Boothbay Region High School

Blake Erhard, Lilley Harris Champions of Change

Thu, 05/31/2018 - 8:45am

Boothbay Region High School students Blake Erhard and Lilley Harris shared their Champions of Change project video at the May 16 school committee meeting. Champions of Change is a unit in teacher Mark Gorey’s Advanced Placement language class.

Erhard’s video, “Eligibility,” outlined a need for BRHS to go back to previous years’ requirements for academic-athletic eligibility – a no fail policy. Harris’s video, “Taking the Extra out of Extracurriculars,” suggested a need for implementing an extracurricular requirement to graduate.

Asked if the two proposals conflict with each other, Harris said only at first.

“Originally I saw them as clashing because some kids already struggle to pass the classes that we have without adding an extracurricular,” said Harris. “But when you really take time to look at all of the studies that have been done, students who do participate in extracurriculars maintain higher GPA's throughout their high school career just because they're required to stay involved in school and their academics. So, in a way it is clashing, but in another way they could mutually benefit each pther.”

Erhard and Harris agree it is fairly difficult to fail a class unless you are trying to. The two students explained that in most cases, "failing" means that there are assignments a student has not handed in or that were handed in before the grade could count in the teacher's week to week report. If it gets to that point, said Erhard, “it’s kind of their own fault.”

"Basically, the only way to fail is to – just don't pass anything in," Gorey added.

Erhard said his proposal used to be standard policy for BRHS and was only changed for this past school year.

"This year, you're allowed to fail one class ... but last year if you were failing one class, you were ineligible … It's just a switch back to the (policy) we've had for the entire time I've been in high school, so it's not really too far out of the question for someone to switch back because they've dealt with it for the past couple years."

In his video, Erhard says the new policy is too lenient and that the pressure of keeping good grades to play sports is a healthy pressure. He asked Principal Dan Welch why the school administrators decided to change the policy.

Welch said the decision was not intended to be permanent, but that it would allow teachers to discuss the policy’s merits and shortcomings for the next year and was based on wanting students to be able to pass their courses, but also play sports. Students who play sports usually have better attendance, better grades and a better overall experience, said Welch.

Erhard concluded, “The present policy is reducing the motivation for students to pass classes and with only a two percent difference in failures from this year to last year, there is no reason to not switch back.”

Harris said her proposal stems from studies that show students who participate in extracurricular activities tend to have better grades and to better connect with the wider community. In her video, she points out the decline in student population which, in turn, has meant a decline in after-school extracurricular activities.

“Because of this, there is a threat that some activities will no longer be offered and this changes the dynamic of our school and town,” says Harris in her video.

Harris proposed that instead of after-school activities being cut, they should be made mandatory – one every semester. She interviewed school guidance counselor Brooke Newburg, who backed up Harris’s research. Newburg said t students who participate as Harris proposes generally have better grades and time management skills. Newburg also said students who become engaged with the larger community tend to have a greater social wellbeing.

Harris argued, mandatory extracurriculars will create a better overall school spirit because everyone will be involved with the school or community in a unique way.

Harris said the school already offers many opportunities for extracurriculars like student council, Interact Club, Gay/Straight/Trans Alliance, and the Math Team.

"The sports eligibility and extracurricular standings would still apply as they are now, or if they get changed to what Blake is proposing, they would apply to athletics. But currently, if you're failing a class, you're not kicked out of student government or kicked out of the interact club just because you're not passing your classes … There's this whole interconnection of things that need to happen, but in all honesty, I think it's pretty achievable for our school …"

The two students said they enjoyed Gorey’s project.

"… As the project went on, we could see that we're getting involved with our school, we're getting involved with our community as we're becoming adults,” said Harris. “It's kind of scary, but we're doing something for the betterment of our school and our town."

Said Erhard, "It's cool that I get the people around school talking about something – you're just a student, but you can get all the teachers and parents talking.”

Gorey enjoys getting his students to think about the bigger picture and to push their ideas toward the people who can help them achieve positive change.

"It's easy for these issues to get lost in the shuffle,” he said. “Hopefully the school committee members ... come back to the administrators and say, ‘Where are we on that, now?' They're particularly interested when students step forward and talk about these issues because they're the people we're trying to serve, here.”

Will the students continue to promote their proposals?

"It would be cool to see something happen because of the video,” said Harris. “If administrators would like to continue the conversation … if someone reaches out to me or the conversation rises at meetings, I'll make an effort to be there and tell them what I know."

Erhard is confident his proposal speaks for itself. "I'll leave it at the video and see what happens."