Over the past few years, SquashSmarts has expanded to two full
teams and operates at Drexel 5 days per week. Middle school boys
and girls from the Drew and McMichael schools enjoyed the incalculable
benefits of mentoring, academic tutoring and squash instruction.
We are proud to have established a model after-school enrichment program
in West Philadelphia that is well balanced in its combination
of academics and athletics and unique in its one-to-one, individualized
attention for all participants. We envision our continued growth
and influence in the community as we prepare for next year.
As our 4th year draws to a close, we reflect with satisfaction
upon some of the accomplishments, successes and the many learning
experiences of our participants. Our consistent, one-to-one tutoring
component yielded great results. Pre-and post-testing students
in basic Reading, Spelling and Math skills, we have found the several of
our team members demonstrated substantial gains — i.e. a two
grade level increase — in at least one of the basic areas. But
when we looked at standard scores, we found all but one of our
participants demonstrated an average increase of half a standard
deviation. This is an important finding, as it demonstrates that
almost every SquashSmarts kid is making some gains beyond what
would be expected from maturation and school — and it seems very
likely that the reason for these gains is the SquashSmarts program.
In addition, our students’ effort and behavior grades at school
improved during their semester with SquashSmarts perhaps due
to our Drexel student athlete mentors. SquashSmartsers learned
how to navigate a computer in the Drexel ACHIEVE Center for student
athletes, some for the first time, and regularly emailed their
mentors as part of our tutoring program. They also learned how
to create Power Point research projects, and several mentors
supported the kids by attending their presentations. And anytime
a basketball, lacrosse, baseball, golf, or tennis mentor wanted
to learn squash, the kids showed surprising promise as teachers!
Most significantly, student athlete mentors modeled appropriate
conduct on and off the court, reinforcing the importance of manners
and good behavior in the simplest of ways: a napkin on your lap
at dinner, a “thank you” to your coach each day, a handshake
at the end of a game. Those small but significant moments add
up to make a big difference!
In our squash component, our team members have had similar success.
This past June, our current team members traveled
to Groton, MA for the 3rd Annual Urban Indivudals Squash Nationals. It was
an historic event with Tempest Bowden bringing home SquashSmarts
first National Championship. A particularly telling moment occurred
when a young player jumped out of the van upon arriving at Groton
to shout, “Ms. Julie, did you see the stars?!” There is no question
that SquashSmarts is providing opportunities for these young
students to expand their horizons, broaden their vision and shine,
both on and off the court.
Over the past few years, SquashSmarts has expanded to two full
teams and operates at Drexel 5 days per week. Middle school boys
and girls from the Drew and McMichael schools enjoyed the incalculable
benefits of mentoring, academic tutoring and squash instruction.
We are proud to have established a model after-school enrichment program
in West Philadelphia that is well balanced in its combination
of academics and athletics and unique in its one-to-one, individualized
attention for all participants. We envision our continued growth
and influence in the community as we prepare for next year.
As our 4th year draws to a close, we reflect with satisfaction
upon some of the accomplishments, successes and the many learning
experiences of our participants. Our consistent, one-to-one tutoring
component yielded great results. Pre-and post-testing students
in basic Reading, Spelling and Math skills, we have found the several of
our team members demonstrated substantial gains — i.e. a two
grade level increase — in at least one of the basic areas. But
when we looked at standard scores, we found all but one of our
participants demonstrated an average increase of half a standard
deviation. This is an important finding, as it demonstrates that
almost every SquashSmarts kid is making some gains beyond what
would be expected from maturation and school — and it seems very
likely that the reason for these gains is the SquashSmarts program.
In addition, our students’ effort and behavior grades at school
improved during their semester with SquashSmarts perhaps due
to our Drexel student athlete mentors. SquashSmartsers learned
how to navigate a computer in the Drexel ACHIEVE Center for student
athletes, some for the first time, and regularly emailed their
mentors as part of our tutoring program. They also learned how
to create Power Point research projects, and several mentors
supported the kids by attending their presentations. And anytime
a basketball, lacrosse, baseball, golf, or tennis mentor wanted
to learn squash, the kids showed surprising promise as teachers!
Most significantly, student athlete mentors modeled appropriate
conduct on and off the court, reinforcing the importance of manners
and good behavior in the simplest of ways: a napkin on your lap
at dinner, a “thank you” to your coach each day, a handshake
at the end of a game. Those small but significant moments add
up to make a big difference! 
In our squash component, our team members have had similar success.
This past June, our current team members traveled
to Groton, MA for the 3rd Annual Urban Indivudals Squash Nationals. It was
an historic event with Tempest Bowden bringing home SquashSmarts
first National Championship. A particularly telling moment occurred
when a young player jumped out of the van upon arriving at Groton
to shout, “Ms. Julie, did you see the stars?!” There is no question
that SquashSmarts is providing opportunities for these young
students to expand their horizons, broaden their vision and shine,
both on and off the court.