They journeyed to Tucson, Arizona to play softball, but members of the nationally ranked Central College softball team came away with much more.

A visit to John B. Wright Elementary School in Tucson on the final day of the 13-day trip let the Dutch experience more of the city than the Lincoln Park diamonds and the team hotel.

The No. 21-ranked NCAA Division III squad posted a 12-4 record while in Tucson competing in the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic and the Tucson Invitational Games. But NFCA Hall of Fame coach George Wares called the school visit the highlight.

“It was probably the most significant day of the whole trip,” he said. “We don’t do this to pat ourselves on the back. We do it because it’s a good thing to do and I think our players get a lot out of it.”

Wright Elementary School enrolls the highest number of refugee students in the city and more than half are English-language learners. But the school focuses on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects which are incorporated across the curriculum and earned a lofty B+ rating on Arizona Merit Testing. It’s also an OMA (Opening Minds through the Arts) Gold School as a team of professional art integration specialists and teaching artists work with all students. The school features a courtyard and community learning garden, where classes are often held. Students help raise fruits and vegetables for the cafeteria.

The Dutch picked up trash in the school’s courtyard and nearby street, then each player met with a couple of kindergarten students and read to them. After returning to Pella, the team put together a shipment of school supplies for the students.

The trip was organized by associate head coach Alicia O’Brien, who worked with Central’s director of community-based learning Cheri Doane and former Dutch softball player Katy Lein Long ’04. Long is an assistant professor of education at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix and, working through a colleague at the University of Arizona in Tucson, made the connection with Wright Elementary School.

Sophomore Sara Tallman of Pella said she was impressed by the teachers and staff at the school and the results they’re seeing.

“For me, I’m going to be a teacher, so this was such a great experience,” said Tallman, an elementary education major. “You see that no matter what (a student’s background), you can have high expectations for them and they can achieve whatever they want to achieve. There are no limits. This school does a phenomenal job.”

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