March Madness – where colleges and basketball meet for a month of vigorous competition to see which college takes home the prestigious NCAA championship. While this is a national event colleges in the United States participate in, there is a unique March Madness happening in a small school known as Chestnut Ridge Middle School in New York.
Chestnut Ridge Middle school resides in the East Ramapo Central School District. Insufficient funds have plagued this district causing schools to cut certain programs to maintain their budget. “Everything, including football, baseball, soccer and basketball were cut – just to name a few. The very thing that excited kids and motivated them to come to school, was stripped away from them.” Says Sonia Saravia, Spanish teacher at Chestnut Ridge Middle School, “Chestnut Ridge is a public school made up of primarily African American and Hispanic students. 82% of our students receive free or reduced meals due to their low socioeconomic status. 82% of our building are on the poverty level and some are even homeless. These students come to school as an escape from their daily hardships.”
Of course, stripping these activities not only affects students, but the teachers as well. Growing up, Sonia knew her passion was in education, “I have always wanted to be a teacher since as long as I can remember. I looked up to my teachers growing up as positive people who had the power to influence kids and motivate them to do something positive in their lives. That’s who I wanted to be and that’s who I drive myself to be every day. I give my all in everything that I do and I love it.”
Budget cuts didn’t stop Chestnut Ridge from implementing a program that will allow students to learn, but also engage in an intriguing basketball league that promotes a healthy lifestyle. Students are divided into teams representing colleges. One team will be named St. Johns, another Duke, etc. Sonia remembers how effective this strategy is, “When students find out the name of the team that they are on they rush to learn everything about that school.”
There is a halftime show, cheerleaders, coaches, referees and staff even produced a commercial. Sonia reached out to these colleges and other organizations for support, “I threw my Hail Mary and wrote emails to the colleges that were picked for the tournament (we picked teams in the NCAA March Madness). Every time we received a package the kids would run to the main office to pick it up. They felt like someone out there actually cared about them enough to think of them and send them something.”
Sonia believes the best part of March Madness is how students learn about college, “The kids were talking about the colleges and were learning about how colleges can change your life. It opened their eyes to the options that are out there for them and taught them that they shouldn’t ever give up on their dreams.”
Some Chestnut Ridge students such as, Rickey McGill and the McCourty twins go on to be successful at the collegiate and professional level. Sonia states, “These are just a few from many who have used sports as a vehicle to further their education in college. I hope that March Madness will continue to evolve to become something life changing and motivating. I hope that we can inspire our students to keep pushing because the ends will justify the means and that they are all capable of achieving whatever they want to do in life as long as they apply themselves. We will continue to make this event better and better with each year and with the support of organizations like the Knicks, we can continue to do so.”
