After school sports requirements?

[Anonymous]

We are in the early stages of looking for Middle School admission for my DS. What schools do not have an afterschool sport requirement (vs a requirement that can be satisfied via in school PE)?We aren’t opposed to the requirement, just trying to figure out which ones (especially in high school) require it as it impacts transportation and logistic considerations. Of course we will ask during interactions with schools in the fall too. We are mostly considering MD and DC area schools.

[Anonymous]

For MS, PE is mostly in school, so you only have to worry about games/meets, which will be after school (even if the start time is before school ends, the sporting event likely won’t finish until after). In HS, most PE (even non-team sport options, like weight conditioning) is after school. If your kid is not into sports at all, there are a few schools that offer activity credit for participation in things like theater or robotics, but those are going to meet afterschool too. I can’t think of any situation where a HS student would not ever have to stay after school on a regular basis for at least a couple seasons a year, unless you’ve got some kind of waiver for an outside sport.

[Anonymous]

It’s smart to look into this because it can really vary! We didn’t realize the physical education requirements at our child’s school (Edmund Burke) would be so intense and substantial. They give the option to fulfill credits with PE during the school day, but some kids find that less interesting than sports offerings and it also means less electives. Our child has opted to do two sports (one fall and one spring). It’s a pretty big commitment and wouldn’t be easily doable with another big commitment outside school. As far as I know, Burke doesn’t offer any exemptions for outside sports (some schools do).

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind to that what is required and what your kid might want to do beyond that because friends are might vary.

[Anonymous]

At Potomac the sports requirement can be fulfilled with theater and debate. An activities requirement can be fulfilled with robotics. So they say one sweaty sport and one activity, but it is very flexible as to what counts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At Potomac the sports requirement can be fulfilled with theater and debate. An activities requirement can be fulfilled with robotics. So they say one sweaty sport and one activity, but it is very flexible as to what counts

SSSAS is like this too. Other activities count, not just traditional sports.

[Anonymous]

GDS has a sports requirement for 7th and 8th grade, but practices are the last hour of the day, not after school. Games, though, can run later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At Potomac the sports requirement can be fulfilled with theater and debate. An activities requirement can be fulfilled with robotics. So they say one sweaty sport and one activity, but it is very flexible as to what counts

Also Potomac has a full schedule of buses that go at 4:30 and 5:30, so transportation is not an issue.
I would be careful about picking something without lots of options based on an elementary students interests. In lower school I never would have thought my children would love sports as much as they do. They book got into them during intermediate school (7th & 8th) at Potomac where everyone does something every season during the school day. They absolutely adore sports now, and they’ve made their closest friends though them. They have a wide group of friends in different grades from the various school sports. I suppose the same would have been true if they had focused on theater or debate or something else, but they would definitely say sports have been a highlight of school, and I never would have predicted that years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For MS, PE is mostly in school, so you only have to worry about games/meets, which will be after school (even if the start time is before school ends, the sporting event likely won’t finish until after). In HS, most PE (even non-team sport options, like weight conditioning) is after school. If your kid is not into sports at all, there are a few schools that offer activity credit for participation in things like theater or robotics, but those are going to meet afterschool too. I can’t think of any situation where a HS student would not ever have to stay after school on a regular basis for at least a couple seasons a year, unless you’ve got some kind of waiver for an outside sport.

GDS has mandatory PE for 9th and 10th during school (good time to socially connect with your grade)--after school sports and activities are completely optional. HS students can theoretically leave at 3:15 everyday, but many stay for various activities or to work out in the school gym, hang out with friends, etc.

[Anonymous]

Holton HS sports requirement (only 6 trimesters) can be completed during the day though fitness classes, dance, etc. After school sports are optional.

[Anonymous]

Burke does not have a MS requirement

[Anonymous]

It is very smart to be thinking about this.

[Anonymous]

At Maret, the middle school sports requirement is fulfilled during the school day through either being on a team or PE. If you're on a team, then there are some after-school games. For upper school, there's a PE requirement that can be satisfied by being on a team (if you're on two Maret teams, you can take the third season off). Otherwise, you need to do something all 3 seasons (fall, winter, spring). It can either be a class at school (yoga, weight training, etc.) or an outside sport that is supervised and you do a certain number of hours per week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Burke does not have a MS requirement

But important to note that high school at Burke requires either 6 team sport credits (all after school) or 7 credits of combined team sports and PE. Most high schoolers don’t really want to take 7 trimesters of PE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At Potomac the sports requirement can be fulfilled with theater and debate. An activities requirement can be fulfilled with robotics. So they say one sweaty sport and one activity, but it is very flexible as to what counts

The issue for some families is that any of these require staying beyond the end of the regular academic day. This can cause logistics issues where both parents work outside the home.