Santa Ana : Students Below C Given 2nd Chance

A policy that gives students who fall below C averages the opportunity to improve their grades before being barred from extracurricular activities won unanimous approval this week from trustees of the Santa Ana Unified School District.

Under the new policy, students will get probation periods of six weeks to improve their academic performances. However, they will only be afforded this grace period once during their academic careers.

“Kids will not be able to use this system to get away with anything, because this is a one-time shot,” said Jerry Witte, Santa Ana High School athletic director.

Witte, who strongly advocated the change in district policy, said he has seen many “good kids” declared ineligible after falling behind for reasons sometimes beyond their control.

“This gives us a buffer,” Witte said. “It gives a kid a chance to catch his breath. We have had kids who are doing a good job and something bad happens in their life and their school suffers.”

The probationary period is not automatic. Students must petition for reinstatement and agree to an education plan submitted to the school principal. The principal’s approval is mandatory before a student can continue to participate in the extracurricular activity.

Before the board’s action, district policy stated that students who fail to maintain a 2.0 grade-point average or C (based on a system with 4.0 being the highest average) would be automatically barred from participating in extracurricular activities.

District officials say the new policy would assist in maintaining the competitiveness of athletic programs while serving as a motivational tool for students to improve their grades.

The policy applies to students involved with athletic teams, student government, pep squads, drill and flag teams, musical performance groups, dramatics, forensics, school publications, special interest clubs and service clubs.