Mission Statement of Gettysburg Area School District

Gettysburg Area School District, in partnership with the family and community, is dedicated to excellence and committed to maximizing every student’s opportunity to reach their full potential for achievement.  Our purpose is to provide a safe and healthy environment in which all students can learn. We embrace our responsibility in developing a caring school community that enables all students to become active and productive members of our diverse and ever-changing global society.  

Interscholastic Athletics Philosophy

The Gettysburg Area School District believes that the program of interscholastic athletics is a way to achieve a balanced educational program for students.  Athletic competition, by its nature, will promote learning experiences that contribute to the intellectual, personal, physical, and psychological development of our student-athletes.  These learning experiences are to be consistent with the educational goals and are to complement the academic program of the District. Such participation is a privilege that carries with it the responsibility to the school, to the sport, to the student body, to the community, and to the students themselves as well as their families.  At all times, the athletic program is an extension of the classroom and is considered to be an educational activity. GASD Policy 123:  Interscholastic Athletics

Athletic programs are the perfect complement to the classroom - not because students learn how to become proficient in sports, but because they learn how to become productive citizens in our society.  We believe that the athletic program should provide a variety of experiences to promote learning and aid in the development of positive habits and attitudes in students that would prepare them for adult life and citizenship in our society.  Athletics play an important role in the life of Gettysburg Area Schools as the young people involved learn lessons in sportsmanship, teamwork, competition, commitment, and how to win and lose gracefully.