DODDS students must make the grade
to participate in extracurricular activities
By Rusty Bryan, Stars
and Stripes 
WIESBADEN, Germany — DODDS students planning to represent their
schools on the playing field or the band platform will find the academic bar a little
higher this school year.
For the first time, administrators have adopted uniform academic
requirements for participants in all extracurricular activities — not just athletics.
The new rules, which went into effect Monday, require that students
achieve a minimum semester grade-point average and passing grades in at least all but one
subject to be eligible to participate in interscholastic sports or other extracurricular
activities, according to Diana J. Ohman, deputy director for Department of Defense
Dependents Schools-Europe.
“We believe that these changes will ensure uniformity and
achieve sound educational objectives within the DODDS-Europe athletic and extracurricular
programs,” Ohman said in a news release announcing the change.
Designed to make sure that all student athletes are on track for
graduation, the new policy sets a minimum semester grade-point level at 2.0 for anyone
wanting to participate in extracurricular activities.
The change is effective immediately, but because there was no GPA
requirement in the past, the new minimum will be implemented in two steps so returning
students are not penalized.
For fall sports and activities this school year, sophomores, juniors
and seniors must have earned a 1.0 or higher GPA last spring. Students wanting to
participate in sports and extracurricular activities during the spring semester of this
school year must have an overall GPA of 1.5 for the fall semester, and by next fall, all
upperclassmen must present a 2.0 GPA from the preceding spring semester to maintain their
eligibility.
Incoming freshmen have no minimum GPA requirement to be eligible for
first-semester activities; however, they must attain a 1.5 or higher to be eligible for
second-semester activities this year.
In addition to achieving the prescribed GPA, all students, including
freshmen, cannot be failing more than one class in order to be eligible for
extracurricular activities. Students who are declared academically ineligible by reason of
weekly failing grades may practice with the team or club, but may not travel with the team
or participate in interscholastic events. Moreover, students declared ineligible because
of failing grades for three consecutive weeks may be dropped from the team or club.
Students who fail to meet the minimum GPA standards may apply for
reinstatement after three weeks of school, providing they have raised their GPAs
sufficiently. Reinstated students will be monitored every three weeks thereafter to make
sure their GPAs remain at the prescribed level, and those falling back under the minimum
will be declared ineligible for the rest of the semester.
While the new standard might sound like a crackdown, it really
isn’t, said DODDS-Europe athletic coordinator Karen Snyder.
“The idea is not to penalize students, it’s to help
them,” she told a meeting last week of DODDS-Europe athletic directors.
“We’re teachers. That’s our job.”
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