Program Overview

In many ways, the academic portion of the Parkland Student Athlete Academy will resemble a regular high school experience: students will have dedicated classroom time for each of the required high school subjects (Language Arts, Social Studies, Mathematics and Sciences).

PSAA High School students will register with and attend their designated Parkland School Division high school (Spruce Grove Composite High School or Memorial Composite High School). They will spend one block of time per day participating in PSAA programming and athletic training, with the remaining three blocks dedicated to earning the high school credits required for graduation. Our goal is to ensure each of our students is challenged and performing at their best academically.

Students will have a weekly opportunity to participate in Sports Science and Total Athlete Development as part of the PSAA curriculum. These sessions connect our students’ sports programming to their curriculum, and allow students to engage in research activities and problems of inquiry relating to both the curriculum and their sport.

During this time, students will have the opportunity to earn credit in the following high school courses:

We understand that many students in this program will be traveling throughout the school year to participate in competitions. Online resources, print modules, special projects and other resource materials will enable students to address their school work and keep up academically while on the road, allowing them to transition seamlessly between classroom learning and distance learning.

Please note: Our student-athletes are expected to be proactive communicators. Many developmental pathways in North America go through post-secondary academic institutions. Teaching students to balance the demands of training and studying is part of our mandate. As such, missing a homework deadline and saying “I was too busy with sport,” isn’t an acceptable excuse. Coming to a teacher before a homework deadline and proactively communicating your needs will be met with consideration. 

Student athletes are required to arrange for their own transportation at the beginning of the day to the facility in which they participate in their sport-specific training. At the conclusion of each training session, transportation will be provided from the facility back to the school.

Each sport-specific program within the Academy will have its own flexible schedule that not only allows sufficient time for academic learning and athletic pursuits, but also coordinates with the schedules of our multiple community partners. We will work with community partners to build our class time around their available sports programming, and together finalize each schedule. Sport programming is held at various local athletic venues, depending on each student's chosen sport.

Typically, PSAA programming is composed of:

• Four days of sport-specific athletic training; and,
• One Sports Science or Total Athlete Development day.