The
community is invited this March to hear about plans under way to create
a smooth transition this August when ninth graders have an opportunity
for the first time to compete in all high school sports.
Public
forums will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on March 3 at Rogers High
School, March 4 at Puyallup High School, and March 5 at Emerald Ridge
High School. The district sponsored three similar community forums on
the topic in October.
The
meetings are being held to educate the community about a Puyallup
School Board decision last spring to include ninth-grade athletics as
part of the high school interscholastic sports program beginning in fall
2014.
Since
then a task force made up of several district officials, as well as all
junior high and high school athletic coordinators, has been meeting to
determine how to best implement the new 9-12 athletic program.
The
task force will present its proposed implementation plan to the school
board on April 7. The plan will address topics such as transportation,
uniforms, waiver policies, facility use, and junior high building
impacts including culture, dismissals, academics, and activities.
Plans
are for eighth-grade athletic programs to become the new junior high
varsity teams, while seventh-grade athletics will become the new junior
varsity program, said Rick Wells, the school district’s director of
athletics, health, and fitness.
Wells heads up the task force along with Chief Equity and Achievement Officer Gerald Denman.
“We
have been taking a close look at the junior high culture and climate,”
Wells said. “If ninth graders are no longer participating in sports at
the junior high, what is their connection to the school? Athletic
directors have been busy looking at ways to keep those kids connected.”
Those
who attend the forums this spring will have an opportunity to comment
and will receive a list of frequently asked questions about the new 9-12
athletic configuration. The list of questions and answers is also
posted on the district website along with task force meeting agendas and
minutes.
For
years the Puyallup School District has allowed ninth-grade
participation on high school athletic teams in some, but not all,
sports.
Students
have had an opportunity to participate at the high school level in
baseball, softball, tennis, bowling, gymnastics, girls wrestling, water
polo, swimming/ diving, boys cross country, boys soccer, and golf.
The
change will allow ninth graders to also compete at the high school
level in football, volleyball, basketball, girls cross country, girls
soccer, track, and boys wrestling, Wells said.
Puyallup
is the only school district along the Interstate 5 corridor from Oregon
to Canada that does not have a 9-12 athletic configuration this school
year, he said.