Give me a C . . . charter schools warm up to sports

Nobody predicted pompoms and cheerleaders when charter schools opened more than a decade ago. Or a basketball team called the Dragons. Or nail-biting tryouts for softball, baseball, and soccer.

Giving up sports used to be inevitable when students enrolled in the small, experimental schools known for rigorous classes and long school days. But in recent years, charter schools have been forming competitive teams and shelling out money for uniforms and gym rentals, increasing tension with some regular public schools. Charter schools already compete with public schools for dollars and students and found resistance in some cases when they wanted to use public school gym space.

In the past four years, sports have become so popular that a third of the charter schools with high school students formed their own league, the Massachusetts Charter School Athletic Organization. The number of players has more than doubled to 389, and the competitive sports offered rose from one to four: soccer, baseball, basketball, and softball. Charter school officials say sports motivate students and keep them from leaving for regular high schools.

``I probably wouldn't have stayed if there wasn't an athletic program," said Akeem Costa, 16, a junior at Prospect Hill Academy in Cambridge, grabbing a gulp of water before a scrimmage last week on a field borrowed from Cambridge Youth Soccer . ``I just really love sports. It's just a big part of my life."

Jack O'Brien, the athletic director of Prospect Hill Academy who founded the league last year, said he started a basketball team in 2000 because students were leaving for regular high schools. The team was so popular that he started a basketball league two years later. Now eleven schools compete in the expanded league, mainly from Boston, but also from Norwell and Foxborough. They use sports to teach discipline and teamwork, he said.

``They're competing, and they're sweating, and they're hurting," said O'Brien. ``They're reinforcing each other to play hard and not give up."

Charter schools are experimental public schools created as part of the 1993 Education Reform Act, on the theory that competition would increase student achievement at all schools. Charter schools get money from regular schools when a student enrolls, and they are run by an independent board outside the control of school districts or teachers unions. Charters decide their budgets, the length of the school day, and where to assign teachers, for instance. About 59 charter schools exist statewide, about half serving high school students.

Charter schools are expected to excel academically, but not in athletics. Last year, Mystic Valley Regional became the first charter school to join the state's main association for high school sports to compete with regular public or private schools in football, basketball, and other games.

``Why wouldn't we compete with them?" said the athletic director, Dave Lezenski. ``We put our sneakers on the same way."

But several charter school coaches said they cannot compete with bigger, tougher schools. Cambridge Rindge and Latin School has roughly 400 seniors, 10 times the number at Prospect Hill Academy. Plus charter schools often have longer school days, which cuts into practice time.

``We're not likely to be a place where people will be scouted for basketball," said Alan Safran, executive director of Media and Technology Charter High School in Boston, where the school days could run as late as 8 p.m., for tutoring. ``We are a choice for someone who wants to succeed in college and beyond."

Expanding sports beyond some nonleague athletics can be tough for charter schools because of their limited gym space and budgets. Like regular public schools, some charter schools charge fees, and others don't. Mystic Valley, with a high school in Everett, charges from $50 for cheerleading to $125 for football, while Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School in Hyde Park runs free programs that include uniforms of shorts and T-shirts.

Regular school systems have their own gyms, but they aren't necessarily willing to share. Boston, for one, says it doesn't have enough space to share its recreational space. Plus, officials fear the charter schools' sports will eventually cost the city more money.

``The charters get X number of dollars from us for every kid they take. Are they now going to take more to fund the athletic program?" said Michael Contompasis, Boston's interim superintendent . ``It's a great idea that they offer whatever they can. But my major concern is how the hell are they going to fund it?"

Some charter school officials expressed concern that the rise in sports will detract from academics.

``I'm not a big fan of it," said Robert Consalvo, the father of a Boston city councilor and a founder of the Academy of the Pacific Rim, where all students learn Mandarin and prepare for college. ``One of the problems with public schools is they try to be all things to all people. You can't do that. You have to focus. At the academy we focus on academics."

The academy didn't consider sports when it opened in 1997. But gradually students asked for basketball or other extracurricular activities, said Spencer Blasdale, executive director. Now dozens of the 350 students sign up for sports such as lacrosse, basketball, and cheerleading, offered last year for the first time. The school's nickname is the Dragons, after its Chinese theme.

Charter school officials say they try to make sure that sports don't intrude on academics. All students must pass their classes to practice or play games. At Prospect Hill, teachers report students' achievement and attendance weekly, and those who are behind risk suspension from practice or games. Last year's athletes had a solid B average.

The most prominent banner at Prospect Hill touts high MCAS scores. But the school's athletic pride is clear. The teams are called the Wizards. Last year's senior class raised money to buy shelves to showcase the school's trophies. Students say the sports teams have become so competitive that this year students were cut from the coed soccer team for the first time.

``It made it feel more like an actual big high school sports team," said Juliana Santoyo, 17, a senior and soccer co captain.

Last week the soccer team practiced one day under a light drizzle, running drills, shouting through their orange mouth guards, and huddling with the coach, Chris Herbert, who gave them tips on kicking, blocking, and throwing.

From the sidelines, parents say the sports are an unexpected bonus for schools they chose for academics.

``She always loved sports," said Ana Marina Vaquerano, referring to her freshman daughter, Diana, 14 . ``I want her to have a social network."

Schools also capitalize on peer pressure to prod students to improve their grades. At the Academy of the Pacific Rim, officials sidelined a third of the basketball cheerleaders because they were flunking a class.

Savannah Brown, 16, one of the captains last year, said sitting in the stands spurred her to raise her biology grade.

``It was heartbreaking," she said.

Blasdale said he had to admit that sports motivated students in a way that homework competitions and reading contests did not.

``I never thought we'd have cheerleaders," said Blasdale. ``It was almost like we had to get out of their way. They wanted to have cheerleading so badly."