SCOTT CITY EXPANDS ACADEMIC REQUIREMENT

SCOTT CITY -- The Scott City school board's decision in 1993 to strengthen eligibility requirements for students involved in after-school activities now also will apply to summer-school students.

Nearly 80 percent of Scott City students -- third grade through high school -- are involved in some sort of extra-curricular activity.

And starting with the 1993-94 school year, the Scott City School Board required those who participate in sports or other after-school activities to have at least a C-minus grade point average.

The same requirements now apply to students enrolled in summer school classes, because of changes brought on by a new state school funding law.

"When we wrote the C-minus policy, we didn't know that Kelly School would be offering summer school classes that our students would be eligible to take," said Doug Berry, superintendent of the Scott City school district. "So, in light of that development, we modified the rule to include summer classes."

If a student has less than a C-minus average, but wishes to participate in after-school activities, he is given a two-week grace period during which he must go through special, after-school instruction. During that two weeks, the student can practice with the team, but cannot represent the school district in competition.

If the students grades improve enough during the grace period, he can rejoin the team. If not, the student must go through successive two-week probationary periods, or abandon the activity.

If a student taking summer school fails to attain a C-minus average, the student must wait until the end of the first two weeks of the school year to participate in school activities.

"This is a school-wide policy," said Berry. "It starts with students in the third grade when students can join the track team, and goes all the way through the high school.

"We (the school board) have tried to make the rule all-inclusive," he added. "It applies to everything from sports, to cheerleading, to academic clubs and even to homecoming queen candidates."

Berry said that parents within the district have embraced the program, fueling its success.

"Parents want their children to do well in school," said Berry. "If a student doesn't have a C-minus average, its clear that he or she should be spending more time on schoolwork.

"But the program also pushes the students to excel on their own," he said. "They know they're not going to be able to participate if they don't make the grade."

Word of Scott City's success with the program has spread to the state level. Berry said Wednesday that the state school board association has asked the Scott City district to present their program at the association's convention in October.

"We're not on a crusade or anything, advocating that all schools adopt this program," explained Berry. "We're just going to go in there and tell them that this works well for us and allow them to do what they want with the information we present.

"We're honored to be able to share this information with other schools, but at the same time, we're just doing what works for our district," he said. "That is our primary concern."