THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 24, 1996 TAG: 9609240002
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 46 lines
At Suffolk and Portsmouth public high schools, students must maintain C grade-point averages to participate in extracurricular activities.
The Virginia Beach School Board is considering adopting a similar requirement. It should.
Most cities in the state, including Virginia Beach, follow Virginia High School League standards for participation in sports, cheerleading, forensics and debate, and one-act-play drama competition.
Those standards are too low: The student must have passed five courses in the previous semester and be taking five classes in the present semester. A D- counts as passing.
Both Suffolk and Portsmouth phased in their grade requirements. In Portsmouth, for example, a 1.3 minimum average took effect in September 1994. It went to 1.7 the next year and to 2.0, or C, this year, where it will stay.
That's fair. Phasing in the requirement gave students ample warning that they had to do better if they wanted to continue in such activities as sports. Certainly it would be unfair to make any grade requirement retroactive.
One thorny question is what to do when an athlete who was eligible to play in one city transfers into another city requiring a C average for sports. Portsmouth has temporarily adopted a waiver policy that makes sense to us. It allows the athlete to play, but he or she must achieve a C average for the first nine weeks to continue playing.
The minimum-grade policy shouldn't be punitive or overly restrictive. A C average requirement, phased in, is neither. The main reason for attending school, after all, is to learn.
Athletes are done no favor when they're allowed to slide by with low grades and little interest.
In both 1994 and 1995, none of the 22 Group AAA public schools in South Hampton Roads had a basketball player sign with a Division I college and make the minimum requirement of a C average and Scholastic Assessment Test score of 700 or higher.
The shortage wasn't in basketball talent. The shortage was in academic skill and grades.
This year was better. Two South Hampton Roads players from Group AAA schools were signed by Division I schools, though small ones.
All in all, we penalize students when we ask too little of them. A C average is not too much to ask. by CNB