Coach Kevin from Prieto joined the UI team last year as a Program Associate for the Work to Play program. Now he spends his entire day at Dr. Jorge Prieto Math and Science Academy as a School Based Program Coordinator. Check out what Coach Kevin has to say about his new role!
I always explain being an School Based Program Coordinator as the best job in the world. In what other line of work do you get to pretend to be every age from Kindergarten to 8th grade throughout your day? At Prieto Academy of Math and Science there are over 1,000 kids who inspire, challenge and bring out my inner child every single day. No two days are the same when your running an Urban Initiatives recess and that is what makes the job so exciting.
During my short, chaotic 20 minute intervals of recess, it can be hard to single out Scholars for individual relationships. At first just learning names was a victory. After being here for almost half a school year I have more meaningful relationships with my Scholars than I could have ever imagined. I have come to learn who has siblings at school, who has parents that volunteer, who likes soccer and who likes baseball. I know which students to ask for candy when I am tired and which students I can count on to be leaders. It is amazing what you learn and become a part of throughout a school year.
Being an SBPC at school is so much more than being ” The guy who runs recess.” Throughout the process of developing relationships with students, teachers, parents and other staff, I knew that I wanted to be more involved around the school. The first place I looked was basketball, I had always loved the game and had done some coaching in the past. The 7th and 8th grade girls team didn’t have a coach so I jumped on the opportunity. Coaching a sport outside of Urban Initiatives programming led to what I think are some of the best moments of my year at Prieto so far.
Having ten young ladies come into the gym half awake at 7 am on the first day of practice, complaining about being there so early the whole time, grew into something so meaningful to them. Two weeks after our season ended we still had practice three mornings a week, even though there were no more games. Now that is an amazing feeling! Being a School Based Program Coordinator for Urban Initiatives at Dr. Jorge Prieto Math and Science Academy is so much more than being ” the recess guy”, its about becoming a part of a community, developing lasting relationships and facilitating the growth of every student that walks through those school doors.
- Coach Kevin
