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r/Teachers · u/neigedensdantanAug 1, 2026, 3:44 PM

Are extracurriculars still a thing at your school?

Our admin (HS) every so often will make a big push for us to offer more extracurriculars, and a few teachers always decide they're going to offer a photography club or a Magic card club or whatever. 4 kids show up to these things on the first day, and three weeks later there is only one kid, if he remembers to attend.

It seems that the demand among the students just isn't there. Football, volleyball, and track are full of kids, but even if we add another sports team it's mainly populated by the kids from football, volleyball and track.

Because of strikes and things, lots of teachers have gone basically work-to-rule and don't do extracurriculars out of principle, but in the end that seems irrelevant since the kids aren't interested anyway. I can imagine a world where this was changed, but the path to changing it seems to be changing something else about the school, not just offering more and more activities to the same small number of participants.

Curious as to what is happening elsewhere.

133

Comments

u/DingleFritzGuy1Aug 1, 2026, 3:47 PM
Fewer teachers are volunteering their time to provide free labor for these types of things, so my school is trying to offer basically breadcrumb incentives to get more teachers involved after hours. Many of the teachers at the school have young families so I doubt it will help much lol
- u/redditmailalex1Aug 1, 2026, 4:27 PM
  Same problem. No extra pay. So i run a club or two during lunch. Usually they die off after the first couple months or just turn into hangout eat lunch club. There should be a stipend and a petty cash of a couple hundred bucks. Buy the kids snacks or tshirts or use it as seed money for fundraising.
  - u/DingleFritzGuy1Aug 1, 2026, 4:39 PM
u/torster21Aug 1, 2026, 3:48 PM
My district offers stipends for extra curriculars, yours doesn't have any? No wonder no one wants to commit to volunteering time
- u/Same_Profile_13961Aug 1, 2026, 4:00 PM
  Exactly! The stipends for non-sports extracurriculars are *small,* but teachers aren’t donating their time. A colleague was recently asked to do something for the school which would take up a lot of time— when she inquired about the associated stipend, they said there wasn’t one… hard no for her. Unfortunately, there’s too many people who will martyr themselves and do it all for free— and then complain about it or brag about how much they do for the school.
- u/Agreeable-Sun3681Aug 1, 2026, 4:55 PM
  Yeah I am probably more invested in my non-sports extracurriculars than most because they maintain my enrollment which I need to stay employed but I wouldn't do them for free. I probably would do them for less than I currently get paid but i'm not telling the district that lmao
u/Raccoon_Attack1Aug 1, 2026, 3:53 PM
My daughter's middle school (grade 6-8) offered art club, which was very popular, and a school play that had hundreds of kids involved. Meetings were usually during school hours, such as on break/recess, with some afterschool practices for the play. But art club was well attended. They also had a well attended chess club, a choir, school band, and then several clubs relating to different volunteer tasks around the school, such as library helpers, recycling team, yearbook, school council. Those all seemed to be well liked with many participants. I don't think their school had a photography club or magic card club (I don't know what the latter is).
- u/WildCard20391Aug 1, 2026, 5:03 PM
  Magic: The Gathering! It's a fantasy themed trading card game. Im pretty sure you can get a free random bundle of cards for starting a club and it comes with resources for teaching the game through sorting the bundle and making decks.
u/Usual_Technician69091Aug 1, 2026, 4:00 PM
I've noticed that some kids need the push to get involved in clubs, I know I did in high school. I'd mention to kids that might enjoy it and encourage them to come. As for teachers giving their time, it has to be something they want to do. There is a reason why it's so hard to find coaches because the pay is so bad they have to find someone willing to basically give their time for very little pay. At least in my district. The job itself is also just that much harder now. Teachers don't have the energy after a day of packed classes with behavior issues and little support. No wonder they don't want to stay longer after school for no/little pay. Teaching is still a job just like any other.
