Because of a school district policy that was proposed last June, freshmen starting with the class of 2017 will no longer be able to use marching band or sports participation to exempt themselves from taking the required full year of P.E.

As more students, parents, teachers and coaches have learned about the proposed change, they have expressed concern that it would cut participation in activities like band and sports and necessitate freshmen having to take seven classes.

Because this policy, effective next year, only affects freshmen, sophomores and upperclassmen will still be able to fulfill the remaining 10 P.E. credits required for graduation through participation in a sport or marching band.

Policy to effect change in freshman curriculum

According to principal Paul Robinson, the need for a required year-long freshman P.E. class is a result of the school’s current noncompliance with state standards.

“[The policy] is designed to align with Education Code and still meet our local graduation requirements,” Robinson said. “We currently give P.E. credit for classes that don't meet today's state standards. This has to change, or we could suffer penalties from Sacramento.”

To comply with these standards, the current Health class will be integrated into the P.E. curriculum and will be no longer offered as a semester-long freshman class. Consequently, the school will remove the driver’s education portion of the course. This means that starting next year, students will have to complete and pay for the 30-hour class on their own.

Although Independent Study Physical Education (ISPE) can still provide P.E. credit for the incoming freshmen, they must take Health over the summer in order to be exempt from taking P.E., according to superintendent Bob Mistele during the June 5 board meeting.

“The combination of P.E. and Health gives us an opportunity to integrate the two, as many districts have already done,” Robinson wrote in an October newsletter to parents and students. “This approach allows us to go a bit deeper into the healthy aspects of exercise.”

To fill the empty semester next to World Geography, the school plans to offer new semester-long electives for freshmen. Many of these classes will be an applied art and are still being contemplated by the administration.

“Our teachers have been brainstorming some very creative and relevant possibilities,” Robinson said.

Students voice concern at board meeting

Despite the policy’s good intentions, many students responded negatively to the changes. At the school board meeting on Oct 2., teachers, parents and band students spoke out against the policy.

“I feel like the passage of this bill will discourage our students from pursuing multiple extracurricular interests,” senior Maya Nag said. “I don't think that's providing the most enriching and diverse educational environment for our students.”

After numerous students voiced their opinions at the board meeting, music department chair Michael Boitz underlined their arguments with his appeal to the board.

“I have never been this disappointed in my career with the leadership and the lack of communication about this policy,” Boitz said. “I think the process is dangerously flawed, and I think it has dangerous implications on student connectedness and time on our campus.”

According to Boitz, there was a lack of communication between the school and the board regarding this policy, which the board discussed at a meeting on June 5.

“I have found very few staff members who were aware of the June 5 meeting,” Boitz said. “A room full of department chairs all looked surprised when we found out [on Sept. 24].”

Although this policy was only recently communicated to the Saratoga community, Boitz said that discussion has been ongoing in Los Gatos for the past two years.

“The agreement was that [Saratoga and Los Gatos] would always be on the same page,” Boitz said.

Unlike the Saratoga community, which was just recently notified of this change, Los Gatos parents and students were informed about the changes in September 2011 through a proposed transition plan written by Los Gatos High School.

Policy may impact participation in athletics and band

The main concern expressed has been that as a result of this policy, freshmen in sports who typically have a free seventh period will now have to make room for an extra class in their schedule.

Because a larger number of students will likely be forced to take seven classes, opponents of the policy change said sports will no longer be able to start practices during seventh period, as many do currently.

“In order for all sports to get time to practice on the field, practices would have to start later,” senior Feargus MacFhionnlaoich said at the Oct. 2 board meeting. “That means students get home later and have less time for homework and sleep.”

For many freshmen, P.E. credit is a large incentive to join a sport or band; next year, fewer students may participate in sports because of the higher workload caused by an extra class period, speakers told the board.

MacFhionnlaoich admits that P.E. credit was an incentive for him to join band and athletics his freshman year.

“The P.E. credits given for sports are advantageous for a number of reasons. They are incentives for students to get active,” MacFhionnlaoich said. “A student can join an activity that they normally would not be inclined to join, and they can stay fit while making new friends.”

Although the policy does not directly affect anyone other than the incoming freshmen, many current students still feel strongly about opposing the policy.

“It means a lot when you have upperclassmen and sophomores from Saratoga High come to a meeting on a school night to argue against a bill passed that doesn't even affect them directly,” junior Anup Kar said.

Despite the concerns, Robinson believes that the new P.E./Health class and policy will have little to no effect on the level of participation in athletics or band.

“[Athletics and band] will survive and be just as strong as they've always been. Our coaches and directors are the best in the business,” Robinson said. “Contrary to some beliefs, it does not signal the end of athletics and band as we know it.”

Policy still to undergo further discussion and revisions

The school board placed the issue on its agenda for its Oct. 16 meeting at Los Gatos High School for discussion. According to the informative proposal written by Los Gatos High, the proposal will be submitted to Mistele for review on Nov. 1. The policy will undergo further review and discussion by both Mistele and the school board and is scheduled to be finalized by the beginning of March 2013.