Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Engagement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Participation nudges: district reports modest gains in high‑school activity participation and seeks to reduce barriers
Summary
The district reported a rise in high‑school student participation in activities to almost 57% and said gaps by race, socioeconomic status and English‑learner status have narrowed. Staff proposed removing fees, targeted outreach and integrating rec department programs into school offerings to boost participation further.
At the March 12 board meeting, the district reported on student involvement in fall and winter extracurricular activities and described strategies to raise participation and close participation gaps.
The report showed 56%–57% of high‑school students participated in at least one activity in the winter of the 2023–24 year, a 3% increase from the prior fall and a more than 16% increase from the previous winter. The district said it closed participation gaps between socioeconomic groups and between ESOL and non‑ESOL students by double‑digit percentages in recent comparisons.
Officials described actions to increase participation at schools with lagging rates. Those include targeted outreach to students to ask what programs they want rather than waiting for requests, reducing or eliminating activity fees (the district reduced athletic fees from $50 to $33 this year and is considering further reductions for clubs and arts activities), improving communications for incoming ninth graders and families, and partnering more closely with the municipal recreation department to expand intramurals and non‑traditional offerings such as coding or esports.
Board members discussed counting recreation department intramurals as part of district participation metrics. Staff said they would present participation data both with and without rec‑department activities if board members approve an expanded definition; a board member suggested presenting both views for a few years to preserve continuity of KPI reporting.
Staff noted schools are also working to remove transportation and other barriers, and said they will consider late bus runs for after‑school activities where appropriate. The district said it will continue targeted efforts at North High School, where participation had not increased as much as at West High School, including focus groups with families who have students at both schools to compare practices and opportunities.
Board members praised the district’s work and encouraged continuing the combination of outreach, fee reduction and partnership strategies to broaden participation.