- u/yeyiyeyiyo1Aug 1, 2026, 5:23 PM
  I never worked in a school where it was hard to find coaches. Lots of guys want to do it.
u/ant05191Aug 1, 2026, 4:01 PM
The teachers at my school refuse to host clubs, even co-curriculars like FBLA or FFA, after school. They will only host if they are allowed to do it during the school's daily remediation, intervention, and enrichment period. Which means that teachers with state tests, who are prepping for other required tests or performance based measures, or who simply need to target gaps to improve student achievement in their non-tested course not only have less instructional time (10 minutes from each class was taken to create that daily period, so they've lost 50 min of instruction per class each week), they don't get to do the targeted instruction or extension they need to grow students. The result? Grades are low, GPAs are low, and the school hasn't met growth in 12 years, and growth among accelerated learners is - 5.9 (that isn't a typo). Students feel extremely entitled to clubs and will become belligerent and defiant if told they need to remain with a teacher for any reason. They can only be held if they have a 69 or below. Standardized tests aren't the be all end all of education, but we're legit taking time away from our classes for Battle of the Books and karaoke club. And then getting berated for low achievement?!!!????
u/CoolClearMorning1Aug 1, 2026, 4:02 PM
Yes, we still have a lot of extracurricular clubs at my high school, and most of them are pretty well attended, albeit by a lot of the same students. So if book club meets once a month on Wednesdays, then drama club isn't going to have a meeting that day because half of its members are also in the book club. We also have a club fair during the first weeks of school where students can see what all of the different extracurricular options are and sign up for clubs. That alone gets us a lot of new students/freshmen who haven't yet decided which "thing" they're going to get involved with in high school.
u/bboymixer1Aug 1, 2026, 4:04 PM
Over the last decade, I've watched the clubs die out. Sports are the only extracurriculars left. We used to have Spanish Club, FFA, FBLA, NHS, and a couple more. Stipends have always been offered, but students just don't care and aren't interested. The few that are interested don't have a way to get home other than the school bus, and we don't have an activity bus.
u/AKBoarder0071Aug 1, 2026, 4:04 PM
Our district pays addenda for every activity/club, but we still have trouble keeping coaches/sponsors.
u/Huskerschu1Aug 1, 2026, 4:06 PM
Yes and for some reason we run them the first Tuesday of the month during the day whenever the sponsor has their plan so you always have a random number of kids missing actual class time for yoga club or whatever
u/Byrdie_girl1Aug 1, 2026, 4:12 PM
I use to run the robot club, DND club, and GSA. I gave up the robotics club cause it was taking up to much time, the GSA was then outlawed and it became a rouge organization, we realized the DND kids and GSA kids were the same kids. So my DND club has grew massively last year I had close to 30 kids that showed up regularly and about 20 more that came on and out. I get a microscopic stipen but I'd do it even with out.
- u/ApprehensiveGuest9761Aug 1, 2026, 4:39 PM
  My elementary had a DND club and they had to cap the members because so many kids loved it.
  - u/Byrdie_girl1Aug 1, 2026, 5:59 PM
u/freedraw1Aug 1, 2026, 4:26 PM
Wait, so the plan for extracurriculars is just “Hey, anybody want to work for free?” Of course, they’re not taking off. There’s no incentive for teachers to start them or keep up. There’s no budget for materials. And there’s no club culture or consistency for students to see them as a worthwhile endeavor. Every contract I’ve seen in my state has every extracurricular specified with a negotiated stipend. The response from staff needs to be “We would love to discuss a list of extracurricular offerings and the associated stipends in our next contract negotiation or an addendum to the current contract. Or, if you are in a state that bars collective bargaining, you can still organize and ask for the district to do the actually work of creating a budget for clubs before any of you commit to anything. It kinda sounds like that’s what teachers are doing if they’ve already gone WTR multiple times.
