Executive Director's Message

A Special Program for Unique Kids

Summertime is a special time of the year in Milwaukee.  Great weather, Summerfest, outdoor activities, and children out of school, are all signs that summer has arrived.  For us at MTEF, this is the time of the year when we utilize outdoor public courts, seasonal staff, and most of all, all-day access to children providing a comprehensive seven-week, seven hour/day program that is far and away the most comprehensive that MTEF has ever offered.

There aren’t many (if any) Executive Directors who are also program directors and curriculum developers and for good reason.  The workload is heavy and skill-set necessary for the two jobs aren’t often found in one person.  In my case, tennis programming, children, and teaching are areas that I have studied my whole life; I enjoy each aspect equally, so learning the educational component, while challenging, has been rewarding.

By this time you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you all of this.  Well it’s simple; I want everyone reading this newsletter to understand that the curriculum and lesson plans that have been developed offer more than tennis lessons to the children we teach. 

Don’t get me wrong, tennis is a prominent part of MTEF, and without it, I wouldn’t be involved.  I’ve spent the better part of my life playing, studying, and teaching tennis.  As many of you know, it’s how I make my living.

That being said, my job is to use tennis to highlight educational literacy, life skills, nutrition, fitness, and mentoring components of the Summer TEAM program.  More importantly, it’s my job to wrap them in one comprehensive curriculum with individualized lesson plans for each day.  Luckily, I have an advantage over many curriculum developers in that I have been a teacher for thirty years; I understand the conceptual versus practical aspects of making a lesson plan come to life.

Once the lesson plans are finished the actual work begins – making the written words come alive by training and educating instructors and mentors who will be delivering our product. 
Not to sound over dramatic, but this is where the rubber meets the road, because without the proper teacher all of the other stuff means nothing. 

Study after study shows that children enjoy their teachers more than they initially enjoy the activity.  Proving once again what a powerful role tutors and mentors have in the lives of the people they touch.  Without them the lesson plans aren’t worth more than the paper that they’re printed on.

A lot of good things came from our Ford Foundation partnership.  Obviously, the money and publicity allowed MTEF to service more people as well as build much needed exposure.  But more importantly, it made me realize that accountability and measurements were an integral part of programming.  The feel good stories of success are great, and still important, but there must be documented results to go with them.

MTEF was missing the most important piece of the puzzle – measurements and testing.  In my early years with MTEF, I would become frustrated when a potential funder would ask me to prove that our programming was making a difference. In my heart I knew it was, but proving it was much more difficult than I ever imagined.

The Ford Foundation initiative required each city to prove that their plan was viable, and with the help of a group of consultants from the USTA, we put together the “list of thirty-seven,” which amounted to a series of tests (metrics) based on four core programming areas – academics, tennis, fitness & nutrition, and life skills (attitude).
 
As we begin our second year of implementing the “list of thirty-seven” you should expect to see correlations between our programming and more successful children, both on and off the court, and most importantly in life.

That leads me to my final question, “where was MTEF when I was a kid?”  While I was lucky enough to be blessed with a childhood full of opportunities, I sure could have used the vast array of program opportunities that MTEF now provides.