Emmaus leaves a touch of color in a world full of black and white. Serving over 2700 students, 100-plus teachers, and one emotional support dog, Emmaus has over 70 clubs operating in 2024. However, Emmaus must continue to maintain this infrastructure through careful funding to support the students’ interests in life beyond the classroom—this is where clubs come in.
Extracurricular activities ensure that students form an important part of their lives through building community and connections. It provides an opportunity for students to add to the Emmaus canvas. They increase students’ engagement in their school and make them more attached, thus decreasing the likelihood of failing school, dropping out, and losing motivation.
If clubs lack sufficient funds, students lose motivation, advisers give up, and the structure of Emmaus starts to crumble. The school as a whole loses a bit of it’s soul and character. It loses out on what makes its students strong and unique.
Thankfully, EHS expanded the funding for school activities with an increase from $138,200 to $173,778 for the 2024-25 school year. However, schools across the nation are pressed in terms of funding essential programs, as $122 billion from the federal government meant to help schools recover from the pandemic is due to run out this month. This will leave schools with less money for tutors, summer school, and club funds.
By taking notice of the importance of increasing funding for extracurricular activities, EHS realizes that expanding funding for clubs helps build creativity amongst individuals. This helps students realize their full potential as individuals within the larger context of the school community.
Clubs are one of the major areas of extracurricular activities where students further their interests and engage in meaningful discourse. For instance, a robotics club taking a field trip to a local college about a future career in engineering. However, this trip would never occur in the first place without the funds from the school. Effective funding is a key aspect that determines whether school administrators have access to resources that will provide a better future for students.
Any extracurricular activity needs proper funding if it is to remain relevant and alive. This account handling goes beyond simply tracking costs; it involves ensuring that students are empowered and that they go through valuable experiences. Take, for instance, the National History Day Club, which aims to join regional as well as national competitions; the budget must take into consideration expenses such as purchasing materials, funding events, and traveling expenses.
By having a budget that is sufficiently funded, clubs can concentrate more on learning how to innovate and work together. By properly funding the club, its members would not worry about getting money through fundraising activities.
If the high school drama department wants to offer quality shows, it has to obtain costumes, create sets, and provide rehearsal spaces. The average play costs anywhere between $1,000 to $5,000; the absence of enough funding could lead to poor production quality and reduced student participation, resulting in lost opportunities for self-development.
Furthermore, teachers who are club advisers remain underappreciated which in turn harm club activities. According to an Economic Policy Institute study, it has been reported that Pennsylvania public school teachers receive lower compensation compared to other full-time workers with similar education and skills.
Specifically, their weekly wages are 12.1 percent less, and their total weekly compensation, including benefits, is 6.8 percent lower than that of comparable full-time employees in the state.
Not only does this lead to one of the most integral jobs for society being underfunded, it also leads into the teacher shortage, which is further worsened by the lower compensation in Pennsylvania. Meaning schools are running out of post-pandemic money for school’s budgets for activities and advisers. For instance, as of October 2023, school districts across Pennsylvania reported 2,000 teacher vacancies and another 6,500 are teaching on emergency certificates.
This harms the operation of club activities. Motivating teachers by compensating them properly for their hard work and effort leads to higher retention rates, happy teachers, and clubs that operate in their fullest capacity.
A healthy budget with appropriate funding makes sure that club events are carried out smoothly and gives students fulfilling experiences; besides just being socializing avenues. These activities need to be well planned and budgeted if schools are supposed to meet their students’ desire concerning life outside the classroom.
If schools in Pennsylvania continue to lack funding, it leads to demotivated teachers, harming club activities. Through funding clubs and incentivising club advisors, EHS will continue to enforce important community values for years on end.