SBISD Partners Collaborate to Expose Students to Careers and Bright Futures

It was a day of bonding, dreams of bright futures, and baseball! Earlier this month, 65 Hollibrook Elementary students were given the opportunity to spend a day off campus bonding with their classmates, learning about exciting career opportunities in the world of professional sports and, to top it all off, a chance to see the Astros play the Cleveland Indians during Season Opener week at Minute Maid Stadium.

The Houston Astros has earned the SBISD Good Neighbor designation this school year thanks to their support of SBISD students and staff. This fall, the Astros donated 2,000 tickets to a fall game that SBISD school leaders used to incentivize students who met campus benchmarks and goals. This spring, through a partnership with SBISD Good Neighbor ConocoPhillips, the Houston Astros named Spring Woods Middle School teacher Joseph Mauer as a Math Teacher of the Month, providing Mauer with a $1,000 check and visit from Astros mascot, Orbit.

When Hollibrook Principal Elsa Delgado received an invitation from the Houston Astros for Hollibrook students to attend a Career Day, she knew exactly who she could turn to to make the possibility a reality for her students.

“For years now,” said Delgado, “we have partnered with Spring Spirit Baseball to increase the developmental assets our students have.  Many of our students grow up playing and watching soccer and many don’t know the game of baseball.  The partnership with SSB gives them that.  It opens a whole new learning for them.  When the invitation [to attend the Astros Career Day] came, I knew this was an opportunity for all these students to connect learning at the field to a career and enjoy a professional game.  I shared the invite with SSB and they made it happen.”
SpringSpiritBaseball, an SBISD Good Neighbor partner, is a non-profit whose mission is to provide safe pathways for youth to realize life opportunities through sports, education and mentoring programs. SpringSpirit has been providing mentors through SBISD’s SpringBoard Mentoring Program and after-school baseball clinics to roughly 300 Hollibrook Elementary students since 2011.

John Meredith, Executive Director of SpringSpirit Baseball, jumped at the opportunity. “When Ms. Delgado asked SpringSpirit Baseball to be involved with Astros’ Career Day, we were excited to participate as it has the same goals as the SpringSpirit ‘Take A Student To your Employment (TASTE)’ program.  We want the students to understand why getting a T-2-4 education will help them the rest of their lives, so going to a workplace is important to understand the connection,” said Meredith.

As the Hollibrook students settled into their seats, their faces filled with excitement. For most students, this trip was their first time inside of Minute Maid Stadium; for some their first time outside of their neighborhood or even on an escalator. When members of the Houston Astros front office staff began presenting to the students about career pathways within the world of professional sports, the exposure deepened.

Students learned about careers in marketing, branding, guest services and human relations. The heard about the importance of higher education, of understanding your strengths and following your passions. The message was T-2-4 aligned and instilled in the students an excitement for a world of professional possibilities ahead of them.

To end the day, the students watched the Houston Astros take on the Cleveland Indians. This exciting day of firsts for so many would not have been possible without the collaborative support of our wonderful Good Neighbor partners. Thank you, Houston Astros and SpringSpirit Baseball, for helping our students dream big and achieve big!

To learn more about the Good Neighbor Program or how you can help support SBISD students, please contact Abby Walker (Abigail.walker@springbranchisd.com or 713.251.2289).

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Northbrook Baseball Makes Playoffs for First Time Since 1992

When Northbrook High School last made the baseball playoffs, George Bush was president, the economy was turning a little stale and a Clinton was making a run for the White House.

That president was George H.W. Bush, the challenger was Bill Clinton, and the year was 1992. We’ve had another Bush in the White House and a second Clinton vie for the presidency since then, but no Northbrook Raider team in the baseball playoffs.

What a difference 23 years makes. The Raider baseball team tied for third in District 18-6A play this year with a 6-6 district record and won a coin flip to play as the third-place team from the district. Memorial High School won district 18-6Awith a 12-0 record.

First-year coach Tracy Franklin said that “the big thing” that the Raiders are doing right now is having fun. But that doesn’t mean they don’t want to keep playing.

“It’s kind of a David and Goliath thing,” Franklin said. “We’re going to get out there and play. We want to earn a little respect.”

Principal Randolph Adami said that Franklin has “energized” the program.

“One of the things that’s encouraging for the kids is that (the success) gives them a little attention,” said Adami. “They’re working hard.”

Northbrook has traveled the road to the playoffs on the arm of Ethan Franklin, who’s signed to pitch for Lamar University. If that surname sounds familiar, well, it should – Ethan is the son of Coach Franklin. Spending time with Ethan is a big reason why the elder Franklin made the move to Houston and Northbrook this year.

“I like playing with these guys,” Ethan said. “It’s a different experience.

He said he’s enjoying playing at the 6A (former 5A) level after pitching at 2A (now 3A) Kountze, where the Franklins spent the last two years.

“Some would say our (current) district wasn’t tough, but you’ve got to have pitching,” Ethan said. “If you put people on base they’re going to score.”

Catcher Logan Elliott, a junior, said that it’s fun but challenging catching for Ethan Franklin.

“You can’t blink when he’s about to throw,” said Elliott. “He throws so hard. It’s a new experience catching someone of his caliber.”

But it’s not always the smoking fastball that foils hitters, and Ethan Franklin has some other pitches. “You can’t just always blow it past guys,” said Elliott.

The players said that team morale has changed since they began realizing that they could make the playoffs – but the Raiders want more than a one-and-out series.

“We want to win a game and not just be here (in the playoffs),” said Elliott.

For Tracy Franklin, it’s about winning and the playoffs, to be sure, but also about so much more than that.

Franklin knows the playoffs – he said that one of his proudest accomplishments as a coach was watching every sport at 2A (now 3A) Kountze ISD make the playoffs his last year there. He coached the Kountze football Lions in 2013 to their first playoff appearance in 40 years.

“The kids here are respectful and want the same things as other kids,” he said. “They want to be expected to succeed.”

He’s enjoyed his first season at Northbrook, teaching shop and coaching baseball and without the administrative pressure that an athletic director’s position brings. “I wanted out of administration so I could spend time with my son. I’m enjoying myself.”

And he’s brought those expectations of success to Northbrook.

“We can run and catch and throw and hit,” said Franklin. “I can teach them the game, and I can push them to the limit and expect good things. The kids have bought into my way (of doing things). I may not always be right, but we do have a plan.”

Adami knows that successful programs take time and are built from the ground up. Still, he hopes that Northbrook baseball’s success this year will build on itself, and maybe keep some players at Northbrook who might transfer elsewhere.

“Maybe some kids will consider Northbrook a viable option,” he said. “You can come here and play.

Northbrook lost the best-of-three series with Cy-Fair High School in the bi-district round, dropping game one at home 10-0, and game two at Cy-Fair 21-2.

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