School Spotlight on the JFK

The JFK Elementary School in Jamaica Plain has been a true leader in piloting the SCORES Mentorship Program, which started up this winter. Six Northeastern college students have been going to the JFK every week to meet 1:1 with SCORES mentees. The mentors and mentees each meet in a different classroom in the school to spend quality time together. After helping with any homework the mentee might have, the matches have grown close by doing everything from chatting to playing cards to practicing their soccer skills in the gym. The mentors are greeted every week with hugs and excitement as the kids have anxiously awaited their arrival. The mentors seem equally excited about their experiences thus far. In their weekly check-in’s mentors have said such things as, “She's really sweet, and seems very smart,” another reported, “It seems like he’s enjoying the experience even though he hasn’t had me for long, whenever a teacher asks them what he’s up to he always brags just hanging with my mentor!" Another mentor was surprised when she reflected, “I learned a lot about my mentee and what she wants to do/ become. She reminds me of myself when I was her age.” When the JFK’s site supervisor was asked what she thought of the mentorship program so far, she said, “I think it is a great opportunity for the kids, I wish each SCORES kid could have a mentor!”

With the start of season last week, the mentorship program shifted from 1:1 mentorship to mentors helping out at SCORES practices and games and finding quality time with their mentee on the side. This past week, the mentors helped run SCORES Mini Cooper, a pre and post test to see how our young poet-athletes improve on their endurance throughout season. The mentors assisted in leading a stretch with the girls and boys teams and then helped count how many 100 meter laps each youth could run in six minutes. Everyone was very excited to be out in the sunny weather and to be getting back into the soccer season. Mentors were eager to assist the teams and both teams were more than happy to have the help. This week will be the first game for The JFK against The Hennigan, another school participating in SCORES Mentorship Program. During this kick off game, there will be 12 volunteer mentors (6 from each school) cheering on their soccer-playing mentees.

For more information on the program or to get involved, email Sarah Garnitz at SGarnitz@americascores.org

Thursday Poem of the Week!

Today my Name is

Today my name is tornado

I feel mad

I pretend I am a tornado

yesterday my name was rainbow

I heard things crashing

I found hurt people

tomorrow my name will be sunshine

I will forget I was a tornado

I will remember I am sunshine

by Oscar M.

Local Poet-Athletes to Represent America SCORES NE in National Poetry Slam

America SCORES New England is proud to be represented by two of our student-athletes at this spring’s annual National Poetry Slam on April 19th in New York City. As with each year’s event, a boy and girl from each SCORES elementary school program across the country will come together to perform their work at the New York Stock Exchange during a evening gala.

Each student will head to Manhattan two days in advance of the performance to attend workshops with famed artists, visit some of NYC’s historic sites and get to know other SCORES youth from around the country.

Read on and get to know more about Adonis and Chereka as they explain, in their own words, who inspires them, why they enjoy poetry and what they are looking forward to the most about traveling to NYC next month.


Adonis M.
5th Grade, Grew Elementary
Hyde Park – Boston, MA

No one could compare to my family! We are the best because we all love & respect each other and everyone in my family inspires me. One of my favorite memories is when my family and I went to six flags together. My hobbies are playing baseball, basketball, and I like to hang out with my friends and family. I also like listening to music. They tell me that if I want to live my dream (playing in MLB), I have to study and get good grades. While in NY, I hope to see where the Yankees play and try to meet a player. I like to rhyme and I like to mix things up. I think of poetry like music.



Chereka M.
5th Grade, Marshall Elementary
Dorchester – Boston, MA

My family is unique because we all work together if there a problem and my mom inspires me because she is really smart and she is saving money so that I can go to a good college. My hobbies are soccer, dancing, lacrosse, singing and gymnastics. My favorite memory was when I made my first soccer goal. I help other people by seeing what I can do when problems arise. I hope to tour around New York while I am there. I love poetry because you can write anything that is on your mind.

Thursday Poem of the Week!

