(Spirit Lake)– The Spirit Lake school board continues to look at the possibility of tightening academic requirements for students involved in athletics and other extra curricular programs. It was the topic of a workshop the board held prior to its regular monthly meeting Monday evening.
Mary Jean Montgomery of Spencer serves on the Iowa State Board of Education, which has stopped short of requiring all schools in the state to adopt tougher standards. Montgomery was a guest speaker at the workshop. She’s a proponent of tougher standards. Montgomery says teaching and learning is what schools are all about. She says the present system that allows kids to fail and still participate in activities flies in the face of the state board’s goal of increasing academic performance of students.
While Montgomery is encouraging schools to adopt tougher eligibility standards, she also says it’s important schools have tutoring and other support systems in place to help those who are struggling.
The Spirit Lake school board took no action on the matter Monday. They’ll meet next month with another state board member who has a different view on the subject.
Some schools in the area already have adopted tougher standards. Jackson County Central requires students involved in athletics and other activities to have atleast a two-point-oh grade point average.
