“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:

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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!!

ASAP Scrabble students – forever champions!

Over the last few years, ASAP has sponsored dozens of Scrabble champions to compete in the North American School Scrabble Championships (NASSC) — hosted in cities nationwide. And just like our Nationals-bound chess players, during the School District of Philadelphia’s spring recess, ASAP’s most dedicated young Scrabble champions traveled to the nation’s capital to compete against the best and brightest wordsmiths from across the continent. Of the students competing at the Championships, more than half had never been to the NASSC Tournament before nor travelled outside of Philadelphia. Consequently, championship participant Eric Amabile, 8th grader from Girard Academic Music Program (GAMP), summed up his experience as a first-time NAASC competitor:

Nevertheless, that same upbeat championship attitude didn’t stop there. ASAP Scrabble students from Overbrook Educational Center (OEC) brought a contagious, ambitious, positive energy to the game floor that weekend:

The Nationals Winner Circle

All told, these fearless word nerds played an intense 5 hours of Scrabble on that first championship day, with two teams — King Tang & Naomi Tran and Minh LeNyugen & Vihann Kaushik of GAMP — landing in 7^th and 8^th place, respectively. By the second day, Minh & Vihaan were able to retain their top 10 ranking, finishing 9^th overall in the Championship Division.

Forever Champions

Despite not everyone bringing home a trophy that weekend, the smiles never left the kids’ faces. In between rounds, you would be hard-pressed to find a sour face in the bunch. Instead, the halls were littered with pats on the backs and positive affirmations like “I gave it my best” or “I’m ready for next year!”

Likewise, Overbrook Educational Center ASAP Scrabble Coach Sandra Spencer also shared that sentiment:

Congratulations to all championship competitors!

Overbrook Educational Center, Girard Academic Music Program (GAMP), Academy at Palumbo, and PA Cyber Charter School.

Unquestionably, Mrs. Spencer echos how we all feel about these inspiring competitors- they’re forever champions to us.

Still to come this Spring at ASAP!

ASAP Spring Appeal

Coming Soon: Featuring North Square Community Alliance and the ASAP Scrabble club at McKinley Elementary School

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ASAP Chess Nationals

More than 40 ASAP Chess students traveled to DC to compete amongst 1,700 players from across the country. Read more to see who came out on top at the K-12 National Chess Championships.

Read the blog!

ASAP in the news:

ASAP Debate students featured in 6ABC Action News coverage following another successful scholastic season

See full press coverage!

More Ways to Support!

After School (and in the office): We Build Futures

Coming out of the pandemic, ASAP’s office has worked closely with schools throughout the city to help them re-engage their students. How? By providing after school opportunities that speak to their interests and can reignite their love for learning. To ensure our services reach communities with the greatest needs, this year ASAP’s office welcomed a new strategic engagement team. Their job is to prioritize outreach to neighborhood public schools and areas with the highest rates of gun violence.

Corporate Life

And when it comes to starting a new partnership with schools, it pays to have the right corporate messenger.

Enter ASAP’s newest Outreach Coordinator: John Green aka Johnny Scrabble

John will tell you that Scrabble changed his life. For the past 12 years John has been a beloved staple of ASAP Scrabble – coaching clubs at schools across the city while also training dozens of new Scrabble club leaders each year.

Dedication to service

Nearest and dearest to John’s heart has been his work at the Juvenile Justice Center. There, he introduces the game of Scrabble to incarcerated youth while sharing his own experiences from his time spent in the criminal justice system. John’s dedication to enriching the lives of young people in Philadelphia earned him the first-ever Mayor’s Philly Hero Award in 2017.

Given his resume, it’s safe to say John was more than qualified to take on a new corporate challenge. And since joining ASAP’s strategic engagement team in August, John has been instrumental in developing new partnerships with ASAP’s high-priority schools. From site visits to tabling events, he’s been meeting with anyone and everyone to spread the word about ASAP.

