In most high schools, sports are treated as extracurricular, a one-off activity that supplements but can differ from the educational philosophy that guides the provision of classroom activities. Schools must provide all students with academic opportunities. But in sports, athletic directors and coaches are given more latitude to focus resources on the best athletes, sometimes at the expense of other students who also want to play and would benefit from quality sports activity.

The ideals that guide athletic departments can be found in snippets in various places, painted on the walls of gyms or buried in the pages of a school website. They represent an array of values – “Excellence”, “Character”, “Commitment” and so forth – that if developed in the student can help them succeed in school and life. But how to define such concepts? And how well do they line up with the language that describes the educational mission of the school?

In the absence of such reflection, it’s too easy for coaches and athletic personnel to think their main job is to win championships. Winning games is important to many students, too. Just over half (53%) said it’s one reason they play sports in high school, according to our national survey of students. But far more say they play to have fun (81%), exercise (79%), learn and improve skills (66%), and play with and make new friends (64%).

Administrators should ensure that all sports activities map to the school’s mission and vision. If helpful in building consensus, they should go through a process of crafting a symbiotic mission statement specific to the athletic department. Seek the input of administrators, PE teachers, parents and students – and not just those who currently play sports. Design commitments and actions aligned with the mission. Highlight the level of behaviors needed to make the mission statement effective. Place the statement below the signature in emails from all athletic personnel and hold them accountable to it via group discussions and performance reviews.

WHO CAN HELP

Membership Organizations

The National Federation of State High School Associations can create a toolkit to help schools and their athletic departments build a mission statement. Identify the central questions to guide the conversation and the right people to engage. Bring evidence to the conversation (participation rates, dropout rates, sports budgets, anecdotal feedback, etc.). Recommend a process to formulate the mission statement and get decision makers to sign off.

Sports Organizations

While every school is different, members of an athletic conference often share characteristics and values. Their interscholastic teams play each other. So, conferences can draft language that their schools can use to develop a mission statement or explain how sports supports the school mission. Use relationships and levers to encourage adoption. Create shared expectations.

Agencies

Many high schools seek the blessing of accrediting agencies who review their activities. Some agencies already ask questions of how sports are contributing to the school mission. They should get evidence, along with data and insights, that map to other strategies in this report.

Families

Many parents get frustrated with the decisions made by their child’s coach. Before reaching out to complain, they should read the school’s mission statement so they understand the values that underpin program activities. If the school doesn’t have a clear one, advocate for an update. It’s key to getting parents and coaches on the same page and respecting each other.

Policymakers

State high school associations should be encouraged by state legislators to create generally accepted standards of an exemplary high school athletic program (see Play 8 on measurement and evaluation). Identify evidence-based practices that can help athletic personnel align their behavior with and activate a mission statement with feedback loops.

FINDING SUCCESS

In updating the mission statement for sports at Currey Ingram Academy (Brentwood, Tennessee), school leaders started with three questions: Who are we? What do we want to accomplish? How do we intend to accomplish these goals? They identified the school’s core values and defined them, and then refined the language with eight groups of stakeholders, from students to coaches to alumni. They landed on a simply worded statement that can be found on its website, next to a program handbook that offers additional details and behavior expectations. Learn more about the process the school went through here.

DIVE DEEPER

Tuscarora High School: Make intramurals, PE co-curricular needs, Aspen Institute