Peaceful Yellow

Yellow smells like a freshly cut banana
Yellow sounds like corn on a grill
Yellow tastes like lemons sinking through my teeth
Yellow looks like the sun set on a beautiful day
Yellow feels like a smooth new car
Yellow moves like a dress moving through the air

Cynthia P.

Students at the William Russell and Henry Grew Elementary Schools Prove Their Stardom during America SCORES New England’s Young Songwriters Program!

This winter, participants in ASNE's Young Songwriter's Program at the Henry Grew Elementary School in Hyde Park and the William Russell Elementary School in Dorchester spent 10 weeks writing, recording, and producing their own hip-hop songs and music videos. During after school sessions led by ASNE’s Education Director, Dwayne Simmons, and ASNE’s Elementary Soccer Director, Caroline Doctor, these students learned to write with a purpose and used their poetic skills to craft hip-hop lyrics that would send positive messages to their peers.

Examples of these empowering lyrics include girls from the Henry Grew School showing their team spirit with the original piece, “We’re the Cougars.” In this uplifting song, the girls spoke to their talents on the field and in the classroom with the following lyric: “We all feel good when we kick that ball/ and with poetry we have it all!” At the same time, another group of students from the Henry Grew were composing their original song, “The World”, which demands that everyone think about the children in the world before doing anything harmful. This commanding song serves as a reminder to us all that, “the world is not a toxic waste/ it’s a place with all 50 states.” Down the road in Dorchester, ASNE poet-athletes at the William Russell School summed up America SCORES’ core value of teamwork in just one, apt line from their song, “Soccer is the Best,” which states, “winning or losing, it doesn’t matter much to me/ but for winning, teamwork is the key.”

To hear these one of a kind hip-hop lyrics for yourself, visit America SCORES New England’s YouTube channel, where you can view all six of the music videos produced during ASNE’s Young Songwriters Program this winter. By clicking here you can watch poet-athlete Jayme perform her original hip-hop dedication to “The Nanny” (played by ASNE’s own Dwayne Simmons!) while she also strums on her new guitar, or watch Andrea, Anthony and Christian present “Music to Sing,” a touching tribute to their favorite performers—Shakira, Daddy Yankee, and the late Michael Jackson.

Thursday Poem of the Week!

Uncle Steve, by Adina R.

Uncle Steve is like a tree,

He’s very important to me,

He’s dark as bark,

His hands are like a branch,

He hates to eat ranch

Uncle Steve is important to me,

Uncle Steve spoils me a lot,

Uncle Steve gives me money,

Uncle Steve is really funny,

He makes me laugh,

Like a crazy bunny,

Uncle Steve is important to me.

Kids Corner: "A Day in the Life" by SCORES Alumna Christina Arecy

A Day in the Life (of a BU Student)

Christina Arecy, age 15, SCORES alumna

      Have you ever gone on a college or university tour only to find that throughout the tour you get grumpy and bored, or think you’d rather be at home snuggling in your bed than be outside in the cold city? I have taken a couple of college tours that have the same routine. They show you the building and tell you the history of their school. Little did I know that “A Day in the Life at Boston University” would be completely different. I had the chance to go to classes, meet with the women’s soccer team, and watch them play soccer. I couldn’t let this opportunity just go down the drain. This is why I told myself don’t let this opportunity pass by; learn a thing or two.

      One thing that shocked me when I went on this tour was that I had my own personal itinerary. I was thinking what in the world is going on? What was going on was I was actually getting a chance to take a college class and learn. I mean isn’t that cool?  On the BU Experience Virtual Tour, I was taken aback by how much great history Boston University has. Also, I got to visit the infamous Student dorm, Stuvi-two, which seems more like a hotel than a regular dorm. Then I got to watch the women practicing soccer and was amazed at how wonderfully the women played, with passion and heart. I took notice that when they made a mistake they kept on trying their best to make it perfect.

