One of the most common questions from families considering ACL is about extracurricular activities. Parents want to know: what clubs and competitions are available? Will my child still be able to participate in activities they love? How do extracurriculars work when you are splitting your time between two schools?
The answers require understanding a key distinction that shapes the entire ACL extracurricular experience: some activities are associated with the academy, and others happen at the home school. Getting this distinction right is important for planning your child's schedule and setting realistic expectations about what life at ACL looks like beyond the classroom.
The Key Distinction: ACL vs. Home School Activities
Before diving into specific clubs and competitions, here is the fundamental framework you need to understand:
ACL does not operate its own traditional extracurricular programs. There are no ACL sports teams, no ACL student government, no ACL drama club. Students who want to participate in these activities do so through their home high school.
What ACL does offer — or at least has historically been associated with — are STEM-related competitions and career-technical education (CTE) organizations that align with the academy's academic programs. Organizations like DECA, HOSA, robotics teams, and Science Olympiad are well-known competition platforms that naturally connect to the kind of coursework ACL students are doing.
Important note: Specific club and competition availability at ACL can vary from year to year depending on student interest, faculty advisors, and program priorities. We strongly recommend that families check directly with ACL administration for the most current information about what is available. The information below reflects well-known organizations that have been associated with ACL-level or LCPS-level STEM programs, but should not be taken as a guaranteed current offering.
STEM Competitions at ACL
Robotics
Robotics competitions are among the most visible and exciting extracurricular opportunities connected to STEM education programs like ACL. Teams design, build, and program robots to complete challenges, competing against teams from other schools at regional and national levels.
Robotics is particularly well-suited to ACL students because it draws on many of the same skills they are developing in the classroom: engineering design, programming logic, teamwork, and creative problem-solving under constraints. For AET students especially, robotics competition work often reinforces and extends what they are learning in their project-based courses.
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad is a national STEM competition where teams of students compete across multiple events spanning biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and earth science. Events range from written tests to hands-on building challenges to lab-based experiments.
The breadth of Science Olympiad events means there is typically something for every kind of STEM-interested student. Students who love biology can focus on life science events, while those who prefer engineering can concentrate on building challenges. This flexibility makes it accessible to students across all three ACL programs.
CTE Competitions: DECA, HOSA, and SkillsUSA
DECA
DECA is a career and technical student organization focused on marketing, finance, hospitality, and management. Students compete in role-play scenarios, written events, and project presentations. While DECA might not seem like an obvious fit for a STEM program at first glance, it develops skills that are highly relevant to STEM careers: business communication, entrepreneurial thinking, and the ability to present technical ideas to non-technical audiences.
DECA competitions operate at the regional, state, and national level, giving students a clear progression path if they are motivated to compete at higher levels.
HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America)
HOSA is a student organization for future health professionals. Students compete in events related to health science knowledge, clinical skills, public health, and biomedical research. For AOS students interested in pre-med or health science career paths, HOSA provides a natural extension of their classroom learning into competitive and leadership contexts.
HOSA events range from knowledge tests to hands-on clinical skill demonstrations to public health advocacy presentations. Like DECA, it operates at regional, state, and national competition levels.
SkillsUSA
SkillsUSA is a career and technical education organization that spans a wide range of trades and technical fields. For AET and MATA students, SkillsUSA competitions in areas like engineering technology, computer programming, and technical drafting can provide valuable competitive experience that aligns directly with their coursework.
Home School Extracurriculars: Where Everything Else Happens
For all the activities that are not STEM competitions or CTE organizations, your child's home high school is the place to be. This includes:
- Varsity and JV sports — football, basketball, soccer, swimming, track, tennis, and every other VHSL sport
- Performing arts — theater productions, marching band, choir, orchestra, dance team
- Student government and leadership — class officers, student council, honor societies
- Academic teams — debate, Model UN, mock trial, math team
- Interest-based clubs — art club, creative writing, language clubs, community service organizations
This is an important planning consideration. Since B days are spent at the home school, your child's participation in these activities happens on B days and after school at the home campus. Many activities have practices, rehearsals, or meetings on specific days, and your child will need to coordinate these schedules with their alternating A-Day/B-Day calendar.
The good news is that LCPS schools are experienced with ACL students participating in home school activities. Coaches, directors, and club advisors generally understand the dual-enrollment schedule and work with students to accommodate it. However, your child should communicate proactively with activity leaders about their schedule, especially at the beginning of the year.
Balancing Activities with Academics
The ACL academic workload is substantial. Adding extracurricular activities on top of it requires careful planning and honest self-assessment about capacity.
Here are practical recommendations based on what ACL families consistently share:
- Start with fewer activities in 9th grade. The first semester at ACL is an adjustment period. Adding too many extracurriculars before your child has found their academic rhythm can lead to burnout. It is better to start with one or two activities and add more once the routine is established.
- Choose activities you genuinely enjoy. This sounds obvious, but the pressure to build a college resume can lead students to join activities they do not actually care about. Activities that feel like obligations drain energy; activities that feel like escapes from academic stress restore it.
- Communicate with coaches and advisors early. If your child will miss practices or meetings on A days, let activity leaders know at the beginning of the season or semester. Most are understanding, but they need advance notice to plan around absences.
- Watch for the warning signs of overcommitment. If your child is consistently sleeping less than seven hours, if grades are slipping across multiple classes, or if they no longer seem to enjoy any of their activities, the schedule may need to be pared back.
How This Looks on College Applications
Families often worry about whether splitting time between two schools will hurt their child's extracurricular profile for college applications. The short answer is: no. In fact, the opposite is often true.
College admissions officers are familiar with magnet and academy programs. They understand that dual-enrolled students have more demanding schedules than typical high school students. A student who maintains meaningful involvement in a few activities while managing the ACL workload demonstrates exactly the kind of time management, commitment, and resilience that selective colleges value.
Quality matters more than quantity. A student with deep, sustained involvement in two or three activities — captain of a sports team, state-level DECA competitor, dedicated community service volunteer — is more compelling than a student with superficial membership in ten clubs. And for ACL students, the academy coursework itself is a significant credential that colleges recognize and respect.
FAQs
Does ACL have its own sports teams or clubs?
ACL does not operate its own athletics or traditional extracurricular programs like student government, drama club, or marching band. Students participate in all of these activities at their home high school. ACL may offer STEM-related competition opportunities such as robotics, Science Olympiad, DECA, and HOSA, though specific availability can vary from year to year. Always check with ACL administration for current offerings.
Can ACL students play sports at their home school?
Yes. ACL students are dual-enrolled and participate in sports through their home high school. Since they attend the home school on B days, they can participate in VHSL athletics. Students should communicate with coaches early in the season about their alternating schedule so the team can plan accordingly.
What STEM competitions are available at ACL?
ACL has historically been associated with STEM and CTE competitions including robotics, Science Olympiad, DECA, HOSA, and SkillsUSA. These are well-known national organizations that align with ACL's STEM and career-technical education programs. However, specific availability depends on student interest and faculty advisors in any given year. We recommend checking directly with ACL administration for the most current list of offerings.
How do ACL students balance extracurricular activities with the academic workload?
Experienced ACL families recommend starting with fewer activities during the first semester while your child establishes their academic routine. Choose activities you genuinely enjoy rather than padding a resume, communicate proactively with coaches and advisors about the alternating schedule, and be honest about capacity. Quality of involvement matters far more than quantity, both for personal well-being and for college applications.
Preparing Your Child for the Full ACL Experience
The academic, social, and extracurricular dimensions of ACL life are all part of the journey. Our admissions prep programs help your child build the foundation for success.
Compare Programs