To help defray the costs of athletics all students participating in public school sponsored sport activities should be

assessed a “participation fee”.By Micah Hearns

• In the 1970’s school’s across the nation covered the costs for education and athletic activities for the youth in the schools. • Time’s have changed since then and many schools have faced financial problems and even considered cutting the athletic programs because of it.

• Athletic programs in the schools are very important for the students and need to be present so that the students can continue to be physically fit, learn about responsibility, and to learn to be active in their lives.

• According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, students that didn’t participate in athletic programs in school were 57% more likely to drop out of high school, 49% more likely to have used drugs, 37% more likely to become teen parents, 35% more likely to have smoked cigarettes, and 27% more likely to have been arrested.

• This is a perfect reason why athletic programs in the high schools are so important.

• By helping to prevent all these negative circumstances, it can help save the nation costs in medical bills, counseling, disaster costs, and can help prevent and clean up the streets with less youths falling into bad habits.

• There are many different benefits to athletic programs, it just keeps going and going. It can have a big role in the majority of ones youth/teenage time period and can help mold and transform your children into strong and confident people.

Keeping Athletic Programs in School is VERY IMPORTANT!

• With the increasing financial costs and budgetary cutbacks. The schools have a hard time having enough money to fund their athletic programs.

• I believe in these circumstances it falls to the parents/families of the student athletes to help the schools out with the costs.

•A student “Participation Fee” of anywhere from $50-$150 per student involved in the athletic programs could help the school get the supplies they need and to make it easier on the schools.

•With all the information out there on how athletic programs are good for your kids, I’m sure many of the parents wouldn’t mind donating or helping the schools out anyway they could with the athletic fees.

•For those families that couldn’t afford the fee, I think special concern should be considered towards these families, so that even though they might not be able to afford the fee, they can still partake in the athletic programs.

• Participation in high school sports is often an early indicator of academic and personal success later in life. Athletic programs help students by stimulating the brain and enhancing cognitive function. Active kids = smarter kids.

• Such schools as Yale and Harvard and 70% of nations other major universities have stated that participation in high school athletics is a significant consideration for deciding which applicants are accepted for enrollment every year.

• Additional Benefits of Athletic Programs

• Athletic programs teach students teamwork, sportsmanship, winning and losing, hard work, self-discipline, builds self-confidence, and develops competitive skills.

• High school athletics should always continue to be an integral part in our youths educational experience.

• By fully participating in the financing of your high schools athletic programs, you make a wise investment in your children’s character and their future.

• Additional Benefits of Athletic Programs

"Athletics Help Students Achieve, Stay out of Trouble | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper." Athletics Help Students Achieve, Stay out of Trouble | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.

"It's a No Brainer: Active Kids = Smarter Kids." Safe Routes to School National Partnership. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.

Mathews, Jay. "How Sports Can Help High Schools." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 17 Sept. 2011. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.

“Participating Fees – Attempts to Keep Athletic Programs Afloat” | Originally Published In High School Today, November 2007, page 10 (NFHS). By Emily Cerling and Bob Herman

• Works Cited