THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 20, 1996 TAG: 9609200550
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VANEE VINES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: 58 lines
A ``waiver policy'' the School Board attached last month to its 2.0 minimum grade-point-average requirement for participation in extracurricular activities will remain the same - for now.
The board decided Thursday to delay a vote on the official waiver policy until the administration irons out several details.
Meanwhile, what was approved last month still is in effect:
The waiver policy gives only students new to the school district a grace period to meet the minimum GPA requirement for participation in extracurricular activities.
Such students may participate in high school extracurricular activities in Portsmouth if they were eligible to do so in their previous districts - even if their last semester averages fell below a 2.0, or a C.
But those students must acquire at least a 2.0 average by the end of their first nine-week grading period in Portsmouth, or they won't be eligible to participate.
Portsmouth's 2.0 rule kicked in this school year. In South Hampton Roads, Suffolk is the only other district with a similar rule.
The board has yet to set another date to vote on the official waiver policy.
The current waiver policy took effect last month. But the board left the writing of the final policy to School Board Attorney George Willson, in consultation with the central office.
Administrators and board members said several problems with the policy still must be considered.
For example, Willson said Thursday that he's wrestling with the issue of whether probationary status should span an entire season of activity in a given sport or club, or only the length of a grading period - if a season happens to extend beyond one grading period.
Superintendent Richard Trumble told the board that the administration needs more time to work things out, with a board member involved in additional research.
Board member Elizabeth Daniels had previously agreed to help.
The case of I.C. Norcom High junior TaRon Anderson, a star running back, led the board to adopt the waiver policy.
Anderson was enrolled at Virginia Beach's Tallwood High his first two years of high school and was eligible to play football there.
He recently moved to Portsmouth to live with his sister, who is now his legal guardian, and her husband, a Norcom assistant football coach.
Anderson's mother died last year. He said her death made it hard for him to concentrate on schoolwork in his last semester at Tallwood, when he earned D-range grades.
His sister and other sympathizers argued that he needs football to stay on track.
The waiver policy cleared the way for him to play on Norcom's varsity football team. The policy does not apply solely to his case, but school officials have not said how many other students are now affected by the policy.
KEYWORDS: GPA PORTSMOUTH SCHOOLS by CNB