and Danice Brown, our Executive Director, has served as a mentor for many new chapters. Every dollar you donate has impact across the country. This September we were proud to announce that we now have a new sister program in the Border Youth Tennis Exchange (BYTE).  One of Danice's oldest mentees, Charlie Cutler, since his days as a teen tennis player in Portland, has opened a new NJTL in Nogales, Sonora and Nogales, Arizona. The Border Youth Tennis Exchange (BYTE) is working to connect youth over the Mexico-US border. As great believer in Charlie and his mission, we have joined in partnership with BYTE as a sister program. At first this will be a simple pen pal relationship for our students. But we are already working on grants and other funding so our students can visit the students in Nogales and they can visit us here.

We invite you to make a one-time gift or consider setting up a monthly donation. This is a great chance to make an investment in the lasting success of our scholar athletes, of St. Johns, of Portland, and of youth throughout the US and beyond.

It has been a beautiful summer, kicked off by the gift of a beautiful new garden sign, created by scholar athletes Ashley and Christian and their father—a perfect beginning for a summer dedicated to appreciating and preserving the natural world.

Each summer scholar athletes spend 9-weeks in our "Serving Up Success" program. This program is specifically designed to stop summer learning loss. Learning progress lost over the summer months disproportionately affects low-income students. It is one of the major causes of the achievement gap between lower and higher income students.

This summer, our Serving Up Success program follows the theme "Kids Saving the Earth," and each week has had its own exciting theme. So far we've explored:

Air

Composting Counts

Plain as Water

This Land is Your Land - and Things are Warming Up

Everything Creepy Crawly and Fuzzy Wuzzy

Scholar athletes have enjoyed learning activities, science experiments, field trips, and community service projects, all helping them learn about the environment and what they can do to protect it.

It has been a splendid year for the environment at PT&E. In April we celebrated Earth Day with our annual Earth Day Walk. This year our walk was an opportunity to learn about Earth's history. Step by step, scholar athletes took the journey from the forming of the Earth, 4.5 billion years ago, up to the current day. The halfway point found us in North Portland's Pier Park where we were met by entomologist Mark Hitchcox who talked with the kids about the park and the creatures and plants that live there.

It has been an exciting summer for tennis as well. July brought the Davis Cup to the Portland area, and PT&E scholar athletes were in the thick of it. At the US Davis Cup Team Family Fun Fair, the Monday before the competition, scholar athletes and coach/tutors did some art making with the US Davis Cup Team—hitting paint-soaked tennis balls against a fresh canvas. On Wednesday, the collegiate players traveling with the US Davis Cup Team visited PT&E and held a mini tennis clinic with the kids. On Thursday, scholar athletes trekked downtown to Pioneer Courthouse Square to join the Davis Cup teams for the coin-flip ceremony. They performed to Beyoncé's "Let's Move" and displayed their skills with exhibition matches on the square. Throughout the competition—Friday, Saturday, & Sunday—PT&E scholar athletes had the honor of serving as flag-bearers and ball kids.

It is your support that makes these crucial learning opportunities and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities possible for PT&E scholar athletes. Your contributions open doors otherwise closed to low-income youth. We thank you.

What these students most need is steady support. If you have not already done so, please consider signing up for a monthly contribution. Or "sponsor a champion" in the Serving Up Success program.

As a sponsor, you will be personally matched with a child and have the opportunity to get to know each other through letters, as well as a quarterly update that includes a short note written by them and progress on their tennis and academic success. Additionally, your sponsorship also includes invitations to PT&E events such as our annual end of the year Sponsor-A-Champion BBQ, where you will be able to enjoy time with them and their peers. 

Visit our website to learn more! — www.ptande.org