ARCADIA SPORTS PAGE ARCADIA SPORTS PAGE Page 54 February 2013 Support system in place to help athletes with grades Coach Ives Machiz: “We’re doing what we can to make sure the kids know that there are resources available and that they don’t have to struggle to fi nd them.” By Nathan Humpherys By all accounts, Arcadia High School’s efforts to help their student athletes meet the new eligibility standards have yielded much success and even a few welcome surprises. The Scottsdale Union School District board adopted new academic standards for all students before the school year started, requiring them to maintain a 2.0 (C) grade- point average. Those who fall below the 2.0 standard have to attend a mandatory intervention study program, and students who play sports lose eligibility until their grade improves, giving athletes an extra incentive to do well in their classes. According to athletic director Kevin Mooney, most athletes at Arcadia were unaffected because they already met or exceeded the standard. “We’ve been very, very happy, and surprised, by how few students have had eligibility issues because of this new policy,” he said. But the policy has offered an opportunity to improve how the school worked with students to prevent issues, and the conversation about the new standards can bene fi t those whose eligibility isn’t at risk. “It makes students just that much more aware of their grades and that much more anxious to keep up with them,” Mooney said. Coaches have played a major role by being proactive in checking up on and communicating with their athletes to insure they maintain their eligibility. Arcadia provides an in-school tutoring program, T.H.R.I.V.E.S., an after-school tutoring program, F.A.S.T., and some coaches, such as girls basketball coach Ives Machiz, have made their classrooms available to students who need a place to study after school. “We’re doing what we can to make sure that the kids know that there are resources available and that they don’t have to struggle to fi nd them,” Machiz said. Football and boys basketball, which have a disproportionate number of athletes who struggle to remain eligible, worked to provide additional help for their players. Interim football coach Lenny Abt worked with the booster club to raise money for an after-school tutor so that any player on the freshman, J.V., or varsity squads could get extra tutoring without paying out of pocket, and boys basketball coach Stephen Danford created mandatory study halls during lunch. Both programs also partnered with the National Honors Society and teachers who volunteered time to tutor players. “I have been really surprised how successful it’s been and how much the kids have embraced it,” Danford said of the team study sessions, which have helped raise the average GPA of all three boys basketball teams over the season. Though this was Abt’s fi rst year acting as head coach, it was his fourth year with Continued on page 55 7 SPORTS CAMP LOCATIONS one in your neighborhood Basketball, soccer, baseball, swimming, archery, volleyball wi`ëœÀÌà PLAN YOUR SUMMER NOW May 28 - August 9 £ÜiiŽÃiÃȜ˜Ã±ՏE>v`>Þ ÝÌi˜`i` >Ài±č}iÃ{¤‡£Î HUBBARDSPORTS.COM 602.971.4044 REGISTER NOW hubbardsports.com

Page 55 ARCADIA SPORTS PAGE TOO ARCADIA SPORTS PAGE TOO February 2013 the Arcadia football program and he said this year was “probably the least amount of kids we’ve lost” from eligibility issues. Such efforts by coaches and teachers have also helped demonstrate the importance of grades to athletes. “When the students see that their coaches and teachers are willing to put extra time into it to make it work, it makes them realize that they should have that same attitude,” Mooney said. Perhaps the next step would be for players to develop an intrinsic motivation to do well in their classes, but as Machiz pointed out, any step in the right direction is a positive one. “For me, if I see somebody that’s interested in doing well on homework and doing well on tests and learning the material, it doesn’t matter so much the reason. The fact that they’re doing it is good,” he said. Support Continued from page 54 Activities help up grades By Sepeedeh Hashemian Through a new grade-checking program, 84 percent of SUSD students who have below a 2.0 GPA or are failing a class aren’t involved in extracurricular activities. Dr. Mitch von Gnechten, executive director of secondary schools and assessment for the Scottsdale Uni fi ed School District, said through the fi rst nine weeks of the semester, only 16 percent of the students with poor performance marks are involved in activities, showing connected students are less likely to be at risk of falling below the new requirement. Von Gnechten said that these numbers call for the schools fi nd new ways to engage students. “We need to build relationships for our kids,” he said, “but it’s not just getting them involved in a sport or activity or something like that. I think it’s also about developing good relationships between teacher and student, administrator and student, counselor and student.” Each school does grade checks every four and a half weeks. The policy requires any student who is below the minimum GPA or failing a class will have to attend study-support programs. For students involved in extracurricular activities, they are not allowed to compete until their grades are up. Denny Brown, vice-president of the district governing board, said what motivated the passing of this policy was the fact that only students in athletics were being held at the 2.0 standard not the entire student body. Lydia Smart, a senior at Arcadia, said she thinks the policy is not an unreasonable requirement or impossible to achieve since the high school has an abundance of resources. w w w. ARC ADIALIT TLE LE AG U E .com PRE-REGISTER ONLINE TODAY FOR THE 2013 SPRING SEASON BASEBALL & SOFTBALL AGES 4-18 TECHNICALLY, A BASEBALL GAME COULD GO ON FOREVER. REGISTRATION ON THE OTHER HAND ENDS EARLY FEB. L A S T R E G I S T R A T I O N A N D T R Y O U T D A T E