From Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service – “White worked a variety of jobs including as a manager at Walmart before transitioning to youth work. In 2018, he was hired as a youth adviser at MPS for the Milwaukee Christian Center, first working at Bradley Tech High School and now Pulaski. Pulaski High School shares a building and basketball team with MPS charter, Carmen High School of Science & Technology’s Southeast Campus…”
“Everybody is at a 3.0 GPA or higher,” said White. It’s an extraordinary accomplishment at a school where the graduation rate is 54 percent and student achievement score is 6.9 compared with a statewide average for high school students of 59.8, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s 2018-’19 school report card data.
The school has fared much better in measures that track school growth and the closing of gaps in English language arts, mathematics and graduation rates.
“We’re not just trying to make them better players, we’re trying to make them better people,” White said. “I think sometimes they’re not used to having somebody pour in and invest in them, and when you do that, it makes them invest in themselves.”
One player who has benefited from that approach is Dallas Lorona, a 17-year-old junior who transferred to Pulaski from Bay View this year. White began keepings tabs on Lorona months before the season even started, once ordering him to do 200 pushups as punishment for getting caught walking the halls.
“If I didn’t have Coach White or basketball, I’d probably be getting in trouble,” Lorona said.
“Everything he does is to make us work for a better future and to be ready for that next level of life on and off the court.” Full coverage can be found here
