AP Chemistry teacher Ms. Leah Puhlick stays after school for hours almost every day. Usually, after school, her classroom is filled with students building balsa wood gliders, burning wool or discussing art history.
Between helping her chemistry students and sponsoring three academic teams–Science Olympiad, Science Bowl and It’s Academic–Ms. Puhlick puts in some long days.
“I spend around one to two hours a week on each team for practices, and on weekends I go to tournaments, which usually last about eight hours. Sometimes the trips are overnight, or even several days,” said Ms. Puhlick.
For this, Ms. Puhlick receives a stipend of just $800 a year for It’s Academic, but Science Bowl and Science Olympiad aren’t paid for. And she’s not alone. It’s Academic and Debate and Forensics are the only activities that are Virginia High School League approved and whose coaches receive stipends.
Sponsors for other teams, such as Envirothon and Varsity Math Team, devote their time and energy for free.
“Ms. Puhlick should definitely be paid. She puts in so much effort,” said senior Aishvar Radhakrishan, a member of Science Olympiad, Science Bowl and It’s Academic. “But at the same time, if Science Bowl gets money, then what about clubs like South Asian Student Association? It’s hard to set a boundary.”
Langley’s Model United Nations has had difficulty finding sponsors. Their sponsors changed twice in the last three years. The current sponsor is math teacher Ms. Jillian Busath. “The students had to beg me to be their sponsor. If they had a sponsor with an incentive who was paid they could be even better,” said Ms.Busath.
“As of now there are no plans to provide payment for the academic sponsors,” said Mr. Geoff Noto, Director of Student Activities. “It’s really sad how the sports boosters get so much money from the school but we get nothing. We’re top 10 in the nation, but there’s no support,” said Fahlberg.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology has its own academic booster to raise money for its nationally acclaimed teams. There have been voices inside Langley calling for a similar system.
“I’ve been talking with a mother who also has a student in TJ, and she thinks starting something like that in Langley would really help us,” said Ms. Puhlick.