Canton City Schools approves revisions to athletic eligibility
CANTON – Student athletes in the Canton City School District still must maintain the highest minimum GPA of any Stark County student athletes in order to play.
But now, some students with a lower grade point average will be given the chance to at least practice and will have additional resources to help them improve their grades.
The Canton City school board on Monday unanimously revised its policy for interscholastic athletics, which required students participating in cocurricular extracurricular activities, including sports, to earn at least a 2.0 on a 4.0 grading scale. A 2.0 GPA is considered a C average.
The revised policy allows students with a grade point average of 1.5 to participate, but requires them to raise their GPA to 2.0 within four weeks. All athletes are required to participate in academic study tables for two hours a week until their GPA exceeds 2.5.
Canton City students with a GPA between 1.0 and 1.5 can practice but not participate in games, according to the policy. All athletes are required to participate in study tables, and possibly even more academic help, until their GPA exceeds 2.5.
“We are paving the way and leading the way in Stark County with our expectations for our student athletes,” Board President John “J.R.” Rinaldi said.
All other Stark County school districts require their student athletes to maintain a minimum GPA of 1.5 or lower, a Canton Repository analysis of district eligibility requirements shows. Of the 16 other school districts in Stark County, only Alliance and Minerva require a minimum GPA of 1.5 while 13 others require a minimum GPA of 1.0, which is considered a D average.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association requires athletes of its member schools pass at least five one-credit courses, or the equivalent, during the preceding grading period of the sport they want to play. The athletic association does not require student athletes to maintain a minimum GPA.
A 1997 state law – Ohio Revised Code 3313.535 – requires each school district to set a minimum GPA, but the law leaves it up to each school board to decide what that minimum is.
District administrators initially had proposed a policy that would have lowered the minimum GPA to 1.5 and would've created an academic improvement plan for anyone with a GPA under 2.0. But, after facing sharp public criticism, administrators in October proposed the new policy that was approved Monday.
Superintendent Jeff Talbert said the approved policy reflects the district's intent to engage more students and surround them with the additional resources they need to be successful in athletics and academics.
Talbert said winter sport athletes already are abiding by the spirit of the policy, even though it wasn't approved until after their season began. He said in-season and out-of-season athletes already are participating in study tables.
“It's become a year-round focus on how you are achieving academically and how that plays a part in your opportunity in the district,” he said. “It's not just that we're going to wrap our hands around you when you are in season. You are a part of our family and we're going to have high expectations for you for the entire school year.”
Reach Kelli at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.
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