u/SBSnipes1Aug 1, 2026, 4:35 PM
We had a DnD club go throughout last year with 15-20 consistent members and several book clubs with 10-15 each
u/Agreeable-Sun3681Aug 1, 2026, 4:53 PM
Yes. There are sooo many sports and I would say almost all kids at my school are either in sports or fine arts (theater, band, orchestra etc). Some in both. I also am a club moderator for my subject area club & my subject honor society and I have a healthy enrollment. We meet twice a month and it's pretty chill/unstructured. It's mostly just me putting on a youtube video/music and the kids doing crafts and chatting and eating the chips I brought them. Honor society kids do tutoring and sometimes a service project. I make about 2k a year for this.
u/Crazy_adventurer2621Aug 1, 2026, 4:54 PM
I’m in Canada, all extra curricular is voluntary. Some teachers do it more than others but we have assigned time in our collective agreement but after striking last year for almost a month (I’m in Alberta), people are doing less of it, which is the way it should be. If parents want these things they can step up and do it
u/Bizzy17171Aug 1, 2026, 4:55 PM
This is a huge problem in my district. Everyone says they went more extracurriculars, lots of people sign up for extracurriculars, and then no one wants to show up and actually do any work related to extracurriculars. Excluding the handful of really popular clubs and sports, as you mention.
u/conductorman861Aug 1, 2026, 4:59 PM
My local contract offers paltry compensation for extracurriculars and we had a rough round of negotiations a couple of years ago, so teachers aren’t as inclined to volunteer. Surprisingly, newer teachers (who are usually tapped to run extracurriculars and usually say yes because they want a continuing contract), are saying “no”. I love this - the job is hard enough to be volunteering countless hours to extracurriculars for little to no compensation.
u/Independent-Wheel3541Aug 1, 2026, 5:01 PM
I ran a HW club/support group twice a week after school last year. It started out great- got a stipend, and kiddos signed up through Google Classroom by noon the morning of the club. They had to tell me what they were going to work on and/or need help with. Lots of signups, pretty productive, etc. But then, after a few months, Admin (and I was part of the admin team as well but didn’t have much say in it) started assigning kids to it due to low grades. Then they started walking kids down to the room because they missed the bus, their mom was gonna be late, etc. The behaviors skyrocketed. THEN they decided they would sweep up any kid who hadn’t left campus by a certain time and make them come to the HW group. After three sessions with those expectations, I dropped the class. I directed all complaints from parents to my building principal.
- u/Hefty-Focus13401Aug 1, 2026, 5:32 PM
  Yup. Only a matter of time before you are exploited. I would love to do an art club but I’m terrified of parents not picking up their kids and then dedicating more time to it.
u/derpderb1Aug 1, 2026, 5:01 PM
They are the only thing, my school is a pipeline for failure but Fun!
u/silkmist1Aug 1, 2026, 5:03 PM
Students constantly ask us to sponsor clubs. Used to sponsor a couple low effort popular clubs myself. Then the state decided to require parental permission. If any student participates in a club in anyway at any time either the sponsor has explicit hard copy signed parental permission OR parents can get your teachers license revoked. Same if someone claims you ever discussed, implied, or supported gender topics (undefined) with or in a student’s presence. Admin advises we only ever talk about the content we’re paid to teach. Period. Yeh, our students want clubs but most teachers know better. Not worth the risk.
u/MapleBisonHeel1Aug 1, 2026, 5:10 PM
Some people are more focussed on performative activities. They sponsor activities that get views/likes/follows on social media or get brought to the attention of school and district administration. Which means they look for minimum effort. And forget kids gaining self-confidence…easier to find skilled kids for when the media shows up.
u/Pook2421Aug 1, 2026, 5:10 PM
