The constant flurry of school activities frankly distracted and exhausted Regina, who preferred to stick to her classroom instruction. Yet Regina knew the huge value that students drew from their co-curricular programs. Students left her study hall for band, choir, dance, and drama practice, theater set design and art class, academic clubs, and student council. Students stayed after school for the same activities and for athletics practice and competitions, community service, science competition practices, and debate clubs. Regina did her part, leading a group of girls in an after-school home-economics club where they learned budgeting, interior design, nutrition, and health practices. But the students’ energy and appetite for co-curricular programs sometimes overwhelmed her.
Value
Students at all levels thrive on school co-curricular programs. For a student, the life of a school isn’t so much in its classrooms but instead in its hallways, cafeterias, and common areas, on its breaks, and before and after school, when students interact freely with students. Educators know the value of student engagement and peer interaction. Schools design and maintain co-curricular programs to engage the whole student, body, mind, and spirit, in supervised and healthy activities of interest, alongside the core academic program. School cannot be all about academics, without missing important co-curricular opportunities for social, emotional, vocational, and recreational development. Some students study only because they’ll lose the opportunity to participate in their favorite co-curricular program. Don’t underestimate the value of your school’s co-curricular programs.
Administration
Schools must give some attention to administering co-curricular programs. Student interests can be so diverse and numerous as to make co-curricular programs sprout up, wither, die, and sprout again like weeds. Co-curricular activities generally require school classrooms, gymnasiums, fields, playgrounds, or other facilities and amenities, which may be in short supply. Co-curricular activities also require faculty, staff, administrator, or volunteer supervision, which can likewise be in short supply. Co-curricular activities may also require equipment and supplies, further taxing school resources. Some co-curricular proposals can also be controversial or frankly inappropriate, especially around health, welfare, and moral issues. A marijuana, vaping, or gambling club might be an example. Schools thus tend to have a system for evaluating and approving student and sponsor requests for co-curricular clubs, events, and activities, led by the school’s chief student-services administrator.
Supervision
Anything occurring on school grounds involving students deserves supervision. Co-curricular programs are no exception. Supervision of co-curricular activities is always appropriate, although especially when the activity involves greater safety or security issues. Hunting, firearms, and archery clubs are an example. Supervision can also be appropriate when the activity involves co-ed participation and the potential for dangerous horseplay or other shenanigans. Full-time faculty members may have school-service obligations that they fulfill in part with co-curricular supervision. When hiring instructors, schools commonly ask faculty candidates about their willingness to support student co-curricular programs and their special interests in doing so. Administrators and staff members may likewise fulfill school-service obligations with co-curricular supervision, especially around their own special interests. Schools also often rely on aides, alumni, and other qualified volunteers to supervise co-curricular programs.
Safety
As just suggested above, safety can be a special concern around co-curricular programs. Popular co-curricular programs like swimming, diving, rock climbing, tumbling, acrobatics, and gymnastics each bring their own risks. Even science, technology, engineering, robotics, chemistry, physics, and other STEM clubs can, in their projects and experiments, expose students to risks. Schools must ensure not only that co-curricular activities have responsible adult supervisors but also that the activities are safe enough to sponsor as a school program. Parents and students may assume that the school would not offer any program that carries unreasonable risks. Ensure that your school meets that expectation.
Accountability
Schools commonly require students to qualify for co-curricular participation. Co-curricular programs generally permit participation only by currently enrolled students, at the grade level appropriate for the activity. In their co-curricular programs, schools should not mix students with non-students, and students of very young and vulnerable ages with students of older age. Yet a student’s qualification to participate in co-curricular programs also generally includes that the student is in good academic standing. A student on probation or otherwise not in good academic standing should generally not participate in co-curricular programs. Schools in this way appropriately use co-curricular participation to incentivize academic striving. Students will admit that they only study in order to participate in co-curriculars. Schools also commonly prohibit students from co-curricular participation when on probation or suspension for behavioral misconduct.
Distraction
The foregoing issue that students should not participate in co-curriculars when not in good academic standing highlights a potential downside to co-curricular activities. Co-curricular activities can crowd out the curricular program. When students devote inordinate amounts of time and effort to co-curricular activities, they may be robbing time and energy from their academic studies. Students themselves should be monitoring the balance between curricular studies and co-curricular activities. At elementary and secondary school levels, parents should be helping students do so. But school officials at all levels can play a role in holding students accountable to the curricular program by conditioning co-curricular participation on good academic standing.
