SERVICE IMPACT AWARD CANDIDATE
Coach Rana Fettahlioglu – Silicon Valley – BachrodtCharterAcademy – San Jose, CA.
While serving as AmeriCorps member with Playworks at Bachrodt Charter Academy in San Jose, CA, Coach Rana Fettahlioglu has met every challenge head-on. Throughout the year, Coach Ranahas truly gone above and beyond her required service duties to increase opportunities for play and physical activity. Rana has instilled a sense of pride and civic duty in her students and significantly improved the overall school climate at Bachrodt.
In addition to successfully implementing the five Playworks program components (recess, class game time, youth leadership “junior coach,” program, interscholastic leagues and a before school program), Rana has created and organized innovativespecial events throughout the year to further engage students in play and physical activity. The special events Rana has organized this year include a Two-Square Tournament, a special showdown between her girls and boys basketball teams, parent nights and team celebrations for both Girls Basketball and Coed Volleyball.Rana is also setting up physical activity stations for her school’s Cultural Week in late May.
Furthermore, Rana is always working to invigorate her program. For instance, Rana is partnering with “Jump Rope for Heart” to educate her students on the importance of physical activity and cardiovascular health. She has also successfully engaged teachers to join their students in play during recess, giving teachers and students an opportunity to interact in a new way. Rana also adds a new twist to Playworks recess by organizing special recesses where she has given every child a “junior coach role” where they commit to trying new games and each student is given a goal to work on during recess.
Rana’s has exceeded expectations by become a vital member of Bachrodt’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Committee. Through her work on the PBIS committee, Rana has made a direct impact in altering how discipline is handled at Bachrodt. As a result, the conflict resolution tools and supportive behavior that Rana teaches her students during Playworks programming have been adopted by the entire school community and the school has seen a decrease in the number of office referrals this year.
Throughout the year, Rana has teamed up with organizations on campus, such as the Parent Teacher Association and After School All Stars, to provide recognition assemblies and collaborative special events for her students. Most recently, Coach Rana spearheaded an Earth Day event where many of her Junior Coaches refurbished old items found at the Good Will (lamps, lawn chairs, picture frames, small planting pots, etc) which were auctioned off at a culminating event to teachers, school staff and members of the surrounding community. Through this project Junior Coaches celebrated Earth Day and learned about reducing waste through community service.
It has been an absolute pleasure watching Coach Rana grow and constantly surpass her incredible potential time and time again. It is for these reasons that we nominate Coach Rana Fettahlioglu for the Service Impact Award.