This school year, all sophomore P.E. classes became co-ed after administrators and counselors put this plan into action after planning for the next steps last school year, Stephen Stanicek, P.E. Department Administrator, said. 

Stanicek noted that junior and senior P.E. classes have been co-ed for years. While other grade levels have classes during nearly every block, sophomore P.E. provided a unique scheduling challenge, he explained.

“Half of the sophomores go to Health and half go to P.E. [during each semester],” Stanicek said. “When it was gender separated, there were only three boys [P.E.] classes during the whole semester. If [a student] had to [have] a schedule change, there was no place to put [that student].”

Stanicek explained that by offering co-ed P.E. classes, the scheduling of  sophmore P.E. classes have been a lot easier.

“[Co-ed P.E. classes] provide more opportunities for us as a department to dive into the activities that we’re offering,” Stanicek said. “It provides more opportunities for kids that may want to take another class that’s only offered fourth block.”

Sophomores are already familiar with the co-ed model in other P.E. classes from middle school, Stanicek said. Because of their familiarity and willingness to adapt to the new P.E. model, the students aided in a smooth transition, he explained.

“The more we thought about it and started researching some of the [middle schools] in our area [we found that] their P.E. classes are co-ed,” Stanicek said. “It was a simple transition.”

While the move toward co-ed P.E. classes created more scheduling options, sophomore Liam Johnson explained his co-ed class is not as competitive as his all-boys class was freshman year. 

“Maybe it is stereotypical, but I feel like the boys are more competitive during the games [in all-boys P.E.class],” Johnson said. 

However, sophomore Hannah Collins attested the co-ed classes have been more competitive than her all-girls class last year.

 “It is cool that we get to have girls and guys in [P.E.] class together,” Collins said. “It makes [class] a little more competitive [because] it keeps things fun and engages everyone in what we are doing.” 

Stanicek believes the small trade-off of the lack of competitiveness was worth it. He maintains, however, that it is worth monitoring student feedback as to further evaluate the future of South P.E classes.

“I think it has been a pretty good expirence,” Stanicek said. “We will survey students at the end of each semester. [Making freshman P.E. co-ed] is going to be our next step.”