     Boston University is located in the heart of a city, and is compelling, bold, unique, and diverse.  Had I not taken this opportunity, I wouldn’t have learned interesting facts in journalism class and wouldn’t know anything about Boston University and its’ history. This tour took me out of my comfort zone and put me in a real life situation that most tours wouldn’t have done. I’m confident that, later in my life, this experience will help me decide what type of university I will go to. “A Day in the Life at BU” changed my views and perspectives on living at a University. Every minute was beneficial and rewarding.

Thursday Poem of the Week!

Success, by Brittany B.

How are you successful?

Everybody asks me

I tell them I'm just mastering

The basics of these three

The first one is your mind

It might seem quite bizarre

But if you learn to use your head

You'll see how smart you are

The second one's hard work

And you will come to see

That if you work hard as you can

Success will come to thee

If you're wondering what the third one is

It's just simply study

And if you think that this is boring

Just find a study buddy

So as you can see

There's three steps to success

Follow them and I promise

You'll pass any test

Introducing Two New Programs for Boston Youth

This winter, SCORES has seen two new programs develop into successful supplements to our core offerings: The SCORES Mentorship Program and the SCORES Alumni Program. These programs are both making great strides in improving the future prospects of our SCORES student-athletes, and have helped to exponentially increase our SCORES students’ access to caring and successful college student role-models!

The SCORES Mentorship Program

The SCORES Mentorship Program provides SCORES youth with the opportunity to participate in a one-on-one mentoring relationship with a college student or professional in the Boston Community. Through the mentoring program, SCORES youth gain the valuable experience of having the focused support and guidance of a mentor.

18 SCORES elementary and middle school student-athletes are currently participating in the SCORES Mentorship Program. They are paired with 16 Northeastern students and 1 Simmons student, who have volunteered their time to serve as mentors. Over six weeks, each match has been meeting for 90 minutes after school, doing homework, playing games together, going on walks, or working together on a project.

When the SCORES Program spring season starts, each mentor will also visit their mentee while they participate in the soccer, writing, and service-learning activities of SCORES to assist, cheer on, and catch up! By the end of season, each mentor will have spent at least 20 hours with their mentee.

The SCORES Alumni Program

To encourage college readiness, 28 SCORES alumni from 12 different Boston area high schools have been meeting regularly to talk about their futures, receive college counseling and advice, go on college tours, and attend collegiate games. The alumni have gotten the chance to participate in one-on-one resume and professional skill counseling, a “Day in the Life” BU student shadowing day, and a Math Power college information panel. This year, the Alumni Program is also selected as an Opportunity To Serve host site and so the alumni participants will be restoring a soccer rink adjacent to the Mattahunt field while also facilitating a soccer tournament on the school’s field. By continuing to engage SCORES students as they continue their academic careers towards college, the SCORES Alumni Program has the power to empower Boston area kids to follow their dreams.

Nicole Ruttan, March's Coach of the Month!

Each month, SCORES will be crowning one of our outstanding Soccer and Writing Coaches the Coach of the Month! Check back here monthly as we delve into our coaches’ reasons for joining SCORES, their favorite experiences on the field and in the classroom, and what soccer, writing, and community service means to them.

March’s Coach of the Month: Nicole Ruttan, the Soccer and Writing Co-Coach for the Umana Barnes Middle School Boys and Girls Teams.

Why did you decide to become a SCORES Coach?

Accidentally. I happened to be in the room in the library, and I was asked by a guy who worked for SCORES if I wanted to be a soccer coach. I figured, “hey, I played soccer in Middle School…why not?” It was the girls team that I coached first, and then it was easy enough to add boys.

What was one of the most memorable moments you’ve had while leading your team?

Girls: Winning our first game was really cool. They were so excited, and so proud of themselves.

Boys: Winning the SCORES Sportsmanship Award last year at Blast.

Did you play soccer, or write poetry, when you were growing up?

I played soccer from 3^rd-12^th grade…not very well, but I played for a long time.

Who are your favorite writers, and why?

Right now, I’m pretty into Mercedes Lackey, the fantasy writer, and Joan Baez’s music for poetry. I like Joan Baez’s imagery, and the emotion her lyrics express in her music.