Summa Profile | Team Prime Time

Meet Justin

It is a typical spring Wednesday afternoon at Emerson Middle School. Classes have ended but the quiet campus, tucked away in a West Los Angeles neighborhood, is anything but empty. A group of 20 kids play soccer. Three classrooms contain between twenty and thirty students with one staff member present for every ten students. Another group is in the Computer Lab.

This is homework time. Each student spends time completing assignments before moving to the outdoor part of the Team Prime Time after-school program. You wouldn't know, especially in this upper-class neighborhood, that these kids are at-risk, low-income and struggling academically. Nor would you know that they are bussed from other neighborhoods to attend these particular schools.

Los Angeles Unified Schools (LAUSD) is the second largest in the country, serving almost 700,000 students. As the student population grows, other disturbing issues arise. Budgets are cut, forcing teachers to deal with increased class sizes and lack of funds for supplies. The quality of education has come under target as grade point averages suffer. Most disturbing is the amount of drop-outs that occur. In 2007, there was a drop-out rate of more than 33% in grades 9 through 12. Almost 30% of students are considered "at-risk" for successful graduation at LAUSD, indicating a problem with basic skills including literacy and math. The greatest area of concern is with the middle school years. Between grades 6 through 8, many students' future success is determined and established. Unfortunately, this is often an age group that is overlooked.

That is where Peter Straus saw an opportunity. With 18 years experience teaching and coaching at LAUSD and working with his Prime Time Sports Camp, Straus understood the crisis. He knew that most existing after-school programs ended at the elementary school level, creating the void in middle schools. Straus created Team Prime Time (TPT) after-school programs to address the needs of at-risk, middle school kids from low-income families. TPT has a duel focus. The programs are designed to support academic achievement while also offering engaging activities in the arts and athletics. The program began in 2001, with 20 students at Webster Middle School. Since then, TPT has grown to over 1300 students in four schools.

Summa Children's Foundation supports students through a joint effort with TPT called the Summa 10. With this program, Summa Children Foundation funds year-long activities and materials for ten students at Emerson Middle School. In exchange TPT provides updates on the students' academics and athletic successes. "'We have an opportunity to be directly involved with these kids. We know them and that makes this project so special. It puts a face on our involvement in the community," said Brian Werdesheim, Co-Founder Summa Children's Foundation. "'What Peter saw is that through sports, you can inspire these kids to take their academics seriously. When you can win at sports, you start to believe that you can achieve in school."

It is almost six o'clock. The busses are lining up, but the touch football group, dance class and basketball game seem to be far from ending. One staff member looks from the busses to his watch, knowing that he will soon blow the whistle signaling the end of the day. But he also knows that his day is a success. Today he will send 125 students home for the night one step closer to academic success.