LANSING, Mich. — This fall, student athletes in the Lansing schools are facing a new challenge: The district is requiring them to have a C average if they want to play.
"By raising the standard, the expectation, to at least a 2.0, we're really just doing right by students," said Superintendent Ben Shuldiner. "While we're saying, 'We believe in you. We know you can do the work. And this is how we're going to have our expectations for you.'"
When Shuldiner became superintendent in July, the district began reviewing existing policies.
"When we got to the GPA requirement of 1.66, we felt that that was too low that certainly students rise the level of expectations," Shuldiner said
Athletic Director Chris Henderson said that, if a student can't score a 2.0 GPA, they won't be kicked off the team.
"We've really made it a priority to provide alumni tutoring, mentoring, extracurricular activities that help help them and train them in their study skills," he said.
Lansing's standard is now higher than many other districts in the area, which set the requirement at 1.67.
To keep track of student performance off the field, weekly progress reports will be submitted to the athletic director for review.
