Earn $10 for every A on your Report Card!

In credit, toward a skateboarding lesson, that is.  All A’s will get you a free skateboarding lesson!

We at skate school, recognize the hard work it takes to get good grades, which is why we believe in rewarding kids for their effort.  For that reason we are offering to take $10 off our regular lesson price for every A or A- earned on your report card.  It’s crazy right??  

Applies only to New York City.  Lessons take place in several locations in Manhattan.

Here’s how it works:

• Free Lesson – Straight A’s
• $10 Off for every A or A-
• $35 Off for all A’s and B’s

NOTE: What follows is the foreword and introduction to the printed edition of the Public Skatepark Development Guide. The entire online publication is available on skatepark.org. For a free copy of the printed edition, (you only pay shipping and handling), please visit www.publicskateparkguide.org

Why Skateparks? By Tony Hawk

Why are skateparks important? The answer is obvious to those fortunate enough to have one in their community, while the unenlightened think that they are breeding grounds for trouble: a place where rebellious, outcast kids gather and conspire to commit crimes against traditional activities. This stereotype is not true, of course. And when a skatepark finally gets built in areas where the idea was first met with disapproval, the naysayers quickly realize what a positive impact it has on their communities.

I was lucky enough to live near one of the last remaining skateparks in the 1980s, and I understand the sense of identity these places can provide to kids who don’t feel like they “fit in” elsewhere. Del Mar Skate Ranch was my sanctuary in my formative years. You could find me there after school on any given day, and it’s where I met many of my lifelong friends. We were considered outcasts, but we shared a common passion. The Skate Ranch made us forget about not “fitting in” because we were right at home in the empty swimming pools that filled the skatepark.The privilege of having a place to skate was never lost on me, and I always wanted to help provide these facilities to those less fortunate.

I’ve ridden a lot of skateparks in my day, and seeing the explosive growth of public skateparks in recent years has been very exciting–but alarming at the same time. I’ve watched some cities pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into skatepark projects, only to be misled by inexperienced “low-bid” contractors. In short: a city designs a park to fulfill the demand of local skaters, then hires a company to build it; that company has no experience with skateparks, employs no skaters who understand the nuances of skatepark features, and yet completes the project on-time, under budget, and with self-congratulatory press. The poorly constructed skatepark opens to disappointed skaters—who are then labeled as ungrateful and spoiled.

The skaters may have spent several months petitioning, fundraising, and planning for the perfect park, but were forced to settle for something hardly skateable. It’s a vicious cycle that I wanted to help stop, so we formed the Tony Hawk Foundation.Our goal is to empower groups trying to get public skateparks in their areas, and to provide a resource to ensure that the parks are properly built. We focus on low-income communities where skateboarders do not yet have a public skatepark.

Our grants are not large enough to finance entire parks, but they often give groups the momentum they need to finish the project.My main job at the foundation’s grant-making meetings is approving and suggesting changes to skatepark designs. But my favorite thing is seeing the parks themselves. I’ve had the privilege of attending a few grand openings, and the appreciation of the local skaters is overwhelming. It’s a blast to see the finished product, especially when they’ve taken my design comments into consideration. Even more gratifying is the sense of pride that the locals have when they finally get to ride the fruits of their labor.Most of our grant applicants cite that the hardest part of getting a skatepark going is knowing where to start. You are now holding the key to this process, thanks to the foresight of some dedicated skaters. It’s a lot to take in, but well worth the effort in the end.

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Skateboarders aren’t frowned on at Oak Elementary School in Albany, Ore. In fact, students there get credit for performing grabs, kickturns and ollies in class.

Oak is among hundreds of schools across the country that have adopted a skateboarding curriculum in their physical education classes.

Skate Pass, the Boulder, Colo., company that created the curriculum in 2006, says skateboarding is now being taught in schools in more than a dozen U.S. states, plus Germany and Canada.

Educators say it’s part of a "new PE" movement that recognizes that some kids aren’t natural athletes.

"When people first hear ‘elementary PE,’ the first thing that comes to mind is dodgeball. Then all the other stuff they didn’t like," says Jake Gerig, Oak Elementary’s PE teacher.

"We’re trying to focus on lifetime activities that are non-competitive and individualized so students can learn at their own pace," Gerig says.

Elementary schools are moving toward non-traditional activities, he says, such as rock climbing, unicycle riding, yoga and even Dance Dance Revolution, a music video game played on a dance pad.

"Only 10% of kids go on and play team sports," Gerig says. "What about the other 90% who are sitting at home playing video games because they’re not star basketball material?"

Former professional snowboarder Eric Klassen developed the Skate Pass program with Eva Mullen and Denver PE teacher and fitness expert Richard Cendali.

"I’ve been skateboarding all my life and had been in the industry of skateboarding," Klassen says. "Richard is the one who thought it would make a good curriculum."

That was three years ago. Klassen says the curriculum now is used in school districts in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Districts in Kansas and Minnesota have placed orders for the curriculum, Klassen says, and the com- pany is negotiating license agreements to bring Skate Pass to schools in Australia and Singapore.

Curriculum kits start at $3,000 for 20 sets of helmets, pads and skateboards with wheels that are specially designed to not scratch gym floors.

The Skate Pass curriculum requires that students use safety equipment — helmets, knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards. (Parents have to sign a waiver for kids to participate.)

"I’ve been skateboarding for about a year and a half now, but I learned some new stuff," Oak Elementary fourth-grader Xander Turkins says. "They teach you a lot about safety and the right way to do things."

The program also comes with instructional DVDs to lead teachers through the curriculum. "The teacher does not need to know how to skateboard in order to facilitate the instruction," Klassen says.

Lessons start with the basics: First safety, then skateboarding etiquette, then how to stand on the board and ride. Eventually, the students move on to tricks.

"We learned how to do an ollie, a kickflip, and turning on your board and stuff," Oak Elementary fifth-grader Ashleigh Parish says.

An ollie is a trick where the skateboarder pops the skateboard into the air.

"Most of my class doesn’t want PE to end," Parish says.

Gerig sought community support to purchase the program. Several area businesses, as well as the local PTA, donated to the project, he says.

"The kids who weren’t the most athletically gifted were able to get on a board and push and ride. The next thing you know, they’re able to reach down and do grabs. That was well worth every penny we spent," Gerig says.

(Tracy Loew reports for the Statesman Journal in Salem, Ore.)