NOVEMBER 12, 2015 - THE LONG ISLAND ADVANCE 9

MASTIC BEACH ______________________________________________________________________________________

William Floyd cements academic

policy for athletes
BY KATE SIGNORELLI

The William Floyd School District has

phased in an academic policy for student-athletes requiring them to receive
passing scores in each course in order to
maintain athletic eligibility. According to
board of education trustee Joseph Barone,
the policy was developed partly as an
initiative to raise graduation rates and has
brought measurable success to students
in the district, with steadily decreasing
dropout numbers and increasing scores
among the districts student athletes, with
several awards and distinctions bestowed
upon William Floyd teams from the New
York State Public High School Athletic
Association.
I heard stories of kids coming into
school to participate in a sport and then
not going to class and not being on track
to graduate, said Barone. I felt that we
should put something into place so that
they were. Each of our kids has the potential that they can do it if you raise the bar
high enough for them.
The bar was first raised during the 20122013 school year in the initiatives initial
phase. Student-athletes signed an academic policy at the beginning of a season,
which mandated students who were failing two or more courses to appeal their
eligibility for extracurricular sports. The
following school year, the bar was raised
again to allow students no more than one
failure, and last year, their policy was
again elevated when the district placed
into effect the current policy, allowing
for zero failure from its student-athletes.
Any students who fell below the academic standard met with a panel including a
high school administrator, athletic director
Mark Mensch, and Superintendent Kevin Coster. The panel then reviewed the
students transcript, attempting to motivate students and troubleshoot problems
before tailoring a strategy and a contract
for academic success.
The contract includes a weekly progress
report that students pick up on a Thursday.
The students are then responsible for having teachers fill out the report during each
period on Friday, noting any quiz or test
scores for the week, as well as any missing
assignments and behavioral or attendance

concerns. Every period, were checking

in with every student thats on a progress
report, and making sure that theyre doing
the right thing to turn it around, said
Mensch. After five weeks, if theyre passing the class that they were failing, then
theyre eligible to participate in the game.
Mensch says that a common complaint
from students in the appeals process is that
sports are often the only thing motivating
the student to come to school. This fiveweek probationary period is really saying,
you have to meet us halfway. Prove to us
that athletics is so important that you will
do everything you need to pass your class
to be eligible to play in a game, he said.
The policy is not without frustration for
administrators. Its been difficult, said
Mensch. I coached for many years. To
know that my best athlete is not going to
be able to play because hes failing math,
thats very frustrating when we know that
we could possibly win a couple of games
if we had him playing, but it wouldnt
send the right message. Were going to be
William Floyd and were going to do things
the right way.
Coster explained that the policy has
helped them to motivate students, but it
has also required dedication on the part
of administrators, educators and coaches.
Its had a very positive impact on our
overall grade point average for our teams,
but it has not been without having to draw
a line in the sand and reinforce the policy
for students who really arent taking their
academic careers seriously, said Coster,
adding that the work goes beyond the
students athletic season. If a student is
participating in a fall sport and theyre
not in winter or spring sports, the athletic
department keeps track of them and gets
them involved in the off-season training
so that theyre constantly monitoring their
progress. Its a very organized, time-consuming process that has really led to keeping the student in student-athlete here at
William Floyd.
New York State Public High School Athletic Association honors teams with sport
season report card averages of 90.00 percent or greater, and in the 2013-2014 school
year, three William Floyd teams received
the honor. In the 2014-2015 school year,
five of William Floyds teams received the

distinction, with girls lacrosse boasting an

impressive average of 95.87 percent.
Beyond the numbers is the effect that
the policy has had on individual students.
One of the things thats really been a great
experience for me is finding the kid who
comes to our hearing, and we find out
that theyre homeless, or that there was a
death in the family, or a pretty significant
divorce, said Mensch, big, life-changing
events that really impacted the students
ability to do well in school, and the only
reason anybody found out about it was
because of this policy and us stepping in
to ask, why did it happen? And then they
open up and we sit there as a committee
going, OK, well we need to help you.
Thats been the greatest thing to come
out of this. Its great that our GPAs went
up, its great that our kids are doing well
overall, but when you get to really help
a family and help a kid, its a humbling
experience.

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Athletic Director Mark Mensch, Board of Education Trustee Joseph Barone and Superintendent Kevin M. Coster have raised the bar to help William Floyds student-athletes
achieve.

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