ACADEMIC INELIGIBILITY

Standards-                 To be academically eligible to participate in athletic events a student must maintain a 2.0 GPA and have no ‘F’ grades.   Weighted grades are not used to determine grade point averages.  Incompletes (INC) will count as an F until the student has made up the missing work and the teacher has changed the grade.  This may happen at any time during the grading period.  When the Incomplete is made up, the grade posted will be used to determine eligibility. 

Grading Period-        A Grading Period is defined by CIF as beginning when all students are evaluated and parents receive a report of their grades.  The period will continue until the next time all parents are notified of their student’s grades.  At Coronado this results in six grading periods per school year.  In the first grading period of the school year, eligibility is determined by the grades a student earned at the end of the last school year.  Each subsequent grading period begins the Monday after progress reports have been mailed to parents. 

Summer School-       A student who is ineligible to play as a result of the grades received at the end of the school year is encouraged to repeat the classes that cause the ineligibility in Summer School.  The Summer School grades will substitute directly for the grades received at the end of the semester in determining athletic eligibility. 

Practice-                    Ineligible athletes are encouraged to continue practicing with the team even though they are not able to play in contests.  There are two reason for this: 1) At the end of the effected grading period, a student who has made up the deficiencies will be able to play in the next grading period.  2) Coaches take a dim view of quitting a program once you have started.  To coaches, the contests are an important part, but only part of the value of the program.  A student can learn a great deal about a sport and improve their ability by continuing to practice. Students who quit may effect their chances of participating in subsequent seasons.  Besides, one of the major values of athletics to education is to use the student’s interest in athletics to encourage better performance in the classroom. 

ACADEMIC PROBATION POLICY

CIF Bylaw 222A(1)(a) allows the governing board of a school district to establish a probation policy that would allow a student to play in contests during a grading period in which that student is academically ineligible.  In April 1994, Coronado Unified adopted such a policy.   The administration and the School Board felt strongly that a student should not just be allowed to play during the probation period, but needed to reach some academic standard before participating during probation.  They also felt that probation should not be available to a student who was chronically ineligible.  In accordance with these wishes, Coronado’s policy has the following restrictions:

1.      a student may only go on probation for one grading period each school year.

2.      a students who goes on probation must “remedy the grade deficiency” before they are allowed to participate during the probation period.

How does the policy work?

Teachers are required to turn in grades to the administration by 8am on the Wednesday following the end of the “scholastic” grading period.  Grades are mailed to parents on Thursday.  On Thursday, the Athletic Director checks rosters for athletes who are academically ineligible.  A list of these students is compiled by Friday and released to Head Coaches of sports in season.  Coaches notify the students of their ineligibility no later than Monday of the next week.  This is the day that the “athletic” grading period begins. During this first week, no ineligible student will be allowed to participate in a contest.

Students interested in going on probation must complete a Probation Contract with the teacher in a class in which the student is having difficulty.  The Probation Contract can be obtained from the Athletic Director or can be downloaded from the Islander Sports Foundation’s  website.  The contract explains the responsibilities of the teacher, the parent and the student.  In general, the teacher will establish the terms of the contract and all three parties must sign.  Once the completed contract is received by the Athletic Director, the student is on probation. 

This does not mean that the student is immediately eligible to play.  In accordance with the Probation policy, the student must “remedy their grade deficiency”.  In order to verify that the student has accomplished this, the student must submit a Progress Report to the Athletic Director each week.  The Progress Report is taken to all of the student’s teachers who will record the current grade in the class and sign.  If the cumulative grades reflect a 2.0 GPA and no “F” grades, the student will be eligible to play in contests for the next week.  This report is due on Friday and will apply to the next week’s contests.  The Athletic Director will notify the Head Coaches that a student is eligible to play for the week.  A new Progress Report must be submitted each week during the probationary period.

In most cases students who have gone on Probation have raised their grades and been able to participate for several weeks during the effected grading period.  Most students also maintain those grades so they remain eligible during subsequent grading periods.  Students who have slipped make the following mistakes:

1)      They fail to raise their grades or maintain their grades at the required standard.

2)      They fail to submit the completed Progress Report by the Friday deadline.

3)      They violate the terms of their contract.

4)      They have attempted to forge or alter Progress Reports.

If you have any questions concerning Academic Ineligibility or the Probation Policy, please contact Sandy Ferguson at (619) 522-8970 ext. 2701 or via email at: sferguson@coronado.k12.ca.us.