Bruce Cloer from Rockland County, NY

I was born and raised in Rockland County, NY. I love where I live. I had a great childhood, received a good education and when I got married, I was happy to stay in North Rockland. I am also fortunate that I have a flexible work schedule that enables me to attend many school activities in which my daughter participates. When Amanda was very young and just starting to play organized sports, I noticed that her team and other girls’ teams rarely got to play on the best fields or at the best times. Other parents and I approached the league officials to see about a more equitable use of the fields, only to hear that girls don’t take sports as seriously as boys and therefore they saw no need to schedule the girls on the better fields. (I am happy to say those people are no longer with the league.)

A few years later when Amanda was a teenager, I was told by league officials that Title IX was a bad thing and it hurt young men in high school and college. “And those young female athletes don’t really need to participate in all these sports. It’s forcing schools to take programs away from boys!” I called the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) and they sent me information about Title IX. I learned that schools that accepted money from the federal government had to provide equal treatment for all students. I found out that my questions about the quality of the fields, when the girls played, the amount of publicity were all issues covered under Title IX. By joining the WSF I learned there were many resources available to help me. I started attending more school board meetings and began working with the administration about these concerns. I also started going to a website called www.TitleIX.info that addresses all Title IX issues, not just athletics. This was all new information for me. I didn’t know that Title IX covered math and science, vocational education and sexual harassment. I thought it only covered sports. . I bought SaveTitleIX awareness bracelets, Title IX t-shirts and posters about Title IX so I could help educate other people about their rights.

I also learned that every school/district has to have a Title IX Coordinator. This is someone who is trained to address all Title IX issues. I called all the schools in my area and found that very few had a Title IX coordinator. So I contacted the folks at www.TitleIX.info and our Superintendent about appointing one in the North Rockland Central School District. It took a little time to get the appropriate approvals but I’m happy to say that our Assistant Superintendent, Ileana Erkert was named as our Title IX Coordinator at a recent School Board meeting. It was a wonderful night. Several of my daughter’s teachers who have been very supportive of my Title IX awareness campaign were there. And the next week when I talked to Ileana, she told me that she was surprised at the number of people who called her to congratulate her on her appointment and how many had their own Title IX stories. Now, in conjunction with 2007 National Girls and Women in Sports Day, we’re hosting a Title IX workshop and panel where we’re inviting 50 administrators from all over the County to attend a Title IX Coordinator training followed by a panel with WNBA Basketball great Tereasa Weatherspoon, and Olympic soccer star, Carla Overbeck along with other experts to talk about their Title IX experiences.

We are lucky that our Superintendent and the Administration are very responsive. They not only care about all the students, but the Superintendent does something about the problems that arise.

It’s hard to believe that my questions about the equal access to a softball field turned into all this. I’ve learned so much, but most importantly, I hope that all students learn to step up, look out for one another and not let anything or anyone stand in the way of their success.