2022_05 - 30

Dead Battery?
D
o you ever replay a bridge game in your head over
and over, thinking about all the things you could
have done differently? Well, Patty Tucker does
that, only she's thinking about ways to get bridge into
schools, trying to reach as many young people as possible.
As president of Atlanta Junior Bridge and the force behind
Learn Bridge in a Day?, Tucker, who is a Grand Life
Master and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019, is
practically synonymous with bridge education, and she is
determined.
" Atlanta Junior Bridge has never just been Atlanta -
we actually support programs nationwide, " Tucker said,
explaining she has provided supplies, information, help or
whatever to organizers in several smaller areas. But those
programs in Atlanta and elsewhere have often run into
the same problem.
" In the beginning, when Atlanta Junior
Bridge was kind of in its heyday, we were in
a lot of schools with after-school programs, "
Tucker said. " But we quickly realized we didn't
get to make a personal connection with the
parents. And we really didn't get to make the
personal connection with the school. "
Without any pull with school administration
and because of privacy regulations, AJB had
limitations; for example, they couldn't send
things home, everything had to be sent through
official school channels. " It was never a bad
experience, but it wasn't a productive experience longPatty
Tucker, president
of Atlanta Junior Bridge
term, " Tucker said.
" I have always thought we had to get the teachers interested, "
Tucker continued, " because they have the connections
with school administration and the parents. They
know how to get things done - communication, field trips
- that's what I always wanted. "
In the summer of 2021, Tucker was contacted by a
teacher from a private school in Lebanon KY. She was
a social player teaching four young girls. Her principal
suggested adding more kids, and the teacher thought
maybe even a summer camp. Tucker mentioned she might
be able to get a grant and got her in touch with the ACBL
Educational Foundation.
That teacher connected with another private school
teacher in a nearby town. They tapped into professional
development money from the county's system to pay the
teachers and designed a program that combined a twoday
workshop for teachers to learn how to play bridge and
teach it to kids, then two days of " bridge camp " teaching
30 | Bridge Bulletin | May 2022
Jump Start Bridge can recharge your local youth program
By Amy Casanova
and playing with the kids, followed by a day with Patty
teaching LBIAD? to the entire community.
An anonymous survey of the program afterward
yielded overwhelmingly positive responses and feedback
from students, parents and teachers. The program taught
14 teachers how to play and teach bridge (four are now
actively teaching classes), 44 kids how to play bridge (43
students are still learning and playing), and 46 community
members how to play (33 completely new to bridge,
with a group of 15 now playing weekly at the local library).
The success of the program inspired Jump Start Bridge,
an action plan perfect for unit or district educational or
I/N programs that have stalled. Club owners,
too, can benefit.
" There is no charge. Jump Start Bridge supplies
all of the materials, all the teaching. You
do need to have a place, maybe help get boards
made, refreshments, that's it, " said Tucker, who
donates her time to this endeavor.
Because making a connection with a school
is often a problem, ideally the sponsor of this
program would have an " in " with the school
system - public, private or even home-school - at
any level, although middle school is recommended.
Tucker has contracted Denise Harlem, who
recently retired from the Orange NJ public school system
where she was instrumental in bringing bridge into public
schools. Harlem is putting together a step-by-step process
and will provide support to help locals find the right person
to reach in their own community.
Tucker also has her eyes set on STEM, PTA and math
conferences designed to expose teachers to new ideas and
curriculum.
" There are a lot of different directions we can go from
this point, " said Tucker. " And I'm kind of following all
those paths. "
For everyone out there who has tried to get bridge into
the lives of young people and felt they hit brick walls and
dead ends, now there is a plan: Find a connection with
a school and get a teacher interested. AJB realizes it's
not easy to make those contacts, so they are working out
a way to make it easier for locals to find out who they
should be talking to.
Another plus for a school-based program: The kids are
already there, so the parent doesn't have to get them any
2022_05

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