October 2020

Newsletters

February 2022
Returning Stronger: Student Reengagement Through and Beyond the Pandemic

May 2021
Supporting the Mental Health of Students and Staff Through the Pandemic and Beyond

January 2021
Rethinking The Role of The School Resource Officer

October 2020
The Value of Sports and Performance Programs: Understanding the Benefits and Prioritizing Programs Through a Pandemic

July 2020
Prevention and Intervention: An Understanding of Behavioral Threat Assessments

May 2020
The COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned

January 2020
Cybersecurity: Understanding the Threats and Risks

October 2019
Rethinking Bullying Prevention

Featured Articles

The Impact of High School Athletics on Mental Health

By Scott Pederson

Framing a conversation on mental health can be a little tricky since there seems to be a lot of confusion relative to this topic. We all have mental health. We all can struggle with mental health just as we could with physical health. To be physically healthy, you train your body to become as capable as possible to withstand the rigors of physical activity.

Read More

Keeping High School Activity Programs Going During the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Karissa Niehoff

As one of the few countries in the world where athletics are available in an education-based setting within schools, high school students in the United States indeed have a special opportunity and privilege of competing not only in athletics, but also in other activity programs such as speech, debate, music, and theater.

Read More

Understanding Intersectionality and Trauma: Establishing Healthy Social and Emotional Learning Environments in Athletics

By Natalie Randolph and Diana Parente

Being part of a sports program during the formative years allows students to learn important life lessons. Student athletes can learn social awareness skills through Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). As defined by CASEL (2020), “Social and emotional learning enhances students’ capacity to integrate skills, attitudes, and behaviors to deal effectively and ethically with daily tasks and challenges.”[1] Within athletics, key SEL competencies are the development of self-awareness, emotional management, and effective decision making.

Read More

NATIONAL RESEARCH AND STATISTICS

Benefits of Co-curricular or Education-based Activities

    Additional Resources 

    NSBA Webinar:

    Sports and Performance Programs: Support for the Social-Emotional Wellness of Students

    July 10, 2020

    Sports and performance programs are known to bring communities together in fellowship and support. But as school district leadership teams ponder the budget shortfalls and the financial implications for the coming year, these important programs are sometimes the first to be eliminated. Join Virginia High School League Executive Director John “Billy” Haun, National Federation of State High School Associations Executive Director Karissa Niehoff, and University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s David Wyrick for a discussion on the financial implications of sustaining these types of activities and the important education-based role these programs provide to students.

     

    Webinar

    Presenter Biographies – Adam Lustig, Dr. David Wyrick, Dr. Karissa Niehoff & Dr. John “Billy” Haun

     

    InSideOut Coaching

    The InSideOut Initiative (ISOI) is a national movement that empowers and equips school communities to implement purpose-based athletics by connecting student-athletes to transformational coaches in a nurturing community for their social-emotional and character development.

     

    National Federation of High Schools Association (NFHS)

    The NFHS is the national leader and advocate for high school athletics as well as fine and performing arts programs. The NFHS writes playing rules for high school sports and provides guidance on a multitude of national issues.

     

    Positive Coaching Alliance

    The Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) is a national nonprofit organization with the mission of creating a positive, character-building youth sports environment that results in BETTER ATHLETES, BETTER PEOPLE.

     

    Positive Athlete

    Positive Athlete is a celebration of young athletes who have overcome difficult circumstances, given back to their schools and communities in a significant way, or have an infectious positive attitude that makes everyone around them a better person.