Young Students Meet Raiders After Scoring Big in Classroom

When Anthony Perez got the challenge to bring up his grades in exchange for meeting the Oakland Raiders at their Oxnard training camp, the 10-year-old El Rio student took the ball and ran with it.

Having rallied his grades to all A’s and Bs, Anthony joined 17 other youngsters Thursday for the big score: They swarmed around a handful of pro football players, gaping, asking for autographs and getting messages to work hard, stay in school and avoid drugs.

“If you get good grades, you get good things,” said the Rio Real School fourth-grader, who was already planning Thursday to buy a stand so he could display his newly autographed football. “I really wanted to see the Raiders and get autographs on my ball. I think they’re cool. That made me get better grades, and I’m going to try to get more good grades.”

Sponsored by the Oxnard Police Activity League, the 18 students from the Rio Real elementary campus in El Rio and Harrington School in Oxnard toured the Raiders’ training field and gym. They met about a dozen players, who patiently signed each and every shirt, paper and football thrust at them.

“All year these kids have been waiting for this,” said Mary Kay Phipps, a teacher at Harrington elementary. “All morning they were asking, ‘Is it 10 o’clock yet?’ They know how to tell time, but they were so excited they forgot. This is something they’ll remember forever.”

Nine Rio Real School students significantly improved their grades to earn participation in the trip.

“They were all here early and prepared,” teacher Wanda O’Kelley said. “I wish I could get homework responses like this. This gives them hope. What’s important is that they know they can have some success.”

Juan Medina met the challenge and raised his math grade to a respectable B.

“I studied hard to raise up my grades,” the 13-year-old El Rio youth said. “I couldn’t miss this thing because I studied too hard. It’s so special.”

The back of his shirt covered with a dozen autographs, Juan planned to display the shirt on a wall at home.

Nine Harrington School students were also rewarded Thursday for their school leadership activities.

Harrington fifth-grader Veronica Villegas, 10, said she and the student council worked hard to see the Raiders but admitted she just “sort of” likes them, culling autographs for her two brothers.

That two of the best-known Raiders--first-string quarterback Jeff Hostetler and speedy wide receiver Raghib Ismail--were absent from the autograph session did not bother the kids, who oohed and aahed every time a player dropped by, towering over them.

“My reward is a simple smile and thanks, and that gives me a warm feeling inside,” said tackle Greg Skrepenak, who remembered gathering autographs of his sports idols when he was young.

“It makes me feel wonderful,” said A. C. Caswell, a rookie wide receiver who finished signing autographs by urging the students to do well in school. “I love working with kids, and, as a mature athlete, I owe it to kids to be someone they can look up to and relate to.”

Tight end Andrew Glover spoke to the group, urging them to stay in school, work hard, respect parents and teachers and be the best they can.

“If you’re not on the honor roll, you need to start today and work to be on the honor roll,” Glover told a rapt audience. “You should be the best you can be, whatever you want to be. Aim high and achieve your goals. If you’re not sure how to achieve your goals, ask somebody, your parents, teacher, preacher, librarian.”

The Police Activity League targets low-income children and engages them in sports, activities and crime- and drug-prevention programs. Designed also to foster a bond between police and youth, the Police Activity League sends officers into the schools to encourage education and better grades.