Recordpub.com - Schools debate how athletes make the grade

By Colin McEwen

Record-Courier staff writer

How good should students’ grades be to play athletics? Is a ‘D’ average good enough? Should grade point averages matter at all?

These are a few of the questions some Portage County school districts — and residents of those districts — are asking.

Others just don’t bother.

The state has required that students pass only five classes — meaning schools are only required to set a ‘D’ average for student/athlete achievement.

About half the districts in Portage County have set the same 1.0 grade-point average requirement, meeting the state guidelines. Although some districts are more strict about how many classes a student can fail and still meet that average.

At a recent Waterloo School Board meeting, board members discussed changes to its 1.0 grade point average requirement for students to participate in athletics.

That discussion was met with controversy among board members and those in the audience. A healthy debate ensued online at recordpub.com.

Dennis Hopp, a Waterloo Board of Education member, challenged the district’s low requirement. He proposed teachers get together with administration officials to raise the GPA requirement for student-athletes.

“Playing sports is a privilege,” he said. “Our first job in schools should be education. When we tell people that 1.0 is good enough, we’re not sending a good message and we’re not setting the bar high enough.”

Hopp cited research from the United States Sports Academy that shows as requirements are raised, students usually raise their grades along to meet the standards.

When schools raise GPA levels, students also raised their GPAs.

“I really believe that if we raise the average, we are raising the bar for the students,” he said. “I know that once we raise the expectations of students, they will meet them.”

Hopp said the GPA in his district should be at least a 2.0.

“If we raised it to a 1.5, it’s way too low but at least we would send a message that grades should come first,” he added. “I believe my role as board member is to set higher expectations for our students. When we raise those expectations, our students will meet that.”

The Ravenna School District’s sets its bar at 1.0 — or a ‘D’ average. So does Kent.

“Some people want it higher, some people say its too high,” said Ravenna Superintendent Tim Calfee. “Its not been an issue in the eight years I’ve been here.”

In Kent, if students don’t meet a 2.0 they must attend two hours of supervised study per week. However, students will still be able to participate until they dip below a 1.0 GPA.

Kent Schools Athletic Director Ernie Rutzky said “Our board of education has established a minimum GPA that allows students to continue to participate if they work to improve their academic performances.”

Other schools in the county, set the required GPA slightly higher than the state requirement.

The requirement in Crestwood is a 1.5 — the same with Aurora, Streetsboro, Rootstown and Southeast.

“I would rather have higher expectations than lower,” said Crestwood High School principal Arden Sommers who added that students must attend special study sessions when their GPA drops below a 2.0. “You have to set high expectations in everything for young people.”

In the Southeast schools, students must maintain a 1.5 GPA, or face disqualification from participating in athletics, Superintendent Tom Harrison said. He also said students must pass all of their classes.

The district with the highest requirement is Field with a 1.7 GPA.

Field Superintendent David Brobeck said his district has a “unique policy.” The district’s GPA level must be at a 1.7 or higher, or the students are placed on academic probation. “And they have three weeks to bring up their grades. If they don’t they lose eligibility,” he said.

Hopp, a former professor of engineering at the University of Akron and the Ohio State University, said he knows the students in Waterloo can achieve higher than a 1.0 GPA.

“People ask me if I think I am an expert,” he said. “I just know what it takes to succeed.”

10.	Posted by bereasonable September 27, 2009
	Sports are great and a necessary extra curicular. But that is just it, an extra curicular. Education is the main reason for going to school. An EXTREMELY small number of students will end up making a living in sports. A very small number out of each graduating class will get a scholarship because of sports and even then if they can't keep their grades up in college, they drop out. We are educating our kids to become productive members of society that will be abl to support themselves and maybe a family. Is a 1.0 going to be good enough to do that? I believe that we raise the bar and the students who don't meet the higher grade point average has help avaiable to them. We can't just kick them aside and throw them off the team without offering other options. if they and their parents don't take those other options such as a mandatory study sessions or tutoring to get then back on track, then there is no other alternative but to remove them from the team, but it was there choice and they could have (with their parents) made a different one. Parents,coaches, and the school should work together in these expectations. There are two things to keep in mind: You usually get only what you expect and you only get out of something what you put into it. If they want to play bad enough they will meet the requirements, if they struggle to do so, the school should offer assistance, if they choose not to, they SHOULD be removed from the sport. If they make these choices, there should be a parent there making the RIGHT choice with the student and therefore the choice to quit or not work on their grades should never happen. Maybe you would like a 1.0 surgen to operate on you????? And don't try to blame it on a student who has issues with learning, the school system is there to help. Most of these students have these grades because they don't do there work, NOT because they struggle in school. There are great teachers there to help them or parents, if they ask.