ASAP Scrabble: A Community of Firsts

“I did it!”

A Community of Firsts

“I did it!”

That’s what you would have heard from Jason Wang, a 6th grader from the ASAP Scrabble Club at Mayfair Elementary if you happened to be at the Weitzman Museum for American Jewish History on Tuesday, May 9th.

But it’s not what you think. Jason wasn’t ecstatic over a bingo or a triple word score – he was elated that he overcame his fear of elevators that day. We see this a lot at ASAP – our community of students experiencing real-life “firsts,” whether it be their first time on a field trip, first time competing outside the city of Philadelphia, or even their first time riding an elevator.

At ASAP Scrabble’s annual Keep Calm and Scrabble On event, students shared many firsts amongst a community of supportive, like-minded peers. Featuring literacy games, read-alouds with local authors, and – of course – two rounds of tournament Scrabble, this event brings together more than 100 students from across the city to cap off a year of fun, friendly community competition. The event was also an opportunity for some of ASAP Scrabble’s newest clubs to get in on the community of fun– like the team from Powel Elementary:

“There is so much excitement from our students about Keep Calm”
– Oliver Strickland, ASAP Scrabble Club Leader, Powel Elementary School

A Community of Parents

Despite this being Powel’s first tournament of the year, they showed up in full force, backed by a team of supportive parents. Oliver, or as his students call him “Teacher Strickland”, brought with him 17 brand new Scrabble players from grades 1st-4th grade with 9 parents as their cheerleaders.

Another group among the first timers to join this community was long-time ASAP partner, Wagner Middle School. Coach Jennifer Dougherty brought an all-girls squad of 10 students. Among them was 6th grader, Sophia Wilson who had only been playing for a couple of weeks, but enjoys spending time with her friends during Scrabble club.

On calming those first-time competition nerves, Sophia shared:

ASAP Scrabble community team from Powel Elementary School
“I did an okay job. I did get a little stressed out, but I fixed myself and I figured it out!”
Sophia Wilson, 6th Grade, Wagner Middle School

ASAP is proud of its community of students, coaches, teachers, and parents that make this event possible each year. And even more proud of the safe environment our community has facilitated for students to be themselves while playing a game that they love. Keep Calm may have been the last Scrabble event of the school year, but it’s only the beginning for these young Scrabblers.

“Expect to see us again next year with (hopefully) an even bigger and better team!”
– Valerie Nagorski, ASAP Scrabble Club Leader, Mayfair Elementary

But we need your help!

You can support ASAP’s community of students by making a donation at www.phillyasap.org/donate

Click here to donate to ASAP!

Your contribution makes a difference in our after school scrabble community

$10 donation to ASAP Scrabble community
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$10 donation to ASAP Scrabble community
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“I’m grateful we get to provide an environment at [ASAP Scrabble] where they’re safe. Where they get to learn and be themselves.”
– Julia Feliciano, Norris Square Community Alliance, ASAP Scrabble Coach

Dear Friend,

The Need

The far-reaching effects of the pandemic and surging gun violence have created unprecedented challenges for children in Philadelphia. However, with a donation to ASAP, you can help schools and communities across the city provide after school and summer enrichment (like ASAP Scrabble) that inspires learning, keeps kids safe, and helps them get back on track.

Notably Schools like McKinley, a neighborhood public school in West Kensington.

After School at McKinley

For the last seventeen years, Julia Feliciano has run after school programs at McKinley through the Norris Square Community Alliance. Like most of us, Julia was eager for a return-to-normal after two years of navigating COVID. But when her students returned to McKinley, she discovered the impact of the pandemic was much greater than she expected.

“We’re starting back at square one. I feel schools lost their sense of community. Parents are not as trusting anymore and schools are not as welcoming to parents at times.”
— ASAP Scrabble Coach, Julia

Equally important, when the school reopened Julia noticed many of her younger students had fallen behind – especially in their reading skills.

“They were struggling to identify words. They weren’t on their appropriate levels.”
— ASAP Scrabble Coach, Julia

ASAP Scrabble makes way at McKinley

Faced with the need to both engage her families AND address her students’ reading losses, Julia turned to longtime partner ASAP – specifically, ASAP Scrabble.

