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Updated: 3:03 PM Nov 25, 2009
Harrisonburg School Board Alters GPA Requirements for Extracurriculurs
Harrisonburg, Va. The Harrisonburg School Board voted 5-1 Tuesday to require that students get at least a 1.5 grade point average to participate in certain extracurricular activities.
Posted: 11:34 PM Nov 24, 2009Reporter: Michael Hyland Email Address: mhyland@whsv.com |
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9 Comments 
The Harrisonburg School Board voted 5-1 Tuesday to require that students get at least a 1.5 grade point average to participate in certain extracurricular activities. The vote alters rules about who would be held accountable to the new standard.
This requirement will be implemented next school year and it does not apply to the middle schools.
The new guidelines would put students on probation when they first fail to meet the standard.
The vote came after several people came forward with concerns.
They say the standards punish kids who need the mentoring that comes with being involved in extracurricular activities.
"There are some of our people in our school, in Harrisonburg City, that are not gifted academically. And sometimes, straight Ds is a success for young people at Harrisonburg High School," says Joe Carico, director of athletics at Harrisonburg High School.
"We look for [students] to achieve at high levels. Excellence is the standard by which we measure success in Harrisonburg. The stakes are rising everywhere in the real world around us," says Harrisonburg School Board Chair Tom Mendez.
The rule passed Tuesday applies only to Virginia High School League activities, including sports and several writing and performing arts activities.
Some board members also discussed their desire to have an appeals process designed for students.
Latest Comments
To Reality Check: I do not believe the issue at hand here is that anyone thinks less of someone who attains a "D" average. The problem is we are still rewarding students making these grades by letting them participate in extra curricular and sports activities. If they are having that hard of a time in school than they focus does not need to be in sports...it needs to be in the classroom. Some kids might only be able to give a 1.5 but there are many more who can give way more that will just coast by meeting the minimum because that is all that is expected of them. Give yourself a reality check...just because the state and other communities get by with such a low standard does not mean that Harrisonburg should.
Get the facts people. The GPA standard has been RAISED by Harrisonburg City Schools. The Virginia High School League standards that Rockingham County and the majority of schools in VA follow only require students to pass 3 of 4 classes. 3 D's and 1 F is the current VA standard or a 0.75 GPA. The standard has been raised by a factor of 2! Will students with higher GPAs get into better colleges and earn more throughout their careers? YES. If a student with a learning disability PASSES all of their required classes and SOLs to earn a high school diploma (straight Ds are passing grades) - do we consider that graduate to be less of a person or do we congratulate them for attaining a degree that 16% of Americans don't have? Students who don't achieve a 1.5 GPA will have support while on probation to include additional tutoring... or they can move to Rockingham or Augusta county and play on their teams where the standards are half of Harrisonburg's.
Carico and the School Board should all be tossed out if they think that a 1.5 GBA is acceptable. As a parent of a 2 children, I am going to reconsider having my kids enroll in the Harrisonburg City schools if they care this little about their students education.
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