PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The city’s largest charter school network has turned what was once an almost nonexistent athletics program into a thriving sports community for students. And the man behind it is watching his dream come true.
Students call him Coach, but you can call him John Davidson. He’s the assistant principal of school culture at Mastery Charter School Lenfest Campus in Center City.
“Our motto is ‘I’m not here to teach you football. I’m here to teach you to be a better man or person,’” Davidson said.
Davidson is the pioneering force behind the charter network’s successful sports model, which promises to build a lasting athletics community for students across the city.
“Sustainability is the key. Things shouldn’t depend on a person but a system — and the system is sustainable over time, every step of the way. Despite COVID. We’ve stayed the course,” Davidson said.
Since 2011, his goal has been to provide students a focus point away from street violence while at the same time creating a path to graduation.
“‘The idle hand …’ We all know the end of that statement,” he said, citing Proverbs 16:27. “But when you involve kids in extracurricular activities, they know better, they do better.”
Mastery Charter School Pickett Campus in Germantown, where Davidson is head coach, has broken ground on a new football facility. Construction is expected to be completed this year.
The Pickett Campus boasts a graduation rate near 100%, and Davidson says the fast-growing sports program is contributing to that success.
“We started off with one sport: basketball. And now we have bowling, golf, football, soccer, volleyball and wrestling.”
That’s important to 17-year-old Zion Chamberlain, who plays football for Mastery.
“By playing football, it teaches discipline, I feel like — teaches me how to control my emotions,” Chamberlain said.
“It means a lot to me, being an athlete here. It’s exciting, because the school brings the energy and makes you want to play sports.”