From the next academic year, middle school students in Fairfax County, Virginia will have the opportunity to engage in team sports for the first time.
The proposed county budget for the fiscal year 2024 includes $600,000 for middle school cross-country and track. According to Bill Curran, the county’s director of student activities and athletics, it would be the first time the largest school system in the state provided middle school sports.
In an interview with WTOP, the superintendent, Michelle Reid, stated that athletic activities might boost attendance, discipline, and academic success. Since her hiring in the spring of last year, Reid has observed disparities in opportunities “for our young people across the county to participate in various sports undertakings.”
Reid stated that the decision to give athletics to middle school children should also benefit the pupils’ mental health.
Reid stated, “We will never be able to employ enough mental health professionals to address the mental health needs and concerns of our teens.”
“What we do know, though, is that if we can spend more money upfront on sports, athletics, the arts, CTE (career and technical education) programmes, and everything else that teenagers want to be part of, we will have more adolescents who are mentally healthy.”
The school administration plans to launch middle school cross country in September and has budgeted for an athletic coordinator at each of the 26 middle schools in the county. This individual will not be the coach but will assist with logistics.
Curran stated that the objective is to hire all coaches by the conclusion of the school year. Former coaches acquainted with the county’s sporting programmes have already been contacted.
Curran stated that it has become increasingly difficult to recruit high school coaches, adding that it is uncertain whether the same would be true for middle school teams.
Curran stated that nobody is becoming money off of any coaching supplement in the United States. “They are eligible for some remuneration, but ultimately, [we’re] hoping to harness the energy of each of our middle schools to assist fill the coaching ranks.”
Curran stated that middle school athletic programmes were not previously given in Fairfax County since the county “developed so quickly, and the youth groups were there to support the expansion of athletic activities from ninth grade through high school.”
He stated that it has been considered on occasion, but past school boards chose not to allocate resources for it.
Curran responded, “This is the time and now is the place.” “We like to support. We have the backing of the (school board) and the board of supervisors. It is ready to proceed.”
Reid, meanwhile, referred to track and cross country as “some of our most inclusive, no-cut programmes,” noting that it is one of the county’s proactive measures to address students’ mental health.
Reid stated, “Invest the money now on healthy opportunities, or (we’ll have to) spend the money later treating the symptoms of pupils who don’t have opportunities.”