Friday, May 30, 2008
Editorial: Update Roanoke athletes to 2.0 version
City schools shouldn't hesitate to raise academic requirements for student athletes. Dumbed-down standards aren't doing them any favors.
From the RoundTable blog
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Last fall, just before the Patrick Henry High School football team played its first home game ever in its own stadium on its own campus, members of the 1973 state championship team gathered in the new auditorium to pay tribute to their coach, the late Merrill Gainer.
A few months later, when basketball season opened on the new court, some Gainer boys were back in the auditorium to give testaments anew as Gainer, two-time state basketball champion coach Woody Deans and other stellar athletes were inducted into the school's Hall of Fame.
The speakers, now far removed from their high school glory days, recalled mostly how the discipline and encouragement of their coaches and teachers prepared them to excel both in athletics and in life. They were grateful for the well-rounded education and opportunities they received at Patrick Henry.
Today's Patriots have great new courts and fields to play on. Soon, William Fleming High School students will have new facilities as well.
There's one more thing the school board can give them -- confidence that they can also perform well in the classroom.
Roanoke's athletic director, George Miller, and some of the coaches decided they need to raise the academic bar so student-athletes have better prospects beyond high school.
The school board is considering a proposal to require athletes to carry a 2.0 grade point average in order to play.
Currently, city schools, like those in Roanoke County and Salem, abide by state guidelines that require athletes to have passed five classes the previous semester. This means they could fail core classes, carry a D average and still suit up.
These lax requirements are failing students. Such a low performance in the classroom will not take a student-athlete beyond high school graduation. Even the most talented player won't be able to meet the academic requirements of the NCAA. And less talented players -- who have no hope of winning an athletic scholarship -- will find their low grades lock them out of continuing education.
What's left is a washed-up athlete at age 18 with no skills, no future and no hope.
To begin to counter this, Roanoke has set aside $50,000 for a tutoring program for athletes. Next, the board should reinforce the message and prompt more students to seek extra help by endorsing Miller's proposal.
Some board members already are balking, claiming if student-athletes have to carry a 2.0, academically challenged players will quit not only the team but school. All the more reason to work with them, as these same kids would have few prospects outside of school regardless of whether they earn a diploma.
As exhilarating and enriching as sports can be, they don't carry one through life.
Education does.
