Bill would send sports at low-performing schools into sudden death

Durham, N.C. — A state lawmaker wants to dim the Friday night lights at North Carolina high schools with poor academic performance.

Senate Bill 377 would bar interscholastic athletics at schools where more than half of the students score below the 50th percentile on end-of-grade or end-of-course tests for at least two straight years.

Sen. Charlie Albertson, D-Duplin, the sponsor of the bill, said the proposal isn't intended to punish students who are doing well. He said he only wants to encourage students who aren't performing well in the classroom to do better.

"We certainly want our kids to keep playing sports because we know how important that is, but we need to remember the first thing about a school is to be able to learn to read and write and do math," Albertson said.

Based on test scores from the past two years, 10 area schools would be affected by such a restriction if it were approved and went into effect immediately, including Hillside, Northern and Southern high schools in Durham and Douglas Byrd and Westover high schools in Cumberland County.

"I think that would be a huge mistake," said Hillside football player Jharrison Gillespie, who carries a 4.3 grade-point average. "If anything, that would make things worse."

Hillside basketball player Jerelle Gorham, who has a 4.5 GPA, said the logic behind Alberston's bill doesn't add up.

"I think that's a little crazy because, in order to play athletics, you have to have the good grades," Gorham said. "I know on our basketball team, we have people that have 4.5 and 4.2 (GPAs)."

Bill Harrison, the new chief executive of North Carolina's public schools, also expressed concern about the proposal.

"I believe athletics are a primary motivator for a lot of our students," Harrison said. "My sense is there will be a lot of resistance from the public."

The other area schools that would be affected by Albertsons bill, based on recent test scores, are Kenan High School in Duplin County, Northwest Halifax, Southeast Halifax and Weldon high schools in Halifax County and Warren County High School.

51 Comments

WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

VIEW ALL 51 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments

Albertson needs to darken the door of a school on a regular basis and see what is really going on. The athletes are the ones doing the best of all the students because they have to maintain a GPA and good discipline. As a teacher I know the importance of an athletic program. I do agree with "viewer" all of the elective programs that would provide good training for non-college bound students have been done away with. We need "shop", AG and Home Ec back in the schools. Not all of these students will use a computer to maintain their job skills.

Amruby
March 6, 2009 4:20 p.m.

Some folks are going to fail in an academic school environment despite the amount of money thrown at the education industry.

Classroom teachers can not cure all the problems of kids living with totally inadequate parents and an absolutely miserable home life. The kids learn at home that high school is a waste of time and the law is the only reason they attend.

High school level vocational schools need to be set up again. I don't mean a place to dump the least intelligent kids; but a place where normal teens could look forward to have decent employment skills upon completion at 17 or 18, an apprentice system if you will. The goal would be a real job instead of a worthless diploma.

Viewer
March 5, 2009 3:26 p.m.

I was a high school athlete and maintained over a 4.0 gpa. I know for a fact that if I didn't have sports (cheerleading for football and basketball and softball) to participate in, I would NOT have done so well in school. In fact, the days that practice was cancelled, I left early about 99% of the time. Another good point that has been made is that student athletes already have to maintain a certain gpa, so again, you are punishing them for doing well.

tracycvpulley
March 5, 2009 1:40 p.m.

"... the proposal isn't intended to punish students who are doing well. He said he only wants to encourage students who aren't performing well in the classroom to do better."

Well thats exactly what he is doing: punishing ALL students at a school. The athletes should have to meet certain standards to play and hold them to it. Students that do not meet standards should be held back or put in programs to bring them up to speed. Sports just may keep certain students out of trouble. The athletes that really excel may have a chance to further their education based on their proficiency in a sport.