SCHOOL BOARD NEWSBULLETIN - March/April 2010

Joseph Matula is an assistant professor of educational administration at Governors State University in Chicago and a former school superintendent.

When analyzing the disparity of funding among Illinois school districts, it seems that class size, technology and curriculum offerings get the most attention. The "haves" have low class sizes, current technology and a variety of curriculum offerings — the "have-nots" don't.

Advocates of a change in the emphasis of school funding on property taxes see the things that wealthier school districts have and would like all children to have the same opportunities. Some feel this disparity is tied to racial bias (see Chicago Urban League v. State of Illinois). Others fear the wrath of taxpayers in that any change will be interpreted as a tax increase and the legislators who support it will surely lose in the next election.

Meanwhile, as this scenario continues to play itself into a circular pattern year after year after year, the losers are the students of the "have-not" schools and society in general. Here is why: A benefit of the "haves" is the opportunity for their students to participate in after-school clubs or activities. The benefit of schools, primarily high schools, having clubs and activities for their students is both a common-sense characteristic and also a proven characteristic of effective schools.

A logical reason to have many clubs and activities in which students can participate is that the participation develops a closer connection to the school, which in turn keeps the students off the streets and away from gang influence and other negative neighborhood factors. Participation in extracurricular activities gives the students opportunities to be involved in areas that interest them rather than just the prescribed curriculum. Certainly a student would find it motivational to go to school if he or she is enthused about participating in an after-school club or activity that day.

There is a plethora of research linking after-school programs to better school performance. Among the studies listed in a report by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) are:

• No Child Left Behind: The facts about 21st Century Learning found that students who spend no time in extracurricular activities are 49 percent more likely to use drugs and 37 percent more likely to become teen parents than those who spend one to four hours per week in extracurricular activities.
• A Harvard Educational Review article found that participation in extracurricular activities in high school appears to be one of the few interventions that benefit low-status, disadvantaged students as much or more than their more advantaged peers.
• The Journal of Adolescent Research reported that extracurricular activity participation is linked to lower rates of dropping out of school, greater civic involvement and higher levels of academic achievement.
• The American Journal of Health Behavior found that students participating in organized sports were 25 percent less likely to be current cigarette smokers.
• Adolescent Time Use, Risky Behavior, and Outcomes: An Analysis of National Data, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services, found that students who spend no time in extracurricular activities are 57 percent more likely to have dropped out of school by the time they would have been seniors, 35 percent more likely to have smoked cigarettes, and 27 percent more likely to have been arrested than those who spend one to four hours per week in extracurricular activities.
• Researchers Howard T. Everson and Roger E. Millsap, writing for the College Entrance Examination Board, found that participation in extracurricular activities provides all students, minorities included, measurable and meaningful gains in their college admissions test scores.
• A study of nearly 22,000 students by a University of Colorado professor, Kevin J. McCarthy, for the Colorado High School Activities Association indicated students who participate in some form of interscholastic activities have "significantly higher" grade-point averages than students who do not. McCarthy's data show participants in some form of interscholastic activities in Jefferson County high schools had an overall grade-point average of 3.01 on a 4.0 scale, while the GPA for non-participants was 2.44.
• Findings from the National Center for Education Statistics, Extracurricular Participation and Student Engagement, revealed that during the first semester of their senior year, half of the participants had no unexcused absences from school and half had never skipped a class, compared with 1/3 and 2/5 of non-participants, respectively.
• A survey by the New Mexico Activities Association found that high school students who compete in activity programs had a 2.80 grade-point average compared to 2.00 for non-participants.
• The American College Testing Service found the one yardstick that could be used to predict later success in life was achievement in school activities.

Now back to the school funding issue. Who do you think can afford after-school clubs and activities? Of course, the wealthier school districts can provide an abundance of clubs and activities for their students when compared to the less wealthy districts.

In a comparison of Illinois school districts, I found those with an equalized assessed valuation (EAV) greater than $100,000 per pupil provide 48 percent more clubs and activities than school districts with an EAV per pupil of less than $100,000.

Looking at the extremes, New Trier High School has 151 clubs and activities, not even counting interscholastic sports, while Kankakee High School has only 17 clubs and activities. Some of these wealthier school districts have 80 percent of the students involved in at least one club or activity.

When I see this disparity, I can't help but think of the quote of Martin Luther King: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." My sample had 40 schools in it so there could be a school with more than 151 clubs, but I doubt it, and maybe even a school district with fewer than 17 clubs. Regardless as to whether more extreme schools exist, the point is made.

Many reasons exist as to why a high school has many or few clubs, i.e., the number of teachers who want to sponsor a club, the pay, student interest, etc. But the less Illinois spends on equitable school funding, the more it will spend on future expenses that result from more kids on drugs, more kids in jail, more kids having kids and more kids in trouble.

The high school federation has researched various school districts' budgets across the country and found that activity programs make up just 1 to 3 percent of the overall education budget in a school. However, in the Chicago Public Schools in 2007, after-school activity programs received only 1/7 of 1 percent of its budget. In Charlotte-Mecklenberg (North Carolina) in 2008, activity programs received only 1/3 of 1 percent of its budget. In the Seattle Public Schools in 2008, only 1/9 of 1 percent was set aside for activity programs.

Maybe Illinois can't afford to provide 151 clubs and activities for all school districts, but a goal of at least 50 clubs and activities can be part of the definition of an adequate education in Illinois.

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