“Scrabble helps kids identify where they’re most weak at in their literacy skills. It helps the children succeed and move up in reading.”
— ASAP Scrabble Coach, Julia

Julia and her team received training, equipment, and other resources from ASAP. Consequently, the Scrabble club at McKinley took off, growing to 40 students playing weekly – including eight pairs of siblings.

In a school that is predominantly Latino, the club has been especially impactful for Julia’s Spanish-speaking families.

“My Dominican students — they came to this country two years ago. The parents have noticed with us doing Scrabble activities with them, their kids are speaking more fluently now. They’re actually talking to their parents in English and they’re like: ‘Wait. Hold up.’”
– ASAP Scrabble Coach, Julia

Despite all the challenges Julia has encountered the last couple of years, seeing the difference enrichment programs like Scrabble have made for her students makes it all worthwhile.

“Scrabble is the best thing. It’s really important for the kids to gain literacy skills to be able to move on in life.”
– ASAP Scrabble Coach, Julia

ASAP reconnecting school communities

The McKinley Scrabble club is just one of more than 300 after school and summer enrichment clubs ASAP has supported this year. ASAP has reconnected thousands of kids to their school communities and reignited their love of learning.

For this reason, ASAP is committed to helping more schools and communities achieve a new “normal.” One that ensures all students have access to safe, enriching activities and experiences that can help them succeed in school and beyond.

How you can help

But we need your help!

Through your generosity, ASAP can be the partner that community leaders like Julia and schools like McKinley deserve. And together, we can build a better future for young people in our city. 

For this reason, we are most grateful for your support

Click here to donate to ASAP!

More Ways to Give!

Sincerely,

ASAP

P.S. 77% of ASAP’s clubs serve youth in neighborhood public schools and areas with the highest rates of gun violence. Give today and help us provide safe, enriching spaces for youth in communities that need it the most!!

Mark Your Calendars! You’re invited to…

ASAP’s 20 Year Anniversary Celebration & Fundraiser

Date: Thursday, September 22, 2022

Time: 5:00pm – 8:00pm

Location: Craft Hall
901 N Delaware Ave, Phila, PA 19123

All proceeds benefit youth in Philadelphia through out-of-school time programs and experiences that enrich and inspire. Because…

After School: We Build Futures!

Event Features:

On Thursday, September 22, 2022, ASAP is hosting a special event & fundraiser to celebrate 20 years of making the after school hours count.

We look forward to coming together to honor all of the partners, educators, and stakeholders who have helped us serve more than 90,000 youth since our inception, and hearing from guest speakers on why ASAP’s mission is now more important than ever. The theme for the event is After School: We Build Futures and all proceeds support ASAP’s goal to increase the number of ASAP programs in Philadelphia public schools by 50%, serving an additional 1,000-2,000 kids by 2025.

Click here to download our save the date!

Click here to reserve your spot! 

ASAP Chess veteran & alum helps “propel” new program in the Northeast

“What I love about the ASAP Chess program is that it helps kids think logically about their next step in all aspects of life.”
-Mr. Andrew Skopp, ASAP Veteran Chess Coach

Northeast Community Propel Academy (NCPA), a newly built K-8 neighborhood public school kicked off the 2021-2022 school year with a brand-new ASAP Chess club lead by none other than veteran, Mr. Andrew Skopp. Andrew is a longstanding ASAP Chess coach who has taught the game to hundreds of students. He first started back in 2004 at Austin Meehan School. Recently, Coach Skopp has quickly made chess a major part of his new school’s extracurricular culture with nearly two dozen students joining the start-up club.

ASAP Chess Alum Ta’Dacia Pinkey

To help get his team in top shape, veteran Coach Skopp enlisted the help of another veteran, familiar face – ASAP Chess alum Ta’Dacia Pinkey. Ta’Dacia flew back from her new home in California to share some tactics and strategies with the NCPA students. She got her start playing chess at Meehan back in the late 2000s before moving on to Franklin Towne Charter; it’s there where she started her own ASAP Chess club as a sophomore. During this time, alum Ta’Dacia distinguished herself as a fierce competitor and great advocate for the game. In fact, she is known for famously beating Philadelphia Mayor Mike Nutter in an exhibition match at the ASAP-PECO Checkmate Violence Marathon back in 2013.

