Archive for the ‘School sports’ Category

As public schools around the country cope with deep funding cuts, more are imposing fees for supplemental materials and for specialized programs, activities and classes.

AJC reporter Daarel Burnette is looking at the fees charged for school sports.

“I’m looking for parents in the Atlanta area to talk to me about any public school fees they’ve incurred this year for school sports. You can reach me at 404-526-5634 or email me. ”

The Wall Street Journal looked at this issue last year in a lengthy piece. Here is a brief excerpt:

Public-school administrators say the fees—some of which are waived for low-income families—allow them to continue to offer specialty classes and activities that would otherwise fall to the budget ax. Some parents support that approach, saying they’d rather pay for honors physics or drama than see those opportunities eliminated altogether. Some educators, too, argue that fees are good public policy. In a time of fiscal austerity, they say it’s not …

Continue reading Sports fees in schools: Are you seeing them rise in your district? »

Many posters to this blog have remarked on the elevated role of football in setting agendas and goals at Georgia high schools.

AJC.com has a good story today on the influence that football coaches and programs exert on college campuses. The story relates to the scathing report on the Penn State cover-up of Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse of young boys. The report concludes that legendary coach Joe Paterno and other Penn State leaders downplayed allegations against Sandusky to avoid bad publicity about a football program that was both highly revered and highly profitable.

I recently read “Gods of Alabama” by local writer Joshilyn Jackson. Among the gods Jackson lists are “high school quarterbacks, trucks, and Jesus.”  She might well have added college football coaches to her list.

Here is an excerpt from the AJC story:

To those who may be shocked the situation in State College got so out of hand, people who study sports have a message: Don’t be so surprised.

College coaches and …

Continue reading Do college football coaches become campus deities? »