Many students, particularly those in advanced or IB classes, were outraged when they found out last year that there would only be seven classes instead of eight.  Sacrifices had to be made in the form of not taking desired classes so that they could meet the graduation requirements. One graduation requirement is a full year (one credit) of PE. To make a little more room in schedules and allow students to take more of the classes that they want, a proactive solution can be adopting a substitution policy. This policy would provide students who participate in a school sport for a full season to obtain a PE credit.

Oregon City High School has a similar policy. Their policy states that a 0.5 credit of PE can be waived for one OSAA sport completed. The 0.5 credit will be added to electives required. The coach must sign the PE waiver form no later than the following trimester after the season is over. If a similar policy was adopted here, it could be modelled after this one.

This would benefit students who have full schedules and still have classes that they would like to take. Junior Emily Smart is attempting to earn her IB diploma but was unable to take IB Anthropology and IB Chemistry, two classes she wishes to take. She is also a three sport athlete who plays soccer, basketball and golf. If she could have opted out of PE, she may have been able to take the classes she wanted.

Smart already exercises a lot and does not see the point in taking a PE class. By not taking PE, the only thing Smart believes she will be missing out on is being able to work out with her peers. By participating in sports, Smart learns a sense of teamwork and participates in activities that she knows she loves.

According to Bruce Reece, athletic director at Oregon City High School, all PE classes are important. He states that students will miss out on the socialization that the class offers if they opt out. Reece adds that they will miss out on learning about a new lifelong activity that they would not have tried otherwise and that may keep them active for the rest of their life. In addition, he claims that PE continually brings discipline into the lives of the students.

Gresham athletic director Todd Nagel supports the idea on the surface but understands the ramifications underneath. According to Nagel, this policy idea has been brought up before but has yet to be accepted by the school or district because it presents a large issue. For example, if students stopped enrolling in PE, there would be an excess of PE teachers and class sizes too small for some activities.

However, this may not be the case. According to Reece, only a handful of students at Oregon City High School take advantage of this option, and they do so to allow room for other electives. Students here like Smart who already participate in sports would benefit from a policy like this, but it would not be so popular if it threatens jobs.

It could also encourage students to go out for a sport. If sophomore Madison Ryder had the option of dropping PE and still receiving the credit by playing volleyball, she would do so to free up room in her schedule for another elective.

If students had more motivation to join, they could discover a passion for a sport they have yet to try, as well as clear up room in their schedules for other classes that they really want or need to take.