Where is veteran chess player Ta’Dacia now?

In addition to showing the NCPA students some pointers, veteran Ta’Dacia has much to share about how chess can help broaden young people’s horizons. For example, in 2013 she was selected as one of ASAP’s ambassadors for the Asomugha College Tours for Scholars. There, she toured different colleges and universities in California alongside former Philadelphia Eagle Nnamdi Asomugha. This experience the alum to enroll at the University of California-Irvine, using the lessons she learned through chess to propel her on her way to receiving a degree in computer science.

“By playing chess, I became a lot stronger mentally and the intimidation went away. Chess has given me the ability to think about and visualize things from different perspectives. If I do not understand something trying to see it from another angle helps me.”
–Ta’Dacia, ASAP Chess Alum

Did you know 89% of ASAP club leaders agreed or strongly agreed that ASAP clubs have helped them develop strong relationships with their students?

New team on the block

As for veteran Coach Skopp’s current team, they are just getting the feel of real tournament play. Most recently, his students expressed one of their favorite experiences this year was an in-person 1v1 match with Tacony Academy Charter School. Almost all the students were new to chess, competing against another team for the very first time. This event really generated a sense of enthusiasm among participating students. Consequently, they cannot wait for more opportunities next year to play chess under their favorite coach, Mr. Skopp!

How you can help!

ASAP is privileged to work with so many exceptional educators and alum like veteran Coach Skopp and Ta’Dacia, who are committed to fostering a community of students with an activity that helps them prepare both for school and beyond.  Furthermore, we celebrate the Northeast Community Propel Academy team for giving it their all in their very first season. We cannot wait to see what they do next year!

If you’d like to help ASAP create more opportunities for youth in Philadelphia, we hope you will consider making a donation!

Click here to donate to ASAP!

More Ways to Give!

Middle schoolers debate private handgun ownership

“Working with ASAP has been so wonderful because they try so hard to make relevant social topics accessible for our younger students, and let them have fun and learn sportsmanship in the process.”
-Meg Gurenlian, Debate Coach and Teacher at Mastery Hardy Williams

Debate students have learned this year that like many cities in America, Philadelphia’s efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic have coincided with an alarming rise in gun violence. Particularly concerning is the dramatic increase in shootings involving youth. To date, 55 children under the age of 18 in Philadelphia have been a victim of gun violence. Meanwhile, communities, advocates, and lawmakers have all demanded action and have voiced several different strategies to address the issue.

It is against this backdrop that the intrepid young minds of ASAP’s middle school debate league have dedicated themselves over the last several months to examining a commonly proposed solution to the problem of gun violence: a ban on handguns.

ASAP Spring Debate Topic

Resolved: That the private ownership of handguns should be banned in the United States.

Hardy Williams ASAP Debate Team

One of those league clubs is Mastery Hardy Williams – a first-year program led by their dedicated coach Ms. Meg Gurenlian. With only weeks before their first tournament this February, the Hardy Williams students extensively researched this deeply contested topic to understand different perspectives and create compelling pro and con arguments.

“[Debate] is fun to me because while it’s hard for you to try to win, it is fun researching topics that we hear about on a daily basis and to actually know the both sides of the issue.”
-Marquez Rosario, 7th grade

Going against more experience debaters was a humbling experience, but the Hardy Williams team was determined to compete – and improve — at every remaining tournament. They excelled quickly, and their months of hard work culminated with winning their first award when 7th grader Mazeedat placed as a Top 10 Speaker at the April 6th tournament.

“Coaching is thrilling because you get to see kids teach themselves and their peers and grapple with really hard things while you sit in the background and cheer them on and provide guidance.”
— Meg Gurenlian, Debate Coach and Teacher at Mastery Hardy Williams.

Why it matters

ASAP is privileged to work with so many extraordinary educators like Ms. Guerlian who help to create spaces outside of the classroom where students can develop important skills and — spaces where their voices are valued. We celebrate the Hardy Williams team for giving it their all this season and we celebrate Ms. Gurenlian for going the extra mile to give her students the opportunities to shine!!

How you can help

If you’d like to help ASAP create more opportunities for youth in Philadelphia, we hope you will consider making a donation or by clicking here for more ways to give.

Make your donation here!

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