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Schools

The Rally to Save Sports in LBUSD Middle Schools

The district and a group of parents aim to raise $190,000 to keep teams in the game at Belmont Shore's Rogers and Long Beach-wide.

Refusing to let her middle schoolers in Belmont Shore get caught in the middle of the sober grown-up world of budget cuts, Susan Tanaka will do what she needs to do to keep her kids playing sports.

So this mom is petitioning, cajoling and, yes, even pleading with parents and businessmen to raise the needed $190,000 to keep after-school sports ror 3,000 middle schoolers in the LBUSD.

When it was clear that the Long Beach Unified would be forced to cut funding to middle school sports, Tanaka initiated “Save LBUSD Middle School Sports.” The district estimates that approximately 3,000 students participate in various middle school teams every year, at a cost of $125 per student.

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The district has pledged at least $150,000 from funding earmarked specifically for after-school programs, said Renny Chu, assistant to the office of the superintendent of LBUSD. Tanaka and her group already have raised about $40,000 toward their goal.

“At least we can save this one piece, which has become a snapshot of the bigger economic problem we have (in school districts),” Chu said. “You’re talking about teaching kids at this age teamwork, building character and sportsmanship – things that carry through their lives.

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“And the ‘soccer mom’ movement is definitely on our side.”

Studies have shown the positive impact on youth sports. The Women’s Sports Foundation said that female high school athletes are three times more likely to graduate than non-athletes.

Dr. Grant Hill, a professor in the physical education department at Cal State Long Beach, said that kids need to be on a team of some kind because many of them are not getting enough daily physical activity.

“Besides the health benefits, sports gives children social contact,” Hill said. “They learn how to win and lose gracefully, negotiate, have leadership skills, and those values will help them as they work throughout their lives.

“It’s been said that the way to the boardroom is through the locker room – early athletic experience is very good for kids.”

After the cuts were announced, Tanaka said that parents came up to her at local sporting events and said, "We can raise this money." So she took the lead in organizing the admittedly daunting fundraiser.

But her motives are irrefutable. People in Long Beach take pride in their homegrown athletes, from Billie Jean King to Poly High track members. And middle school is simply a feeder program for the successful programs at all the Long Beach high schools.

More importantly, she witnessed firsthand the self-esteem and sense of belonging that her children got from representing their middle school in athletics.

“I know it’s been really good for my daughter,” Tanaka said. “It makes her feel like she’s a part of the school.

“At Rogers, we could (financially) support our teams, but who would we play? Other kids need the opportunity too. Coaches tell me: for some kids, that’s why they come to school, to play sports.”

Emily Tanaka, an eighth grader at Rogers, said that she would have been lost in middle school if not for sports.

"In sixth and seventh grade, I didn't have that many friends. I wasn't shy, I was just different," Emily said. "Sports created a connection between me and other girls that I didn't talk to during school. We got to know each other and made friends. I would have been so bored and depressed without them (sports)."

The group is having its second informational meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Prisk Elementary School library. Chu said the district is exploring several avenues to fund the after school sports, including private donations, school fundraisers and grants.

Tanaka, who has two children that attend Rogers Middle School, said the outpouring of support so far has been amazing. Even Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster’s wife, Nancy, has taken an active role in fundraising.

“I had a friend who donated $100 yesterday,” Tanaka said. “She had a child that played sports in middle school and said that she hopes her third grader will be able to play sports when she gets there.”

If you would like to donate to the “Save LBUSD Middle School Sports” fund:

Use a credit/debit card online at www.lbusd.k12.ca.us/Community/Education_Foundation/

Or write a check made out to the Long Beach Education Foundation (write middle school sports in the memo line) and send it to: Long Beach Education Foundation, 1515 Hughes Way, Long Beach, CA 90810.

Or contact Susan Tanaka at s.n.tanaka@verizon.net or Renny Chu at rchu@lbschools.net.

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