The Poughkeepsie City School Board met with district administration on Thursday, May 29, to discuss the ninth-grade academy, the athletic academic eligibility policy implemented recently for student-athletes and partnerships being made within the local community.
Poughkeepsie High School Ninth-Grade Academy Assistant Principal Rick Pardy spoke about the overall effectiveness of the academy.
He said the ninth grade attendance has been better than grades 10, 11 and 12 in the third quarter of this year. Ninth-graders had also shown better attendance than the same grades in the second quarter.
Pardy said the freshman students have been better in attendance this year than all of the ninth grade in previous years, a sign that progress is being made.
“We’re seeing improvements, we’re seeing that we’re moving forward and we’re seeing that it’s paying dividends,” Pardy said.
Some of those improvements can be seen in the school’s National Honor Society enrollment. Of last year’s 355 ninth-grade students, 48 were eligible for induction. This year’s freshman class of 320 will have between 75 and 80 students achieving that same measure of success, Pardy said.
Board member Greg Charter asked Pardy if he’s seeing additional parental involvement within the high school.
“We’re seeing solid parent involvement,” Pardy said. “Some come in to team meetings and they’ve seen some issues at home they’d like to help us correct. I think what we’re seeing is more early intervention, and that’s an asset,” Pardy said.
Pardy said the high school is seeing a substantial number of students passing all their courses in the five-year-program, and he noted why there continues to be such a program.
“By separating those students, we were able to grant a structure to decrease our dropout rate and increase our overall goal of students getting diplomas,” Pardy said, noting 10 students overall in this category who face issues such as failure to attend due to being on criminal probation, having behavioral problems or being teen mothers.
“I don’t feel I have the luxury to gamble with anyone’s future,” Pardy said, indicating his commitment to working with students and their parents.
Eligibility discussion
A policy to ensure success is reached in and out of the classroom for student-athletes was designed last summer by Director of Athletics Matt Cameron, along with members of the district administration. The Board of Education adopted the policy in December 2007.
Statistics cited by the board last week indicated the cumulative senior student-athlete grade point average for three-and-a-half years, through the second quarter of this school year, is 82.2, while it stands at 73.9 for the senior class overall.
Further, the top 5 students in graduating class of 2008in GPA are student-athletes, and eight of the top 10 seniors at Poughkeepsie High School are student-athletes.
Cameron said that out of 17 students at the high school with a 90 or higher GPA, 12 are senior student-athletes.
Cameron also said the policy dictates that if the student fails two classes, they be closely monitored by himself, coaches, faculty and guidance counselors, but if they fail three, “they’re off their respective team.”
Statistics indicate the success rate for student-athletes is near excellence. The numbers indicate that 174 of 179 spring athletes were eligible to participate after third-quarter grades were tallied.
“Our coaches are putting in overtime; in my office, we spend a lot of time making sure our kids are held accountable. The state doesn’t require this, but I think it’s working and has helped our students,” Cameron said.
“I think some kids get up in the morning because they know they have a game or practice and they know they have to been to school on time,” he said.
Board member Robert Creedon commended Cameron and the high school for enforcing the idea of athletic eligibility for student-athletes, and he even suggested it be a requirement for students in the five-year-program.
“Wouldn’t it be great to have mandatory sports for five-year-program students, because we forget that sports were introduced into the educational system to build leadership and teamwork? I’m glad to see you’re putting that back into the system,” Creedon said.