"If you're good at a sport they attach medals to your shirts and then they shine in some museum.  That which is earned by doing good deeds is attached to the soul and shines elsewhere".  Quoted from Gino Bartali  "Road to Valor", first Italian winner of Tour de France and unsung hero who fought against the persecution of Jews during WWII.

Organizational Structure

​STEER has developed a formula for success.  The STEER approach is conducted with care and consistency.   The process is as follows...

Phase 1: Identify Champions within District

​Critical to meet, identify, and develop "Champions" within each selected district to provide the leadership to most successfully implement the STEER program. Champions will typically involve a leader in sports programming and a leader in school administration. The Champions will assist in identification and selection of participants, and in "selling" the programs' benefits to other constituents, teachers, coaches, parents, and guardians. The Champions will maintain an ongoing leadership role in the programs implementation. 

Phase 2: Evaluation of Needs and Services

Prior to STEER program implementation, a needs assessment will be done with the Champions and an evaluation of existing support services will be conducted. The goal of Phase 2 is to tailor the program implementation to unique needs and integrate/utilize existing services as much as possible. 

​Phase 3: Delivery of Program Initiatives

Steer Advisors ("SA")  within the district will be identified, hired, and used as the primary delivery and communication vehicle for program services and funds. The SA will be someone in the district who understands the vision, mission, and goals, and who preferably has a background in athletics and education, ideally a role model for participants. The primary roles for the SA are the following:

• Identification and selection of participants. Working with Champions, the developed Steer protocols, SA will assist in identification and selection. The board and/or certain members of the board will have final vote on the selection of candidates that are presented by the SAs.
• Delivery of services. The SAs will be the primary conduit for delivery of services and funds upon request based on individual needs. The SA will use existing resources and Steer resources to  monitor, track, and collect data on the progress of participants. The case load of the SA will be restricted to maximize the impact and measurement of the participant's progress.  
• Communication of progress. The SAs will communicate to Champions, STEER board and officials, Steer sponsors and other constituents as is outlined by STEER protocol, to ensure consistency in input and progress. 

Phase 4: Measure and Adapt Program

​In this phase it will be the responsibility of the board and STEER representatives to assess, measure, and adapt the program to meet the needs of the participants to achieve their goals. Program adaptations will be considered and evaluated on an ongoing basis to create dynamic programming to meet the mission.