The October 2010 Journal of the Gateway PGA Foundation published an extensive article on the Foundation’s In School Program Partnership with Imagine Academy of Environmental Science and Math in St. Louis, MO.
“Actually, they’re all lined up in the lobby. They are very quiet. They have to be. They’re at level 0. They’re
dressed in crisp khaki pants and electric blue polo shirts. They are different sizes, different shapes, different ages and different colors. And they are very orderly as their lines move forward like well-trained soldiers marching cadence.
Can these truly be grad e school children…in a public school…in the city of St. Louis? Where is the pushing and
shoving? Where is the shouting and lou d la ughter? Where is the frazzled adult trying to create order out of a sure
chaos? Not here. Not at this school. Not here where the columns of the school are painted like trees – where the
lobby itself resembles a forest with the promise of a canopy of leaves covering the ceiling, where a bench in the
sunflower garden beckons you to sit for a spell. Not at the Imagine Academy of Environmental Science and Math where students are taught that different levels of quiet are appropriate for different situations, where every student dresses in the school unif orm, where the PBS system rules with an iron fist…or rather, a hearty pat on the back.
What, you ask, is the PBS system? According to Dr. Angele Burns, principal of th is amazing school, it is the
Positive Behavior Support system where students are encouraged to participate in, and rewarded for, good behavior. . .”
Read the full Imagine ESM PGA article
“The Gateway PGA Foundation currently plays an active role in two inter-city schools. Imagine Academy of Environmental Science and Math is a charter school dedicated to improving the lives of inter-city St. Louis kids. The school has over 1,300 kids in attendance and provides personalized education for students from K-8 grade. Over 90% of these students are at or below the poverty level. The Gateway PGA Foundation allows our local PGA Professionals with an opportunity to introduce golf and life skills to these under-privileged students. Through the game of golf, these kids learn a discipline and a skill that often translates into their every day life. Gateway PGA Professionals have been fortunate to create relationships and mentor-ships that give these students an opportunity to continue with golf outside of school.” Published on the Gateway PGA Foundation website