Some North Carolina students may face tougher requirement for after-school activities
By Deneesha Edwards
The academic bar could be raised for students in Thomasville City Schools who participate in any extracurricular programs afterschool.
The board of education members heard this week about a new policy that would require students to have a grade point average of 2.0 to participate in afterschool activities. Keith Tobin, superintendent of Thomasville City Schools, said the policy is not just for athletes, it’s also for students participating in clubs, the band, cheerleading and any extracurricular activities
“We wanted to be fair,” Tobin said. “If you’re not at the GPA of 2.0, you’re not maximizing your academic potential. I think it’s a good policy. It’s going to allow us to give them support.”
The policy will sit for 30 days. After hearing public comments, if the board feels comfortable with the change, Tobin said they will vote for the policy at its April meeting.
Just like many others in the state, the system was in compliance with the N.C. High School Athletic Association standards that required students playing sports to pass just three of four classes in order to be eligible and have an 85 percent attendance rate. A student earning a 70 in the class was considered passing. In reality, Tobin said a student could have three 70s and an F and still be eligible to participate in the extra activities.
“We want to give them an opportunity to get into school to get a degree and be successful,” Tobin said. “They need a certain GPA for college. We want to make sure they have what they need to go to the next level.”
In December of last year, Tobin asked Deboy Beamon, Thomasville High School’s principal, to form a committee to study whether the school system should raise academic requirements after a parent voiced a concern to the system about students not meeting that threshold to enter college. The committee of school board members, coaches and parents researched the positives and negatives of raising academic standards.
“I’m happy about it,” Beamon said. “We thought, ‘Why not raise it for everybody?’ The goal was to have every student raise their expectations.”
For students participating in extracurricular activities and who may not have the required GPA, Tobin said they will not be immediately kicked out of the activity. Instead they will be required to attend mediation and tutoring after school. It comes down to the coach and principal, too. If they don’t see the student is pushing or trying, then the student will then be released from the program.
“We need to give them support to get there,” Tobin said. “In order to participate you will be required to go to mediation. In order to stay on the team, you are going to have to make progress. This puts the ball in their court and gives them support.”
Beamon said when athletic grades were reviewed during the process of developing the policy, he said less than 10 of the students had below a 2.0 GPA.
“Most of the athletes are some of our best students,” he said. “We’re going to work on those kids that are close to get them there to graduate and go to college. It’s all about helping students. It’s going to work, I have no doubt about it.”
Source: The Dispatch
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[...] earlier news that the academic bar would be raised, Students in Thomasville City Schools participating in [...]