May 10, 2019--Our Kids: Pay-for-Play

I like to think I'm up to speed when it comes to schooling and education issues. After all I was senior director for education programming for more than 10 years at the Ford Foundation.

But reading Robert Putnam's thoughtful book about the American Dream (Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis) caught me off guard when it comes to a very important component of our educational system--extracurricular activities.

This may seem much about fun and games (including the ultimate games--team sports) but he makes the sound case that they are more than "extra" but elaborately laced into almost all schools' agenda and have a significant, positive effect on students' academic achievement and ultimate outcomes. 

I knew about this--students who are deeply involved in after-school activities are statistically more likely to do well in school. High school students, for example, who join the math club or the yearbook staff or run for student government are much more likely than non-participants to graduate and enter and succeed in college.

For example, Putnam reports that kids who are consistently involved in extracurricular activities are 70 percent more likely to go to college than those who tend not to be engaged.

The extracurriculum also is the one thing that helps students from low-income backgrounds do better and helps reduce the achievement gap that continues to plague America's schools--the well-to-do thrive while those whose family income lags tend to graduate at much lower rates and disproportionately underperform when compared to middle and upper-middle-class children.

What I did not know is that because of pressure on school budgets at many inner-city schools extracurricular activities, not perceived to be at the heart of the matter, have been finding their budgets cut and see many after-school programs such as music and arts programs slashed to the bone.

But, as "Bowling Alone" author Putnam notes, in many cases, at more than half of America's high schools, again especially in poorly-resourced schools, the way they keep some after school programs running is by requiring those who want to participate to pay an activities fee.

Team fees, to illustrate, run as high as $300 to $400 per year. Marching band pay-for-play costs can be $100 a year.

In affluent schools districts these costs are not an impediment. In addition, at schools for the economically comfortable, parents are willing to raise money that they then give to the schools to pay teachers to coach teams and supervise the student newspaper and French club.

Though we know what can make a difference in the life chances of disadvantaged children, this is a vivid example of how we as a society are still unwilling to advocate and underwrite an affordable array of after-school activities.