Many assume an excited “Yes!” would be a common response from students learning that they will be leaving school early for sporting events. But despite the immediate satisfaction of leaving class before their peers, early release causes student athletes to have to compensate for missing class, adding to their already strenuous workload.   

Student athletes at Archie Williams and other high schools often leave school early in order to arrive at sporting events on time. With multiple games or events a week, student athletes miss a significant amount of class time, often the same class repeatedly. 

“[In] seventh period, there are 33 students in my class, and I haven’t even put out 33 chairs because they are never all here… Often it’s five or six students gone [due to early release] by the end of the period,” said Archie Williams science teacher Michael Wing. 

With many student athletes missing class, one would assume that the sports schedule would bend to the bell schedule, but this is not the case.

Archie Williams Athletic Director Jett Russell gave background on why sports cannot always correlate with school schedules, resulting in sports early release. 

“Daylight is an issue. Plus, we want to get the kids home at a decent hour as well…” Russell said. “Depending on sports, sometimes there are back-to-back-to-back practices, especially in the gym, so there are already kids already getting home late at night.” 

On top of this, sporting events need to correspond with referee availability.

“Generally, it’s referee availability, not wanting the kids to be home too late, and then sport-specific kinds of accommodations,” Russell said.

With early release causing excess school work for student athletes, many staff and teachers observe that their grades often suffer.

“It [their grades] can [suffer] for sure, because sometimes it’s the same class they always have to miss, like tennis has been an example of that. But you know, ultimately we ask that our students are advocating for themselves with their teachers and making sure that they communicate well,” Russell said.

Similarly, Wings said he sees a negative impact on students’ grades due to early release, but not for all student athletes. 

“There are some athletes who are very strong students and do what it takes, but not all of our students are like that,” Wing said.

Sophomore and Girls Varsity Tennis player Chloe Dupont sees the impact of early release on her academics and stress level, giving us a look into the amount of time in class she misses because of early release.

“I usually have to leave school early twice a week…” Chloe said. “Missing class led to a lot of missed instruction that I had to make up, adding to the things I had to do, making me more stressed.” 

Teachers and students alike both don’t always enjoy early release. For students, it creates more work to make up, and for teachers, it leads to students missing their classes.

“I don’t know the answer. I can see the value of sports for a lot of students… I don’t have an easy solution for it,” Wing said.

Even teachers recognize the value of sports to high school students. Students also agree on the importance of sports even with the challenge of early release.

“I love my sport and think that it is definitely worth it, even though missing school for it is annoying. I have so much fun playing and being a part of my team. It significantly adds to my high school experience, making it more fun and giving me a larger sense of community,” Chloe said.

Despite the challenges early release creates, the school community understands the importance of sports to a student’s high school experience.

“Sports are a highly important part of those students’ high school career, whether it’s just for one season or all for years… I think the pros outweigh the cons of kids getting out early, as long as the student is keeping their end of the bargain and teachers are being accommodating,” Russell said.

This story was originally published on The Pitch on December 6, 2023.