Trinity considers changing academic requirements for participation in sports and activities

The Trinity School Board is considering whether to change the academic requirements for participation in extra-curricular activities.
The proposed change came up during the board’s policy committee meeting Tuesday.
The change calls for a 2.0 Grade Point Average in core subject areas to participate in those activities. The existing policy states that any student who receives two or more Fs at the end of a marking period will be academically ineligible to participate in any extracurricular activity. Currently, the district follows PIAA rules, which states that athletes must be passing four classes with a D, said Athletic Director Ed Dalton.
Policy Committee Chairwoman Colleen Interval said if students know they need a 2.0 GPA, it may be the added pressure to help keep their grades up.
However, one mom told the committee that her son struggles to get Ds and that the only thing he loves about high school is playing football. She said she didn’t know if he would stay in school if he couldn’t play the sport.
Trinity graduate and self-described future teacher Katie Piatt said the district needs to make sure it has help available for those students.
“”Extracurricular activities may be the reason some who struggle stay in school,” she said.
Committee members agreed that struggling students would have assistance available, such as tutoring.
Dalton said one way to handle the matter may be allowing students to get help to see if they can bring their grades up before declaring them ineligible. He said that’s how colleges handle it.
He said teachers report to him weekly if students are not passing courses. If they are failing two classes, then he checks the Edline software that tracks their grades. He said it would be beneficial to have teachers report the grades of all participating students regardless of whether they are passing.
Dalton is responsible for all extracurricular activities, not just athletics, meaning he is responsible for determining if students are eligible to participate in all of them.
There was also a discussion about what entails extracurricular activities. All sports are included. There were questions about whether an orchestra concert, marching band and the French Club are extracurricular activities.
Superintendent Paul Kasunich said the board will clarify what is considered an extracurricular activity and what is considered the extension of a class.