Omaha Public Schools recently passed a policy requiring students to pass all subjects and maintain a 2.0 (C) average in order to participate in school athletics and activities that are regulated by the Nebraska School Activities Association. According to the Omaha World Herald article today, eligibility will be determines at the end of each quarter grading period. Students on special education Individual Education Plans may not be subject to the policy. The schools provide tutors for students.
The Bancroft-Rosalie eligibility policy states that:
"Students must be present for six periods of school, they can miss 2 full periods during the middle of the day or a time equivalency of 100 minutes to be eligible to participate in a practice session, game or extracurricular event that night unless special arrangements are made with the administration in advance. Arrangements must be made before 7:45 am. On a regular school day students must be in school by 10:00 AM and cannot leave before 1 :50 PM to meet the above criteria.
To be eligible for extra-curricular events or contests, the student must be passing six classes of which they are enrolled. Grades will be taken after the second week of each semester. Teachers will turn in all 7-12 grades by 8:15 a.m. on every Tuesday, at that time a student must be passing 6 out of their 7 classes or they will be put on probation for their first offense, (students will get one probationary week each semester) after that they will be ineligible for all activities the following week. Eligibility will run from Monday to Monday. Students must meet the eligibility status to participate in any activities or contests. Parents will receive a letter from the school when their child is ineligible which will inform them of the classes and the grades that their child is down in. The letter will also include the date of the week when they will be ineligible.
All other eligibility policies as stated by the Nebraska School Activities Association must be in compliance. Students not passing four classes for the semester will be ineligible for the succeeding semester."
Our policy checks grades weekly and students can have one failing grade and still be eligible. Students on Individual Education Plans can be eligible with failing grades as long as they have shown improvement during the week. Bancroft-Rosalie School discourages giving zeros for missing work because a zero does not accurately reflect what the student knows or has learned and we want grades to reflect academic ability. Missing assignments are not an academic problem as much as they are a behavior problem. Therefore, we ask that students with missing work stay after school to complete missing assignments before they are allowed to attend practice.
I think we can all agree that we want high expectations for our students. But I also think that we all believe there is something valuable gained through participation in school activities. For if we don't, then how do we justify the cost of providing coaches, equipment, transportation, and especially the loss of academic learning time when students are dismissed to participate in them. If activity participation is valuable, then withholding participation as a punishment for low academic performance is counter to what we know to be good for students. I prefer our policy, that requires work to be completed before students can participate in practice that day. This policy supports student responsibility and makes academics a priority, but does not keep students from being a part of the activity, whether it be sports, speech, or district music.
I would have a difficult time having an early dismissal for state basketball if I did not believe participation was important for all of our student-athletes and the school.
The Bancroft-Rosalie eligibility policy states that:
"Students must be present for six periods of school, they can miss 2 full periods during the middle of the day or a time equivalency of 100 minutes to be eligible to participate in a practice session, game or extracurricular event that night unless special arrangements are made with the administration in advance. Arrangements must be made before 7:45 am. On a regular school day students must be in school by 10:00 AM and cannot leave before 1 :50 PM to meet the above criteria.
To be eligible for extra-curricular events or contests, the student must be passing six classes of which they are enrolled. Grades will be taken after the second week of each semester. Teachers will turn in all 7-12 grades by 8:15 a.m. on every Tuesday, at that time a student must be passing 6 out of their 7 classes or they will be put on probation for their first offense, (students will get one probationary week each semester) after that they will be ineligible for all activities the following week. Eligibility will run from Monday to Monday. Students must meet the eligibility status to participate in any activities or contests. Parents will receive a letter from the school when their child is ineligible which will inform them of the classes and the grades that their child is down in. The letter will also include the date of the week when they will be ineligible.
All other eligibility policies as stated by the Nebraska School Activities Association must be in compliance. Students not passing four classes for the semester will be ineligible for the succeeding semester."
Our policy checks grades weekly and students can have one failing grade and still be eligible. Students on Individual Education Plans can be eligible with failing grades as long as they have shown improvement during the week. Bancroft-Rosalie School discourages giving zeros for missing work because a zero does not accurately reflect what the student knows or has learned and we want grades to reflect academic ability. Missing assignments are not an academic problem as much as they are a behavior problem. Therefore, we ask that students with missing work stay after school to complete missing assignments before they are allowed to attend practice.
I think we can all agree that we want high expectations for our students. But I also think that we all believe there is something valuable gained through participation in school activities. For if we don't, then how do we justify the cost of providing coaches, equipment, transportation, and especially the loss of academic learning time when students are dismissed to participate in them. If activity participation is valuable, then withholding participation as a punishment for low academic performance is counter to what we know to be good for students. I prefer our policy, that requires work to be completed before students can participate in practice that day. This policy supports student responsibility and makes academics a priority, but does not keep students from being a part of the activity, whether it be sports, speech, or district music.
I would have a difficult time having an early dismissal for state basketball if I did not believe participation was important for all of our student-athletes and the school.
