Oakland Tech is continuing to offer Advanced Sports Credit as an alternative for PE this year. Students who pass 9th grade PE or Dance class may receive PE sports credit for playing two sports in 10th grade. Credit can also be received if a student plays one sport and is a team manager or a member of the “athletic team,” who serve as staff at sports games.
“Why would students get credit for being managers?” says Elisha Davis, the head of the PE department and a 9th-grade PE teacher. To her, it does not make sense for students to receive credit when they are not participating in any physical activity. “It’s not holding kids accountable.”
The California Education Code requires students to participate in 400 minutes of activity every ten days, either in a class or a sports team. Sports credit has been offered as an alternative to PE since COVID because it was hard to track PE classes. Although most students participated in online PE classes during lockdown, school districts throughout California seriously scaled back PE departments afterwards. Many schools offered sports credit before, but it became much more popular afterwards.
Students at Tech can receive credit by filling out a form and getting it signed by staff members, including their counselor and an assistant principal, before the last week of school. For students who already play sports, receiving credit can free up space in their schedule for an elective while they continue participating in something they love. Many students have also been motivated to try out for a sports team to avoid PE classes.
“I think it’s great for students who like sports,” says Samantha Santos, a ninth grade PE student.
Oakland Tech Athletic Director Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson even claims that “students are becoming more involved in school” because of the sports credit policy.
Sports that count for PE credit include all Oakland Athletic League (OAL) sports, the league that Oakland Unified School District teams play for. The OAL must verify all sports and leagues. This year, rowing was added to the list of approved sports because its league was deemed acceptable. Ultimate frisbee and ice hockey still do not count, although this could change in the future, according to Gray-Lawson.
Many sports teams have been impacted by the sports credit policy, especially historically small teams, including tennis, which has been forced to cut players for the first time.
Students opting for sports credit instead of PE classes have challenged the PE department, although Gray-Lawson claims “it hasn’t affected the PE classes at all.”
“More sports credit has affected PE classes in a bad way because we get less students for our classes,” explains Davis.
She explains that these policies are decreasing PE enrollment and causing staff to fear their positions being cut. According to Davis, class sizes before the implementation of the sports credit policy were, on average, larger than 50, but have dropped by as much as 20%.
The largest complaint most students and staff members have about the policy is how confusing they find it. This is the first year since sports credit was offered that the policy has stayed the same, and it is uncertain whether changes will be made in the future.