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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There’s a good article in the Post on Wakefield’s crew team that just won the premier Varsity 8 races at the State Championship [b]over schools with much larger programs with more funding[/b]. Many of the athletes are on scholarship, and that has opened up the sport to the kids who are less financially well off. [/quote]

WAY TO GO, WAKEFIELD!!!  I'm so proud of, and for, them; and I don't have any connection to crew.  Good for them!
Maybe some athletic success will make people think more highly of Wakefield or give it a little respect, since any academic success is always dismissed or discredited.[/quote]

[url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/05/14/wakefield-boys-girls-sweep-virginia-rowing-championships/]Here's the article.[/url]

Wakefield sweeping the first varsity 8+s really makes these other schools look bad. I'm sure you'll hear Yorktown people say "well we won the states in 4+", but that's not the same. They know this. You drop to 4's when you haven't coached up 8 rowers well enough to compete.

By letting more kids onto the team, they can charge a lower fee per rower. That means each "scholarship" requires fewer dollars. They get a good deal at the Anacostia boathouse, and they don't blow money on extras the way you see with some of the other programs. So the dollars go to hiring coaches, and to expanding the pool of rowers. With a bigger pool, you can fill an 8+ with strong rowers.[/quote]

everyone in the picture of the story is white though. good intentions but still a long way to go.[/quote]

[b]One of the 1V girls is a person of color. A few of of the 1V boys are people of color,[/b] the Post just didn't use that photo. The team as a whole is tremendously diverse- if you'd been at the Occoquan on Saturday and seen the freshman and novice athletes (newer, younger students who are benefiting from the outreach and inclusive approach and will be the athletes in the top boats in a year or two) you would have seen the whole picture. [/quote]

Wakefield is a non white majority school. I do know they tried a bit harder this year to recruit more widely. I think at Wakefield we need to be more honest and provide more education on sports. We have to accept that not all parents and students have grown up in the US and in fact some may have arrived to the US in the past month.  [b]I don't think it would hurt to explain what sports are on the website and when sending announcements.[/b]  Think about it - would someone just arriving to the US who might not have had sports at their own school growing up instantly know that Crew means rowing a boat on the water?
[/quote]

They do send announcements and publicize extracurricular activities all the time.
But explaining what the various clubs and activities are on the website would be helpful for all students, as would maintaining the website with only the current/active opportunities instead of burrowing them away in a Canvas course page that not all students sign-up for.[/quote]

The crew team set up ergs in Town Hall during all lunches before winter training to recruit. They also offer free "green days" in the fall and inexpensive (with scholarship options) learn to row camps in the summer. They also have started going in to the middle school gym classes with ergs to get info to kids even before they start HS. If you have any other constructive ideas on how to get the word out please share![/quote]

[b]First when pushing out notices  just put Rowing somewhere in parentheses next to Crew 
mention it is for men and women - casual observation - some cultures don't embrace sports for girls the same way we do in the US so it might be assumed its for boys only but make it clear it that each team is separate
transportation back and forth to the boathouse - how does it work - if it's just carpool - is it organized?  keep in mind that some kids might want to do it but their parents can't communicate well with other parents so no carpool and then it's a no go; maybe ask the school to fund a bus- throw in it's an equity issue so that might help
Try and keep in mind that white liberal leaning parents are the loudest but not the biggest group at the school. Many of the students have parents who are definitely more conservative minded and more religious. Consider these parents look at the photos for the advertised sports and make assumptions and decisions.[/b][i]

The school itself needs to do a better job of explaining why students should participate in sports and clubs. They usually frame it as "get involved in school" but I think a better message for the school community would be "planning for college? - a sport or club activity will need to be included on your college application"  See I already know that but if you are a parent or student, didn't grow up here and only arrived a few years or months ago, live in a neighborhood with similarly situation parents and students, and don't speak much English, which one when translated is going to make more sense to you as a parent? I mean " get involved in school" is an abstract idea that might leave some parents and students having no idea what the take away is from that. And no that isn't an absolute of course, but it is generally accepted as standard advice for students planning to go to college. [/quote]

Thanks for these very specific and helpful suggestions. Also, please know that Wakefield crew has been actively engaged with both the Athletic department and PSTA since similar concerns about representation were raised after last year's success by the team - the result of which has been a very intentional and deliberate - albeit imperfect - effort to increase access and reduce/remove barriers (e.g. transportation).[/quote]

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