On January 13th, Quartz Hill High School held an Academic Probation meeting in the library. Academic Probation allows students with a GPA below a 2.0 to play sports during one quarter while they work on raising their grades. At this informational meeting, Ms. Swaner, the Vice Principal of Athletics, explained the responsibilities of both the parents and students who wish to participate in the program. 

According to CIF standards, students must have a 2.0 GPA to play sports in California. The Antelope Valley Union High School District, along with many other districts in the league, created Academic Probation to assist students with low GPAs so they could still play sports. The board requires every school in the district to incorporate a program to assist athletes with low grades. Every school has different requirements and standards for their own program. 

At Quartz Hill High School, there are a couple key standards that students must meet to qualify for Academic Probation. First of all, students cannot have any more than two failing grades. The student needs a GPA between 1.33 and 1.99. Also, the student cannot have anymore than two unsatisfactory citizenship grades. This program is only meant to guide students. Students should not rely on it to play sports. Therefore, students can only be a part of the program for two quarters while in high school and those two quarters cannot be consecutive. 

The goal of Academic Probation is to encourage students to study and work hard in school to play sports as a reward. There are requirements from the student, parent, coach, and school. Students are required to go to a minimum of one hour of tutoring a week. The tutoring can be for any subject that they need extra help in. Parents need to get the students to school on time because students cannot have unverified absences or tardies. If the student misses school for any reason, then the parent must call the school to verify the absence. The coach is supposed to check grades to ensure that the student is eligible to play. The school is responsible for enforcing all of the requirements. The student and parent must sign a contract which acknowledges their responsibilities. 

The program seems to be effective but it only works if students work hard. If students choose to just get by without fully utilizing the resources that the school offers, then they may not have passing grades the next quarter. This program is a good tool to help students play sports while still working hard to graduate.