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Warren County School District officials are considering a student survey to better understand how students spend their time outside the classroom as the school board examines participation numbers in athletics and other extracurricular activities.
The discussion took place Monday during the School Board's Committee of the Whole meeting.
Board members reviewed participation figures for fall sports and noted that several programs were at or near the district's minimum participation thresholds. The numbers prompted discussion about whether changing student interests, competing activities, travel teams and other factors are contributing to lower participation in some school sports.
Board member Kevin Lindvay suggested surveying middle and high school students to determine what activities they participate in outside of school athletics and what additional opportunities they might want the district to provide.
"I think it’s good timing," Superintendent Gary Weber said, noting that it has been several years since the district's athletic committee last revisited participation issues and made recommendations.
The proposed survey would not be limited to athletics. Board members said they also want to learn more about students' interests in clubs, outdoor activities, music, esports and other programs.
The participation report presented to the board showed a total of 445 initial registrations across the district's listed fall athletic programs. By the 10-day count, that number had increased to 452, with 11 students participating through cooperative arrangements.
Several programs showed participation at or below the district’s established minimums.
At Eisenhower Middle/High School, girls middle-school basketball had seven initial registrations and six students at both the three-day and 10-day counts. Boys and girls varsity cross country also remained at or below the indicated thresholds, with seven boys and four girls participating at the 10-day count.
Girls middle-school cross country had five participants at the 10-day count, while the boys program had four.
Other Eisenhower programs showed stronger participation. Football had 29 students at the 10-day count, while boys soccer had 20 and girls soccer had 17.
At Warren Area High School, girls varsity cross country increased from three initial registrations to six students at the 10-day count. Girls golf had eight participants at the 10-day count, while girls tennis had 14.
The school's football program had 46 students at the 10-day count, and boys golf, a cooperative program, had 29.
Warren Area's total athletic participation increased from 189 initial registrations to 215 at the 10-day count.
Youngsville Middle/High School reported nine participants in girls middle-school basketball.
Beaty-Warren Middle School had 77 students participating across its listed programs at the 10-day count. Its football program declined from 23 initial registrations to 19, while boys and girls middle-school cross country each had eight participants.
Board members and administrators also discussed the importance of introducing students to activities at younger ages.
Several participants said elementary programs can help sustain high school and middle-school sports by giving younger students an opportunity to develop an interest before they reach the secondary grades.
Officials said athletics is only one part of the issue.
During the discussion, administrators noted that esports participation has increased substantially this year, with numbers reportedly nearly tripling.
Board members also mentioned outdoor activities, clubs, band, dance and other pursuits as examples of activities that may be important to students.
District administrators agreed to work on making outreach more consistent and said they would pursue a student survey to gather additional information.
The board also reviewed marching band and color guard participation.
The district reported 81 initial registrations, increasing to 82 students at both the three-day and 10-day counts.
Eisenhower reported 49 students at the 10-day count, up from 46 initial registrations. Warren Area reported 33 students, compared with 35 initial registrations.
The board took no action on the participation report Monday but directed discussion toward gathering more information about student interests and exploring ways to expand opportunities for students.