Keep athletics and clubs

To the Editor:

I feel that sports and clubs are a very important part of a child’s education. When you belong to a sports team or club you take pride in it and the school that you represent. Sports are not a right the students have, they are an earned privilege. To be able to be part of a team or club you have to be eligible and in good standing within your school, which is an added incentive to some students to do well in school.

I take pride in my town, which means I take pride in our children, even the ones that do not live with me. I am proud to know that we are developing well-rounded students in our public schools. I think it’s great when I see kids stepping up and helping the Key Club collect food for their food drives, or coming out and supporting the football team on a Saturday afternoon. This helps develop school pride and school spirit.

Although a good education is obviously of the utmost importance, a good sports program attracts students. It is one of the things people take into consideration when choosing a high school. Parents do not just want their children to attend school, they want them to be a part of it, and that means they will look into what extra-curricular activities a school offers to help make their decision.

West Hempstead High School should be something that gives our town great pride. Some people judge a high school based on the colleges the students go to after they graduate. Well, when you fill out a college application, it asks what extra-curricular activities you participated in and what sports you have played. They want to see how involved you are as a student. If your high school cuts the sport you participate in or the club you belong to, not only will that upset and disappoint the students, but it can affect their college application.

There are people who say when times are tough, cut athletics and clubs. Well, to those who feel that way, I say take this into consideration. Being part of a team is teaching our kids good work ethic. Most of these kids leave their houses at 7:15 a.m, put in a full day at school followed by a game or practice, which can get them home close to 7 p.m., at which point they then have homework and studying to do. My seventh-grader puts in a longer day than some adults I know.

My fear is that if our budget does not pass and we go to a contingency budget, the school board may very well make more cuts to these programs. Last year there was a $90,000 cut in this area. This hit was felt directly by the children. We lost our wrestling team in both the high and middle schools, and there were cuts made to both boys’ and girls’ volleyball teams and basketball teams in the middle school. We lost clubs like Friends of Rachel, Computer Club and all of our foreign language clubs. We lost many of our assistant coaches.  What some people do not realize is that a coach is more than a teacher making extra money, because believe me, in most cases the time and effort they put into our children far outweigh their compensation. They do it for the love of the game and the love of our students. That is why you will see them out there on weekends and holidays and summer vacations just to practice with them.

So this is why, even though I know full well that we are in tough economic times, I really hope our budget passes. I am proud of West Hempstead. I grew up here, went to public school here and chose to raise my children here. I want other families to be able to do the same, and I want our public school to keep turning out vibrant, hard-working young adults who will be a strong part of our future.

Loraine Magaraci
West Hempstead