For Fullerton School District students grades six through eight, pursuing dreams of playing professional and collegiate sports will no longer come at the cost of their education.
The district recently announced the launch of its game-changing Performance Academy Sports Program, tailored to young student athletes who constantly juggle practice time with study time. The program will provide free, in-person public education to qualifying students.
“We pride ourselves on our commitment to innovation and creating dynamic programs and opportunities that will help all of our students pursue what they’re passionate about and achieve their personal goals,” Fullerton School District Superintendent Dr. Bob Pletka said.
As of now, students on intensive sports training teams or clubs are often forced to enroll in expensive private schools or transition to fully online education programs as a result of odd and frequent training times. With the Performance Academy, those issues will be resolved, incorporating training sessions into the student’s traditional school day.
“One of the highlight points of our Performance Academy is that it will enable students to continue the important social-emotional growth and whole-child development that happens with in-person learning in our FSD schools,” Pletka explained.
Starting in the 2024-25 school year, the program will be offered at Parks Junior High School for students in grades seven and eight and at Rolling Hills Elementary for students in grade six.
How it will work?
Students will begin their day with in-person education for the first five periods. For students in grade six not operating on a period schedule, their common core education will end around 1:30 pm. After that, students will be able to participate in their athletic training programs, supplanting standard elective and PE requirements.
What makes the Performance Academy especially unique is that students can use various approved sports training providers. One of those providers, Delta Prep Academy, has even been approved to host some of its training sessions on campus at Parks Junior High School and offer transportation to and from campus for access to offsite training locations.
Student applications for this upcoming school year have already closed, but to learn more for next year, check out this parent information video.