On Tuesdays, the school day at Garry Middle School doesn’t begin until 9 a.m., but at 7:15 on a crisp October morning, a group of students entered the gym for dance team practice. They’re preparing for an upcoming performance and for some, this is their first foray into both dance and early mornings.
“It was a big change because I’m not a morning person,” said sixth grader Rehema Chenzi. “I like to stay up late and wake up late, but I think it’ll teach me how to be flexible with my time.”
Learning to be flexible and manage your time is one of many benefits of being involved in extracurricular activities. For fellow sixth grader Imani Carell, being on the dance team at Garry will help her reach her goals and give her a sense of pride.
“In the future, I want to be a cheerleader so I thought this could help me reach my goals,” she said.
Without the Garry dance team, Carell said she’d look elsewhere to fill her dancing and cheer fix.
“I’d probably sign up for cheer outside of school, but I like doing it with my school,” she said. “I’m familiar with my community and I know people here.”
Chenzi and Carell are just two of the many students at Spokane Public Schools (SPS) who have clamored to sign up for their school’s club and activity offerings. The district’s Engage in Real Life initiative with Launch NW aims to get every kid involved in at least one extracurricular activity. This fall, we’ve seen record turnout in many sports and new clubs are cropping up across the district.
Middle school football made its debut, with a pilot program that saw 140 kids from four schools turn out between two teams. And that interest only seems to be growing at the high school level; 160 students turned out for football at Rogers High School alone.
This year’s high school volleyball interest has been high too, with all five high schools fielding at least four teams (varsity, junior varsity, freshman and a C squad). Our girls soccer teams are also seeing a lot of growth. Usually, schools will field varsity and junior varsity teams, but both Ferris and Lewis and Clark have C squads on the pitch this fall.
Cheer squads are also larger, with participation in the sport steadily growing at the middle school level.
At the elementary level, our partnership with Active4Youth continues to thrive, as we saw another huge turnout for elementary cross country. More than 3,800 K-5 students signed up to run this fall. The feeder pattern cross country meets at Audubon and Grant parks have been exciting events for our students and their families.
And the Hooptown Youth League has seen approximately 1,300 SPS kids sign up.
Back at Garry, the squad was readying for an upcoming performance under the tutelage of coach Amanda Belote. Having dance practice in the morning was intentional, Belote said, as it gives the kids the opportunity to be involved in different extracurricular activities after school, allowing for academic, performing arts, or social club participation alongside a physical activity like dance.
Having a reason for students to arrive early and stay late at school is one way that extracurricular participation contributes to improved school attendance. Students who participate also have better academic outcomes and mental health. And it’s a great alternative to too much screentime. Instead of being isolated on a device, they’re strengthening relationships with peers and mentors.
If your student is still looking for opportunities to engage, completing their IRL Plan will help our Engagement Navigators connect them with activities that are aligned with their interests.
Want to learn more about our Engage IRL initiative and hear from students and staff involved in extracurricular activities? Subscribe and listen to the SPS Extra!