TOOLS FOR THE FUTURE
After-school bike repair class has students going full STEAM ahead
Ruthie Presswood may look like a girly girl, but she likes to hang with the guys.
The self-proclaimed tomboy is a sixth-grader at F.D. Moon Academy who prefers shooting hoops with her three cousins — all boys — to fussing over her hair and clothes.
On a day when her northeast Oklahoma City school recognized girls for their individuality, Ruthie was the only female student to attend
an after-school bike repair class.
“I thought it would be really interesting to learn how to fix a bike because I have a bike at home that’s messed up,” she said recently. “Instead of taking it to the shop, I wanted to fix it myself so I can say that I fixed it.”
The class is part of Moon’s after-school offerings in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM), and is paid for by the city of Oklahoma City with federal funds earmarked for needy neighborhoods.
About 200 fifth- and sixth-graders take part in the program, the result of a collaboration between city planners, Oklahoma City Public Schools and The Oklahoma Afterschool Network.
Sheryl Lovelady, the network’s executive director, said the program provides hands-on learning experiences at a time of day when unsupervised children can make bad choices.
“This provides not just only a safe place for them to be but also a way to enrich their academic performance, as well,” Lovelady said.
“All of this is helping to enhance what they’re already doing in the classroom.”
What started in 2014 as a summer learning program in the Culbertson neighborhood of northeast Oklahoma City, now includes after-school programs at Moon and Eugene Field Elementary School.
In addition to STEAM-related classes, students receive reading and vocabulary instruction and plenty of exercise.
‘Core values’
Brett Olson, with Rocktown Youth Mentoring, a program provider, teaches bike repair and bike riding skills he said build character and self-esteem.
Students learn how to use tools, diagnose problems and make repairs. They also practice values such as respect, honesty, teamwork, dependability and toughness.
“All those kind of core values, we kind of want to roll into part of the education process,” Olson said. “They’re a lot better mechanics than they started out to be.”
Ward 7 Councilman John Pettis watched as sixth-grader Tony Palma replaced a rusty pedal on one bike and fifth-grader Jyrine Weathersby fixed the chain on another. The focus of Wednesday’s class was brake repair.
Pettis said working on bikes combines math, science and art and can lead to future opportunities for participants.
“One day they may be able to apply at Boeing to work on airplanes, or Tinker,” he said. “Kids learning how to fix bikes at a young age will open up the door for them to want to fix other things at a later age.”
Principal Warren Pete said the afterschool program has led to a reduction in discipline problems.
“You have to put things in place in order to help kids be productive,” Pete said.
“We have some students with some outrageous discipline behaviors, but we have to find resources because suspending kids is just not an option anymore for us.”
Students who complete the semesterlong bike repair class get to keep one of the donated bikes they’ve worked on.
Ruthie is going to donate hers to a worthy cause.
“I’m thinking of giving the bike that I get here to a girl that lives next door because she likes to ride bikes, but she doesn’t have one,” she said.