I work at an elementary school, where there are generally less extra curricular activities. I decided to start one last year, mostly because it was something I did as a kid and I loved. I also don’t have kids of my own at this point so I have some free time. I had been coaching a sport I used to play and recently stopped that. I don’t see anything wrong with volunteering for things I enjoy, when I have the time to. Now, it turns out I do get a stipend, which makes it better, but ultimately it mostly will help cancel out anything I have to spend on the club (mostly time, but some materials).
- u/Hefty-Focus13401Aug 1, 2026, 5:35 PM
  That’s the thing is if you enjoy it and your time is valued it can be worth it. I would love to do an art club with my elementary students but I think behaviors and timely pick up would be an issue. Plus i know there no stipend.
u/Visible_Attitude76931Aug 1, 2026, 5:13 PM
Yes but last year I was the inky one who didn't get paid
u/annafrida1Aug 1, 2026, 5:14 PM
I teach a subject that very commonly has a club associated with it. My school only offers stipends for listed pre-determined activities, not for clubs generally. Every year I get asked by students and parents about said club, and every year I go “Absolutely, if we get some student leadership in to run it there will be one and I’ll be sure to advertise it!” Years ago I decided I was not running what was basically another prep on meeting days. Students were constantly wanting to be “President” or have other titles for their college apps but leave me to do the work. Once I stopped and put that on student “leadership,” the club ground to a halt. This past year I had a kid who I hoped would break that trend, but she spread herself far too thin between however many clubs and activities and began half-assing all of them instead of whole-assing just one or two.
u/davossss1Aug 1, 2026, 5:22 PM
I used to host an after school tabletop club free of charge. Enjoyed doing it for many years. I don't know if it was COVID or something else, but around 2021 the students became so combative and vulgar that was like, nope, I was doing this for fun, not to police behavior. So I stopped doing it.
u/Strange-Employee-5201Aug 1, 2026, 5:27 PM
How big is the school? Clubs and sports are a big thing in most of our district schools, but obviously it's harder with smaller numbers of kids.
u/ineedtocoughbut1Aug 1, 2026, 5:30 PM
Yes our elementary schools have more extra curr I think than most American high schools do.
u/Florecitarockera931Aug 1, 2026, 5:32 PM
I work in a private school so our kids are pretty good about extra curriculars because most of them want to attend college, we have NAHS, a video gaming club, student council, several 4 H clubs ( our most popular one is robotics) TED ED, and some activities started by the students themselves (a club that writes letters to kids in the hospital, a student ran cafe etc)
u/SadieTarHeel1Aug 1, 2026, 5:35 PM
My school integrated extracurriculars into the school day. We cut each class by about 10 min in order to create a 40min flex period where extracurriculars are offered and students sign up where to go. Every student is required to pick a place to go, and every teacher is required to invite at least 25 students (they don't have to all come, but they have to be invited). We also use this flex time for make-up work, remediation, and homeroom/housekeeping things around the school.
u/Hefty-Focus13401Aug 1, 2026, 5:37 PM
Behaviors are so bad that it would not be fun, unless you could get additional adults to help out. Idk about you but I’m exhausted at the end of the day and no way I want to supervise more kids.
u/WolftankPick1Aug 1, 2026, 5:53 PM
It’s huge at many levels for us. Grateful for that the pros far outweigh the cons. But we r not forced into anything.
u/S-8-R1Aug 1, 2026, 6:38 PM
No cheddar; no extra
u/Snow_Water_2351Aug 1, 2026, 7:10 PM
We have nearly a hundred clubs (had more but we cracked down on clubs that existed in name only) beyond traditional sports. These clubs are student driven. Our big problem is so many kids want to start clubs (many times they think it looks good on college resume) with the problem that every club needs a teacher advisor and the teacher must be present for meetings and events. There is no extra pay or anything for almost all the clubs, so it's teacher volunteer. Some of us refuse so there are many teachers who have multiple clubs because they can't say no.
u/sgtpezzer1Aug 1, 2026, 7:13 PM
I have been running a board game clubs at my middle school for a couple years. I average 10-15 students every two weeks. I volunteer my time because I am a board gamer and I enjoy sharing that with students.