Smith hosts Save the Streets Saturday, a program where middle school students spend three hours together competing and learning valuable lessons. The group plays sports, such as basketball and flag football, before they have a 20-minute discussion on a topic that helps students navigate life.
Smith said his inspiration for Save the Streets Saturday came at Leadership Summit when he heard National Heritage Academies' (NHA®) President and Chief Learning Office Nick Sheltrown speak about guano. Sheltrown shared how guano, which is bird manure and a powerful fertilizer, helped food production increase rapidly worldwide once its utility was discovered.
The point of Sheltrown’s guano story was to show how human innovation helped society overcome challenges, and Smith said he wanted to be a part of the solution to the violence he saw in Cincinnati.
“That was my motivation this year,” Smith said. “Whenever I see a problem, how can I go ‘get some guano’ and go fix it? I saw our recreation centers weren’t open on Saturdays and students were just at home delearning what we taught Monday through Friday.”
Smith’s “guano” was opening Orion’s doors on Saturdays. This engagement provides students a positive outlet and a productive use of time. The goal for these fifth-through-eighth-grade students is to flex their competitive muscles while also building camaraderie and life skills.
“We’re really pushing teamwork,” Smith said. “We’re not making it the most competitive. We want students to work together, be able to lose positively, and we’re really stressing self-control and discipline.”
Self-control and discipline are just two of the many topics Smith has tackled with students. The group has also learned about self-respect and choosing their support system and path in life. Smith has also infused Moral Focus™ virtues into discussions.
“Moral Focus is a cradling foundation for these students,” Smith said. “Some of them have never touched the word perseverance. That’s going to help you not only in sports, but also in school or at work. We’ve talked about encouragement, and we’ve been hitting self-control hard.”
These lessons are paying off as students encourage each other in the halls, even complimenting Smith on his athletic prowess. The positive energy from Save the Streets Saturday is attracting more participants, and the group has grown from 25 to 45.
This program runs every other week and goes from 9 a.m. until Noon when students also receive refreshments and pizza. Smith said parents have also been actively involved with the program and their feedback has been positive.
Smith has been building strong relationships and sharing their wisdom with students. The culmination of their efforts is contributing to NHA’s mission of transforming lives.
“It’s connecting to the mission because what we’re doing is planting seeds,” Smith said. “We see these children as growing plants. The more we cultivate the soil and the more we take care of them, the more they’ll grow. We want them to go into high school transformed, thinking better, moving better, reacting better, and preparing for what’s to come.
“Some of those seeds might not fully bloom until they’re 18. But I know that these roots and the cultivating and watering I am doing will pay off and transform some lives.”
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About Orion Academy
Orion Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school in Cincinnati, Ohio, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies (NHA®) network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through high school across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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