Strategic Outreach

The proof is in the numbers. Since just the start of the school year, John and the strategic engagement team have helped establish nearly 75 new clubs . This includes 58 new clubs in neighborhood public schools – 33 of which are in the 15 zip codes with the highest rates of gun violence, according to the City’s Office of the Controller.

“Instead of going to a school and trying to reach one or two teachers about Scrabble, now I can contact entire administration offices and get all four of our initiatives in there at once.”

– John Green

Johnny Corporate

And while making connections and charming school administrators is nothing new for John, office life is. As he likes to say, Johnny Scrabble has become Johnny Corporate.

On working alongside John in the office, fellow Outreach Coordinator Gianna Colantuono says:

It’s been wonderful watching John flourish in his new corporate position. And while he might be well-adjusted to office life now, it will never get old hearing from the young people he’s impacted through the years. Just last week, one of his former students at the Juvenile Justice Center reached out to John to say that he’s doing well and is furthering his studies at Temple University!

How does that make John feel? Those who know John will likely already know the answer:

In keeping with the theme for our 20^th year — After School: We Build Futures – John’s story demonstrates how finding something you love can change the course of your life. This winter we hope you will consider helping ASAP connect more youth in Philadelphia with after school activities and experiences that can change their lives.

Make your gift today!

Like many of you, the disturbing news of Tuesday’s shooting outside of Roxborough High School has left us shaken and deeply concerned for the children and the communities we serve. First and foremost, our thoughts are with all of the students, families and school communities impacted by this terrible tragedy.

But they deserve more than our thoughts – they deserve our action.

The crisis of gun violence is destroying the lives of young people, devastating families, terrorizing entire communities, and threatening the future of our School District and our city.

While many will be quick to scapegoat “dangerous youth”, the causes of this heinous incident are far more complex and so will the solutions need to be.

Children should not be able to get their hands on a gun, nor should children live in fear of their life being ended by one. Children should not think that violence is their only course of action. They need mentors, positive peer groups and other supports that can help them thrive.

ASAP stands in solidarity with our out-of-school time colleagues from the Greater Philadelphia Extracurricular Collaborative (known as GPEC) who spoke out today in the Philadelphia Inquirer about how after school programs need to be a part of the solution. Philadelphia students are in a state of crisis, and after school programs can be used to intervene to support the development, health and safety of our city’s children.

For those who have not felt implicated in this crisis, the harrowing specifics of this particular shooting should be a wake-up call. These kids were just being kids. After school sports are a vital outlet for children and an integral part of communities everywhere. We cannot let our inaction deprive young people of these critically important experiences.

This much should be clear: we ALL have a stake in the future of our children and ending this crisis requires ALL of us to do more. Grassroots advocacy, legislative action, community organizing, public-private partnerships – ending this crisis demands immediate action on all fronts. But it will also require our sustained focus and investment.

Since ASAP’s beginning 20 years ago, our mission has been to provide children with safe spaces during the hours of 3-6pm – long-known to be the most dangerous time of day for young people. Last year, we sharpened our focus on providing more opportunities in the neighborhoods most affected by violent crime. Nearly half of our total programming for the year (122 out of 273 clubs) took place in the 14 zip codes identified by the City’s Office of the Controller as having the highest rates of gun violence.

We plan to double-down on that strategy this year and establish dozens of new programs in neighborhood public schools operating in communities most impacted by the gun violence epidemic. We will create spaces outside of school where like-minded kids from across the city can come together to explore interests, develop skills and build friendships under the guidance of caring adults. And we will work closely with our school and community leaders, city officials, and peer organizations to tackle this crisis so that we can be more than the sum of our parts and meet this moment for our children and families.

We commend all the organizations and individuals who have already stepped forward to lead these efforts and we welcome any and all who want to join us in this crucial work.

Sincerely,

Justin Ennis, Executive Director

ASAP/After School Activities Partnerships

Earlier this year you may recall meeting 10th grader Serenity Freeman as she navigated the challenges of online learning and rediscovered a love for (virtual) Scrabble at her new school.

