The reassignment of Wake County students next fall will be a big factor in determining which Wake high schools contend for N.C. High School Athletic Association championships in the future.
School teams and their relative success have not influenced the county school board's intent to move to a community-based system, board member John Tedesco said, but attendance zones and the use of magnet schools will affect athletic success.
National trends indicate high schools with students from wealthier families, such as Cary's Green Hope and Raleigh's Leesville Road, usually dominate in sports such as golf, tennis, soccer and swimming. Schools with students from less affluentareas, such as Knightdale and East Wake, often have a better chance in football and track.
"The attendance area is a huge factor in athletics," said Bobby Guthrie, the Wake County Public Schools athletic director. "The pool of students that teams draw from is one of the most important things."
A 2004 study of 27 states by USA Today indicates that the more affluent the students in a school, the more likely the school is to win a state title. Public schools in the wealthiest neighborhoods win state team championships at more than twice the rate of schools in the least wealthy areas, according to the report.
The study tracked the results in basketball, soccer, outdoor track, football, girls volleyball, girls softball and baseball, using socioeconomic data to determine the average affluence of schools' families.
Wake County, with the exception of the track program at Southeast Raleigh High School, fits the national trend.
If Southeast's extraordinary track success is not included, the four Wake high schools with the highest percentage of students in the free- and reduced-lunch program have not won an NCHSAA team title in the past five years.
On the other hand, the four Wake schools with the lowest percentage of students in the program have won 10 state titles.
"It is a matter of resources," said Roland Lazenby, a sportswriter and Radford University instructor, and a social critic of American sports. "The schools in the wealthier areas will have the resources to pull in what they need to be successful. The schools without those resources will not.
"We like to think of the poor kids working hard, entertaining themselves and becoming scrappy while the more affluent children play video games," he continued. "But the reality is resources are needed to get more resources.
"I'm not as concerned with the athletics as I am with the academics. You hope all the schools have the resources they need academically."
Tedesco said he was surprised that the schools from wealthier neighborhoods have more athletic success. He grew up in the Alquippa, Pa., area, he said, which has high poverty but produces outstanding football players and teams.
But in many sports, wealth brings advantages, such as more coaching, better equipment and access to better facilities. And sometimes, players leave the school system altogether for educational and athletic opportunities elsewhere.
Of the top 10 senior basketball prospects in North Carolina, according to therivals.com recruiting service, eight attend private schools. Most have attended more than one high school.
The diversity program
Wake's diversity system has had mixed results in achieving socio-economic balance in Wake's 19 NCHSAA member high schools, judging by the percentage of students who received free- or reduced-price meals in 2009-2010.
Only 6 percent of Green Hope's students were in the free- or reduced-meal program in 2009-2010; 45.9 percent of East Wake's student body was.
Green Hope, Apex, Panther Creek, Leesville Road and Holly Springs all had less than 20 percent, while Southeast Raleigh, Garner and Knightdale joined East Wake with percentages close to 40 or higher.
In the past five years, Green Hope has won four boys golf titles and a girls cross-country title, reached the boys' soccer championship game, produced state individual swimming champions and been strong in girls tennis. Its football team, on the other hand, has lost 27 games in a row.
Southeast Raleigh, Garner and East Wake high schools, however, traditionally have been strong in football.
Guthrie said he cannot say how changes in reassignment policy will affect athletic programs until the board redraws school attendance lines and determines the role of magnet schools.
Magnet schools offer special classes to encourage students outside the assignment area to enroll and diversify the student body's socio-economic background.
Without the influx of magnet students, Southeast Raleigh athletics director Gary Powers said, it would be difficult to field teams in sports such as soccer, baseball, tennis, golf and softball.
"We might not have enough players to field a team," he said.
The swimming program at Raleigh's Enloe High School is a state power and has won nine NCHSAA state titles from 1998 through 2007. Magnet students have been a big part of those teams.
Enloe coach Vickie Peoples said about 50 percent of her swimmers came to Enloe for the magnet program.
"My percentage [of magnet students] was a lot higher than most sports," she said. "But the magnet program has been a big part of a great high school."
Enloe Athletic Director Tommy Moore said he had no idea how reassignment would affect Enloe's overall athletic program because he doesn't know where attendance lines will be drawn or how students will be assigned.
"All I know is that we have a group of teachers and coaches who are going to do the best job teaching and coaching that they can with the students we have," Moore said.
Variety of sports
In Wake County, and throughout much of the state, different schools have built outstanding programs in different sports.
The Enloe swimmers and the Cary wrestlers annually are among the best in the state. Leesville Road and Broughton have won state girls soccer titles. Broughton's tennis program is among the best in the state. Green Hope has won four of its five recent state titles in boys golf.
All of Southeast Raleigh's titles have been in boys or girls indoor or outdoor track.
"You see that everywhere," Guthrie said. "It might be the coach or the school support or whatever, but once a program gets established in a particular sport, that program often continues to be successful."
Eleven of the 19 Wake high schools that were NCHSAA members in 2009 have won state titles during the past five years. Only Broughton - with championships in tennis, cross country and soccer - has won state team titles in more than two sports within the past five years.
