We are held to the same policy that governs athletes in my district. One of my responsibilities as assistant director is to print a weekly report that shows any student on my list who has a grade less than a 70% (C). Each of these students receives a form that I fill out that lists the class, current average, and requires both the teacher & parent signature. We use Sapphire, and I had to be given different permissions - but it allows me to view student grades in every class, as well as run the weekly reports.
These students receive the forms on Thursday afternoon, and are due back to me, signed by all parties by Monday, making them eligible to participate that coming week. No paper = no practice.
There is a comment section for the teacher to use - because sometimes their gradebook has empty columns for upcoming assignments or any grades that have not been entered, which may be calculating as zeros and skewing the percentages. I have attached the form for the library, if that helps anyone - please feel free to modify as needed.
With a D average (60-69%) - a student is still permitted to rehearse/do crew work, but must complete one hour of tutoring for the class in question. This is often done during our homeroom period on T-W-Th during the school day instead of attending a club.
If a student has an F (less than 60%) in any one class, they are not eligible to participate at all, and must be sent home. They must also attend tutoring sessions. We operate on a 4x4 block schedule - so students only have 4 classes at a time.
At the end of a marking period, if a student has an F in any of their classes -they are ineligible for 15 school days. This situation just popped up in January at the change of semester (it's like the first day of school all over again) - we had a cast member with an F in a science class for MP2, and had been on the weekly report beforehand. We openly discussed it with his parents along the way - and he had been a 'frequent flier' on the list in previous productions - but that MP2 grade made it impossible for him to continue in his role, forcing us to recast.
In my Spanish 2 class, I had a cheerleader who failed MP2 because she never did three significant assignments after absences (despite many reminders) - and even though she passed the class with a D, the MP2 grade of an F prevented her from cheering for 15 school days, forcing her to miss the end of the basketball season.
I agree that theatre participation is very different - because all students involved do not have the same skillset/uniform. We can't easily just put someone else in a performance at the last minute because of eligibility like a coach can pull someone from the bench. However - I can appreciate that there is consistency and every student is being held to the same standard.
We do check grades as we hold auditions, and immediately begin weekly monitoring - so our system does allow us to keep tabs on the kids fairly easily. And usually, knowing that we are watching -and not wanting to risk ruining the show - most kids keep their heads above water academically on their own.
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Melissa Mintzer
Penn Manor HS
Willow Street PA
Original Message:
Sent: 02-22-2016 06:35
From: Tamara Plasterer
Subject: academic eligibility requirements
Our general policy states that students on academic or disciplinary probation are not permitted to audition or participate in the production company. If a student is placed on probation during the production process they are dismissed from the company. This policy was established by our theatre program but is well supported by the administration. The state athletic association (OHSAA) requires a student to receive a passing grade in at least five (5) one credit courses, or the equivalent. Our school probation is based on semester or cumulative grade point below 1.6.
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Tamara Plasterer
Artistic Director, Fine Arts Dept. Chair.
Padua Franciscan High School
Parma OH