WREC's Raider Zone Stresses Academics For Student-Athletes

When Arthur Dias graduated from Brockton High School in 2005, he had earned a full scholarship to Northeastern University as an exceptional student-athlete. Now he'll try and make similar dreams come true for students at the West Roxbury Education Complex.

Dias, who graduated from Northeastern in May with a degree in Criminal Justice, runs the Raider Zone. The study hall, decorated in the Complex's distinctive green and white, will host all of the Complex's sports teams as they hit the books twice a week after school.

Providing student-athletes with extra study time is an idea with obvious merit, but it's easy to see where problems might arise. Struggling students may not like the idea of spending an extra hour studying after a long day in the classroom. Students with better grades may not see much of a point to the process. And would coaches really be willing to sacrifice a valuable hour of practice time twice a week?

To address these issues, Dias is stressing a policy of collaboration in the Raider Zone. Excepting football because of its large roster size, he hopes to have two teams using the Zone during each study session. Because the Education Complex is actually four schools on one campus, this will provide a wide variety of students with the opportunity to interact and learn together.

"I've introduced the Zone as a place where the students aren't just coming to seek help, they're coming to give help," he says. "If there's a student who's a little more advanced, they can help their teammates, students from other sports, and students from other schools, because they don't necessarily see each other off the practice field. And if they're not on the same team, they might never see each other."

The collaboration Dias hopes to foster amongst students is already on display between himself and the Education Complex's faculty and coaches.

"The coaches have been incredibly good to me, which is great because you sometimes see coaches who only care about wins and losses," he says. "They really buy into this idea and have shifted around their practice schedules to allow their teams to get in there for an hour. The teachers have provided a lot of support and assistance. They've provided books for every class and grade level."

Women's volleyball coach Nancy Smith will be sending her team to study for an hour after practice on Mondays and Wednesdays.

"It's a great addition to the athletics in the building," Smith says. "It's nice that someone is following the athletes and has an interest in them beyond their athletic ability."

While running the Raider Zone requires Dias to act as both its administrator and its lead tutor, the former Huskies offensive guard is aware that he'll also serve as an important role model for the students he'll see every day.

"These kids are from Roxbury, Dorchester, I'm from Brockton," he says. "I feel like I have a lot in common with them. And when they see someone like me who went to college for free because I got good grades and I did well in sports, hopefully it will give them a boost."

The Zone is run through the Boston Scholar Athlete Program, a charitable arm of the Suffolk Construction Company. The program is now in place at every Boston Public High School.