Funding
Co-curricular programs can carry operational costs. Theater productions may require licensing fees for the scripts, and expenditures for costumes, set design and construction, and sound and lighting technicians. Bands and orchestras can require instrument expenditures, while athletics can require expenditures for coaching, refereeing, equipment, travel, and field or arena rental. Science competition clubs can require materials expenditures, entry fees, and competition travel expenses. Nearly every co-curricular activity invites expenditures. Schools should thus budget for co-curricular activities, invite donor support for co-curricular activities, conduct special fundraising for co-curriculars, or consider participation fees. Don’t let a lack of funding spoil your school’s co-curricular programs.
Facilities
As already suggested above, co-curricular programs also need facilities, whether classrooms, laboratories, gymnasiums, auditoriums, playing fields, or other accommodations and amenities. Administrators need to plan for those facilities, fund their construction and maintenance, and schedule their coordinated use among multiple curricular and co-curricular programs. Schools at all levels vary widely in the lengths to which they can and will go to promote co-curricular programs through facility designs and equipment purchases. While some schools have pools, rock-climbing walls, archery ranges, ice arenas, ball fields, and theaters finely equipped for dramatic and musical productions, other schools may have little or nothing more than a multi-use gymnasium also serving as an auditorium and lunchroom. Donor funding for elaborate co-curricular and athletics facilities may be available and appropriate.
Development
When determining the resources to devote to co-curricular programs, schools should not underestimate the capacity of co-curricular programs to fully develop students to surprising degrees and satisfying outcomes. Fine musicians, vocalists, artists, actors, playwrights, set designers, videographers, and other artistic and creative professionals often credit their school programs with spurring their interest and developing their talent. Not every graduate goes on to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. Some proceed into jobs, trades, professions, and careers aligned more with their co-curricular activities than their curricular studies. Yet co-curricular programs can also develop physical, mental, emotional, and relational capacities that fuel traditional careers. The student who loved theater becomes a teacher, while the student who loved debate club becomes a politician or lawyer, and so on. Help your school choose and conduct co-curricular activities that develop all student capacities to their fullest.
College
Co-curricular programs are not simply effective at the elementary and secondary school levels. Co-curricular programs also operate effectively in higher education, at both the undergraduate and graduate school levels. Many of the same kinds of co-curricular activities that middle schools and high schools offer, including athletics, theater, and clubs, can captivate, develop, and inspire college and university undergraduates. College major programs can also offer co-curricular activities, events, clubs, societies, and programs focused on the major field. Graduate and professional schools can do likewise, even offering practice-based and skills-based opportunities around volunteer professional and community service under faculty or alumni supervision. Don’t miss the power of co-curricular programs in higher education. Colleges and universities make great use of co-curricular programs not just for mental, physical, and social development but also to introduce students to vocational and professional fields.
Marketing
Schools can draw their own benefit from co-curricular programs. Co-curricular programs not only develop student interests and capacities. Co-curricular programs also greatly enhance campus life. Theater productions, band and orchestra recitals, and choir productions can energize, entertain, and enthrall a school community. Athletics events can stir school pride and rally the whole school behind its teams. Competition wins by science and debate clubs can elevate a school’s academic standing and reputation. Recreational facilities, athletics fields, arenas, and other co-curricular amenities can attract some students, parents, and donors more than the quality or features of the academic program. Schools use co-curricular offerings, facilities, and successes in their marketing materials, justifiably for all the student value that co-curriculars can supply.
Reflection
What are your school’s most-prominent co-curricular programs? Which of your school’s co-curricular programs are best at developing student capacities? How does your school evaluate and approve co-curricular programs? Are all your school’s co-curricular programs adequately supervised? Does your school prohibit co-curricular participation to students not in good academic standing? Do co-curricular programs incentivize students at your school to strive in their academic studies? Does your school ensure that students maintain a reasonable balance between co-curricular activities and curricular programs? Does your school have special facilities for any co-curricular activities? Could it develop any special co-curricular facilities with donor support that would enhance the school’s offerings and profile? What co-curricular programs were most meaningful to you at each level of your schooling?
Key Points
Co-curricular programs can provide substantial value to students.
Co-curricular programs require evaluation and administration.
Qualified adults should supervise all school co-curricular programs.
Schools should offer only reasonably safe co-curricular programs.
Co-curricular participation can hold students accountable.
Don’t let co-curricular participation unduly deplete student academics.
Schools can fund co-curricular programs in a variety of ways.
Co-curricular programs require facility development and maintenance.
Co-curricular programs can greatly enhance student development.
Co-curricular programs also work well in higher education.
Schools can effectively market based on their co-curricular programs.