High School Sports: Slam Dunk or Air Ball?

August 2005 • Volume 3 • Issue 3

There is no question that a sports program enhances a high school. The advantages are well documented. Students learn about teamwork, failure and success, and self-discipline. Athletes also discover leadership opportunities, and become a source of community pride.

Today, however, many boards of education are being forced to reassess how a school-sponsored athletic program meshes with their first priority: raising student achievement. Do organized sports support this goal, or has it become an impediment? Climbing costs and controversy surround even the most successful varsity programs. And, at a time when every expense within a school system is vulnerable to tight budgets, student athletic teams are commonly the sacred cow with the loudest moo.