Metro Nashville Public Schools is changing its course on competitive sports events. It now says it will allow student-athletes to resume games next week — with girls soccer games beginning Sept. 23 and football starting Sept. 25. Contact practices began last week.
The district says golf is already underway, and that volleyball and cross country teams are preparing to start their seasons. School officials are even allowing allowing performances from cheerleaders and marching bands to brighten the atmosphere — although parents won’t be allowed to attend home games.
However, the district says livestreaming will be available for spectators.
The announcement follows weeks of improved COVID-19 case counts and pushback from parents about delays to the start of the football season and the return of high schoolers to school buildings.
“The health risks were too high in our community for contact sports or other close gatherings of student-athletes,” said Superintendent Adrienne Battle. “But now after a long summer and a lot of progress against COVID-19, we’ve determined that our teams can play in a way that safer for our players and our coaches.”
In July and again last month, Metro health officials with the support of Battle recommended Nashville schools suspend competitive sporting events until returning to physical classrooms.
The district began phasing in students with disabilities earlier this month. They’re expected to bring in pre-K through sixth-grade students next month.
High schoolers, however, won’t be allowed to return to school buildings until Jan. 7. And Battle says that hasn’t timeline changed, despite athletes being allowed to compete.
That led Fran Bush, one of the only school board members to publicly criticize the district’s response to reopening schools, to push back.
“Returning the high schools back in that phased approach is definitely unacceptable,” said Bush, who represents Antioch. “We can do it after the fall break.”
Bush says it doesn’t make sense to resume sports without resuming in-person classes for all students. And while she says she’s happy that players will be back on the field next week, the district still hasn’t addressed the learning loss that’s occurring during the virtual period.
Including her own children, one of whom is struggling with virtual learning, she says high school students are losing college preparation time and getting the short end of the stick.
“My ninth grader is struggling,” said Bush. “I can imagine how other kids in his position are feeling.”
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