Connecting through athletics.
By Dr. Jack Welch This is homecoming season. Homecoming football games attract people from all aspects of life. Former players, students, faculty, and community citizens. Homecoming football games bring excitement and comradery, along with lots of people to the local stadium.
How many people were involved in your local homecoming games? The number will be associated with the size of the school, the success of the team, and the community. But one thing is for sure, the percentage of people in attendance compared to the size of the town and school with be relational.
There is hardly anything else quite like homecoming football games.
The Benefits of Athletics
School activities help students succeed and bring communities together. When many people criticize schools for promoting athletic programs, it is important to know the benefits derived from participation.
School districts are successfully educating students due to their ability to create athletic involvement. At a local 5A school district, there are over 840 children participating in athletics alone.
Adding band, choir, dance team, cheerleaders, color guard, and other school groups, the total is well over 60% of the student population.
Students involved in school activities have the highest student body attendance rate. School districts receive state funding based on student average daily attendance. Literally, thousands of dollars per day derive from student attendance.
Consequently, activities and programs involving student participation prove to have financial gain for a district as well as academic, social, and emotional benefits.
Support Your Local School District
An article by Scott Milder, former Friends of Texas Public Schools President and CEO, recited information he learned from a report from Northside ISD’s Athletic Director Stanley Laing.
Laing reported on research conducted in the Northside school district examining expenditures versus results for student-athletes versus non-athlete students.
In NISD attendance rates are 1.7% higher for athletes. Since state funding dollars are tied to daily attendance rates, one additional percentage point can result in thousands of dollars of additional funding per day.
Research clearly shows students who are in class achieve at a higher rate. NISD student-athletes graduated at an astonishing rate of 97.1% and the non-athlete in NISD graduated at a 90.1% rate.
Athletes in NISD also scored higher on standardized tests and had fewer discipline referrals. The benefits of students being involved in school activities and programs are numerous.
Support your local school district.
Thought for the week, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” Henry B Adams
Dr. Jack Welch is a college football coach. He has a doctorate degree in education and has been an administrator and football coach for 40 years. He is also the author of Foundations of Coaching. He can be reached at [email protected].
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