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TO: MCCPTA Delegates
RE: Academic Eligibility for Extracurricular
Activities-- Draft Policy IQD
DATE: 11/22/05
The Board of Education is looking at revisions to Policy IQD which
governs academic eligibility for Extracurricular Activities. Under the current policy, students in middle school and high school
must maintain a 2.0 average with no more than one failing grade in the previous
marking period to be eligible to participate in most school sponsored
activities such as interscholastic sports teams, SGA and school drama
productions. (These stipended activities are set forth in the Negotiated
Agreement between Montgomery County Education Association and the Board of
Education). Note that first time ninth
grade students are all deemed eligible for the first quarter.
In its proposed revisions, the Board of Education is not proposing any
changes to the 2.0 cut off for eligibility.
The Board has, however, proposed adding language to the policy which
would state that “It is
the obligation of the school system to provide students with supports for
maintaining academic performance and academic eligibility” (line 33). To implement this obligation, the Board proposes that “All secondary schools should provide and communicate
opportunities for all students to participate in extracurricular activities by
ensuring that there are a range of possibilities, including extracurricular
activities with open enrollment that do not require academic eligibility. “ (lines 65-70 under Implementation Strategies) and that “Schools
should help students retain or regain eligibility for all extracurricular
activities requiring academic eligibility by providing and referring students
to such support activities as contracts, tutoring programs etc. (lines
72-79). Finally, the proposed revisions
include recommendations that “Schools
should share best practices that increase student academic eligibility for
extracurricular activities” and “schools should develop mechanisms
to evaluate the effectiveness of support programs”. (lines 83-85).
This proposed policy is now open for public
comment. Written comments should be
submitted to the Board of Education by January 11, 2006. The Board is scheduled to take final action
on this policy at its February 14, 2006 meeting.
Some background:
1). The importance of
this policy extends beyond extracurricular activities—it is about academic
achievement. A critical concern is that
more than 20% of our students in grades 9-12 are academically ineligible (not
able to maintain a 2.0 GPA). Maintaining academic eligibility for all students
should be a priority. For many
students, participation in extracurricular activities may be the only “hook” or
incentive that motivates students to seek out and avail themselves of academic
support. Currently, schools do not receive
funding for after school tutoring. However, coaches and club sponsors for
activities requiring academic eligibility receive stipends from MCPS.
Offering activities to engage students can be a mechanism to keep them
eligible.
2). Research
establishes that participation in extracurricular activities contributes to
desirable outcomes including reduced drop out rates and absentee rates as well
as positive social behavior. Currently, schools vary widely in their offerings
and implementation of after school activities. In some schools, as few as
15% of the students engage in sports, drama or music extracurricular
activities. The MCPS workgroup
recommended that “school guidance counselors should discuss the importance of
participation in extracurricular activities… and ask students to select
specific extracurricular activities when conferring with students… regarding
…course selections and four year plan...” (Recommendation #2).
3). Recent awareness of
growing gang involvement highlights the importance of affording students
opportunities to be connected to school. A disproportionate number of academically
ineligible students are African American and
Latino students many of whom are uniquely vulnerable to targeted
recruitment by gangs. In testimony before the County Council earlier
this year, Cindy Kerr stated: “The high rate of academic ineligibility among
student populations most vulnerable to gang recruitment also requires our
immediate attention—we must re-examine the policies which bar the most
vulnerable from meaningful participation in extracurricular activities with
access to role models and mentors and we must fund the programs that can link
the students to positive alternatives”.
4). Though the draft policy appears to address
concerns about ineligibility by requiring schools to offer “extracurricular
opportunities with open enrollment”, the reality is that these alternative
opportunities vary widely in quality and supervision. First, not all schools offer programs that are open to
any student regardless of eligibility status.
Second, whereas a sports team, for example,
provides a daily haven and daily interaction with a coach who can help
monitor and guide a student, many open enrollment extracurricular activities
tend to be weekly, time limited, student led, minimally supervised clubs
that lack the requisite intensity to promote a strong, identifiable
connection to school.
Alternatives:
MCPS pulled together
a workgroup to look at academic ineligibility (which included parent
representatives). While the majority of
the group (represented by coaches) voted to support the current automatic 2.0 eligibility cut off, parent
members and a teacher proposed an alternative that would allow for a provisional
eligibility period during which struggling students, willing to make a good
faith effort, could seek academic help
without the immediate penalty of ineligibility.
The basis for this proposal is attached.
The proposal would provide that:
“A student who falls
below the minimum standard for participation (2.0 average and/or no more than
one “E”) shall be permitted provisional
extracurricular eligibility provided that a) the student signs up
for academic support, b) the student participates, in good faith, in an
academic support program, and c) the student demonstrates steady academic
improvement. Provisional
eligibility could be terminated for absenteeism, loss of credit,
failure to attend academic support sessions, failure to participate in academic
support in good faith, and/or discipline problems”
Possible action:
MCCPTA will consider
and discuss whether to support the alternative proposal for a period of
provisional eligibility as an alternative to the automatic 2.0 eligibility cut
off.
MCCPTA will also
consider the Board’s proposed changes to Policy IQD. In order to support revisions which make
it “the obligation of the school system to provide
students with supports for maintaining academic performance and academic
eligibility”, MCCPTA will consider recommending that schools “must”
rather than simply “should” provide and communicate opportunities for all
students to participate in extracurricular activities by ensuring that there
are a range of possibilities, including extracurricular activities with open
enrollment that do not require academic eligibility.
Local PTAs are encouraged to discuss the academic ineligibility policy and offer input to the Board of Education. If you need copies of any of the documents, which were previously distributed, please contact Shirley Brandman at sdbhms@verizon.net