What’s Serenity up to now? She just competed in the North American School Scrabble Championships for the second time! And while Nationals looked a little different this year, the spirit of competition was very much alive:

“I had some competitors that really kept me on my toes! I was adjusting my strategy and analysis with every competitor! It was a nice exercise for my brain, which, in all honesty, was rather numb from my schoolwork.”

– Serenity Freeman, 10th Grade, ASAP Scrabble

What moment was she most proud of?

“I got bingo in my last round! I played BANDITS for 68 points! I completed my goal and it made me feel even better about my games.”

-Serenity Freeman, 10th Grade

ASAP is so proud of all the hard work that Serenity put into her game play this year—even when the odds were stacked against her. As for next year?

“I’m going for more. I’m going to incorporate more bingos in my games, along with other longer words, and the craziest words I can use! I saw a lot of wild plays during my games so I want to fire back with some next year!”

-Serenity Freeman, 10th grade

Today marks the last day of our fiscal year, capping what has been, without question, one of the most challenging periods in our nearly twenty-year history. As we look back, we are proud of the accomplishments of our students, awed by the perseverance of our partners, and humbled by the generous support we have received from so many who have helped us meet this moment.

Now set to resume in-person programming this summer, we feel a great sense of purpose in the role ASAP will play in creating safe spaces for kids to experience all the things they have missed this past year.

With your continued support, we can help thousands of young people throughout Philadelphia reignite that same passion and love for learning that Serenity rediscovered when she joined the Scrabble club at her new school. And in the process, we can help students rebuild a feeling of connection to their schools and restore a sense of belonging among their peers — one Chess, Debate, Drama and Scrabble club at a time.

We know they’re ready!

“I can’t wait to see people again and be in the center of learning energy.”

-Serenity Freeman, 10th grade

Thank you for helping ASAP get ready!

Make your donation here!

Click here for other ways to give

Word game enthusiasts, grades K-8th, will attend a virtual rendition of the ASAP Scrabble 101 event on Friday, December 11th (1:45PM-2:45PM)! This session will include interactive activities and competitions for students featuring Johnny Scrabble, Ms. Judy’s Spelling Bee and Read Aloud with Starfire. Students will virtually transition between each Scrabble 101 station, and work towards building literacy and Scrabble skills while having fun.

**TBD: More dates to follow in January 2021

While online schooling extends into the winter months, ASAP is partnering with the City of Philadelphia to provide students at in-person Access Centers* with a range of interactive enrichment activities.

*What is an access center?

*Access Centers provide Philadelphia’s most vulnerable students with a safe place for digital learning when caregivers work outside the home and have no childcare supports. Centers are located across the city and also provide meals

One of the most popular Access Center activities has been ASAP Scrabble. Working with community partners such as Community Council, Indochinese American Council and CORA, students come together throughout the week using a curriculum that connects reading skill exercises with informal and formal Scrabble competition.

Then, each Friday when schools release early, students gather on Zoom for Scrabble workshops with longtime ASAP Scrabble guru, John Green (AKA Johnny Scrabble), to learn new word skills and Scrabble strategies. These meetings have proved to be positive experiences for not only the students, but the adults who have been apart from their students as well.

And despite all of the challenges of virtual programming, ASAP continues to receive positive feedback from coaches who have witnessed their students’ progress. According to coaches, Scrabble clubs are also providing a much-needed social outlet for students both during and after the school day.

“They all formed their own group when they got out of school today. Now they even play by themselves without me telling them to!” -Catara Lane, Indochinese American Council

So far this year, ASAP has organized more than 130 after school clubs throughout the city. These Access Center workshops are just one example of the many ways ASAP has adapted its traditional Chess, Debate, Drama and Scrabble programs to keep students engaged during out of school time hours. As we work to meet this need for our students, we appreciate your continued dedicated support and partnership.