Raise the expectations coaches and teachers have for students, and improved academic performance will follow.
That's the premise for the Cape Girardeau Schools new Total Cape Student Program.
The project will be pitched at today's Board of Education meeting.
Athletic Director Terry Kitchen has been researching the issue for nearly two years. He opposes a strict "no-pass, no-play" rule such as was instituted at Scott City this year.
"We feel that participation is very important, and research shows that grades are higher when students are in an activity," Kitchen said. "So rather than eliminating a student, we just want to get his grades up."
Superintendent Neyland Clark agrees. "Under a no-pass, no-play philosophy, if a kid has a deficiency, you punish him by pulling him out of an activity.
"For a borderline student, it you take football away or volleyball away, that student will drop out of school," Clark said.
"Instead we are going to approach this with a philosophy that we're not going to let this kid fail."
Students currently must pass two and a half credits to be eligible to participate in extra-curricular activities. Kitchen sees no reason to change that standard.
Last year, he met with members of an advisory committee that came up with the Total Cape Student Program.
"We think we should go with a support plan for kids involved in extra-curricular activities," Kitchen said.
"We're going to identify students if their grades are dropping or if they are not doing the work they are capable of."
The "support network" would include coaches, sponsors, classroom teachers, counselors and parents.
"This is not just for D and F students," said Clark. "If an A student all of a sudden starts performing at a B level, that should trigger a response the coach calls home or the teacher calls home.
"If a kid gets an F, that will invoke a whole army of people working to get at the trouble."
Kitchen said the process would begin with identifying all students participating in extra-curricular activities. "We will get that to all the teachers. If they notice a student not doing as well as they should, the teacher can notify the coach or sponsor.
"A coach or sponsor can have so much influence on an athlete," Kitchen said. "We're hoping that influence will help students get the grades up."
School officials can begin monitoring the academic progress of each athletic team immediately, Clark said.
"It's really an awareness issue. We are raising expectations for kids in grades 7 through 12."
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