Coach of the Year to Work With Coaches of DMPS

When Jason Negro took the reins in 2010, the downtrodden St. John Bosco High School Braves of Bellflower, CA had won just six football games in four years. They hadn’t appeared in the state playoffs since 2004. Coach Negro is a Bosco grad, Class of 1991, and was returning to his alma mater after a successful stint at his first head coaching job, Trabuco Hills, one he tackled at the age of only 29 in 2003.

Leaving out all of the hard parts, in 2013 the Braves went 16-0, earning themselves #1 national rankings by both Max Preps and USA Today. Max Preps also named Coach Negro its National High School Coach of the Year.

That, in a nutshell, is who’s coming to town next week to speak to an audience of DMPS coaches and meet with each of the five district high school head football coaches and activities directors. The hard parts omitted above are what he’s coming to talk about.

“Our superintendent, Dr. (Tom) Ahart, intends for DMPS to become the nationwide model for urban education,” said Jason Allen, the district’s Activities Coordinator. “And that means across the board; in academics, athletics, fine arts, you name it.”

Rejuvenation is the byword these days for DMPS extra-curricular programs and opportunities and it’s been happening from the bottom up. The Northside feeder schools comprise a cohort of federal Turnaround Arts grantees that are piloting the integration of the arts across the whole curriculum to spur broad-based spikes in academic achievement. At the middle school level new programs ranging from speech and debate to wrestling are now offered. And in high school increased emphasis on college preparedness has produced dramatic gains in access to AP classes and registrations for AP exams. The dropout rate is in decline and the graduation rate is on the rise. Good things are happening and Coach Negro’s visit will seek to capitalize on them.

“We want to engage our students in as many ways as possible,” said Allen. “The more they’re involved at school the less time they’ll have to waste or go astray. A team is a good thing to be a part of and contribute to and that’s part of what Coach Negro will speak to while he’s here; how to get that message across to young people.”

On Wednesday morning and afternoon Coach Negro will meet first with Roosevelt’s players and staff and then North’s. Wednesday evening he will be the keynote speaker at a dinner attended by all district coaches to be held at the Windsor Heights Community Center. Think of it as a pep talk to pep talkers. Then on Thursday he will meet separately with players and staff at Lincoln and Hoover before having dinner with high school activities directors. On Friday morning he’ll meet with the East High Scarlets before returning to California.

The idea is not for Coach Negro’s local counterparts to sit back in polite awe of him. The idea is to pick his brain and follow his example. It’s not exactly an apples-to-apples proposition. St. John Bosco, as the name implies, is a parochial school, an all-male one at that. But its location in the greater Los Angeles area means that it draws students from a diverse pool, and in that fundamental sense LA and DM have something in common.

In a lot of ways, the rejuvenation of so many things at DMPS are not only important in different ways, but they also work hand-in-hand. More elementary school music ensembles, drama clubs and fine art programs are great not only on their own but also in the contribution they make to growth in the classroom. Giving adolescents, who may be naturally argumentative at their age, the chance to learn the nuances of reasoned debate before they leave middle school helps prepare for both school and life. The more AP classes and exams the better for students who are prepping for college. Giving students the chance to compete and succeed – whether on the gridiron, court or track – is one more aspect that shouldn’t be ignored.

In short, it’s all about giving more and more students in Des Moines the opportunity to participate, to learn, and to grow as they prepare for the next stage in their lives. So Iowa, you’re on notice: in Des Moines, the 2015 season kicks off on March 25th.