Five years ago, San Diego Unified’s middle school sports program didn’t exist. Since its creation, the program has received almost universal praise from teachers, parents and students.
They credit the program with expanding athletic opportunities, improving student morale and parent involvement and even producing academic benefits. The program has also grown rapidly – more than 5,700 students compete yearly across seven different sports. The response has been so significant that even as district officials grapple with budget deficits and funding cuts, they aim to go in the opposite direction with middle school sports – expansion.
Cody Petterson, San Diego Unified’s board president, views middle school sports as an equity program. Private or club sports leagues can be costly and require parents to shuttle kids back and forth. For many families, that may not be a possibility.
“Some of the kids that would most benefit from sporting activities … are the ones that are least able to participate in private alternatives. So, providing this in middle school through the public school system is a great way to pull in those kids” Petterson said.
Over the past year, San Diego Unified officials have been grappling with a significant budget deficit. That’s led to the need to cut programs. Throughout that process, Petterson noticed a trend.
“Almost every cluster meeting I went to, almost every time I went to a foundation meeting or did a site visit and talked to parents, they would come and say, ‘Please don’t cut middle school sports,’” Petterson said.
Officials spare the program, which carries a $1.7 million yearly price tag. Looking forward, district leaders would like to expand it. That may mean adding additional sports like baseball and softball, or even adding additional levels, like mimicking the junior varsity and varsity split seen at high schools – maybe both.
Read the entire article from Jakob McWhinney, Voice of San Diego: https://voiceofsandiego.org/2025/05/01/the-progress-report-san-diegos-middle-sports-experiment-is-sticking-around/
Learn more about MIddle School Sports: https://www.sdusdathletics.com/middle-school/msa-homepage/