More News

Jeremiah Hendy, a rising senior at Bowie High School, already has plans for college. A standout in football and track, Hendy made a verbal commitment in the spring to play football at the University of Maryland, College Park, after graduating next year.

Around the time he announced his commitment to the Terrapins, his high school athletic career suffered a setback. Hendy failed his Advanced Placement world history class during the third quarter of the 2009-2010 school year and, as a result, was declared academically ineligible to participate in track during the fourth quarter, when he hoped to defend his Class 4A state high jump championship.

Prince George's County schools require middle and high school athletes to maintain a 2.0 grade-point average with no failing grades to be eligible for sports and other extracurricular activities. The policy, one of the strictest in Maryland, cost 1,241 athletes playing time during the 2009-2010 school year, according to statistics from the Prince George's County Public Schools' Office of Interscholastic Athletics. Of the school system's 7,938 high school athletes during the 2009-2010 school year, there were 614 who were ineligible for failing to achieve a 2.0 GPA, and another 627 who had a 2.0, but became ineligible because of a failing grade, designated as an "E" in county schools. The policy has become known as "No E."

Coaches and athletic directors say the policy puts teams from Prince George's 22 public high schools at a disadvantage when they compete in Maryland's state playoffs against schools from counties with more lenient rules. The state allows each county to establish its own academic eligibility requirements. Prince George's coaches and athletic directors also say the No E rule unduly punishes students such as Hendy, who met the 2.0 GPA requirement but struggled with one class.

"I didn't get it done, and I had to suffer the consequences," Hendy said, referring to his prior academic ineligibility. "I wouldn't say it's a good rule, but everybody has to abide by it. If the county feels that it's a rule that they need to have, I guess it's a good rule."

Of the 24 public school systems in Maryland, only six — Prince George's, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard and Somerset counties — require students to receive passing grades in all courses to be eligible for scholastic sports.

Thirteen school systems allow students with one failing grade to continue playing, and 10 systems do not have a minimum GPA requirement for athletic eligibility.

"You can graduate with all Ds, because that's considered a passing grade," said DaLawn Parrish, football coach at Henry A. Wise High School in Upper Marlboro. "That student [with all Ds] has no chance to go to college. We aren't trying to lower the standards for everyone, but I just don't see how you can punish athletes with higher grade-point averages."

No E numbers

The county's No E rule was phased in starting with the middle school sports programs in 2003. It took effect at the high school level starting in the 2007-2008 school year. Prior to the No E rule, students needed a 2.0 GPA to be eligible for sports. Dr. Bea Tignor, the chair of the Prince George's Board of Education from 2002-2006, said the No E policy was put in place to emphasize the importance of academics.

"We didn't want young people in middle school playing sports or being involved in other school activities without some concentration on academic achievement," Tignor said.

Members of the current board support the rule.

"I have no problem with it," said board member Rosalind A. Johnson (Dist. 1). "[Softening the rule] says that at some place in a kid's life, we accept failure. They need to perform in the classroom. What are you doing as a coach to help that kid who's struggling in the classroom? I'm about straight-A power forwards and straight-A running backs."

Board member Amber Waller (At large) said the policy is "harsh" but discounted the argument that it unfairly punishes good students who struggle with one class.

"If a student has all As, there's no reason to get an E," Waller said. "The principal, the mother, someone has to jump [in] early. If there's a problem with a teacher, that's a cop-out, and we can't have cop-outs."

Former county PTA President Bob Ross, who now serves as the chair of the Maryland PTA's membership committee, said he has not heard complaints from parents in Prince George's or the other counties that have a No E rule.

"It's been three years [in Prince George's County] with this policy; it's time for coaching staffs to develop a way to look at marginal students," Ross said. "The whole idea is we shouldn't have marginal students. [Coaches] have to bring in the parents and say, ‘This is what we're up against. We need your help to keep your child on point.' Everyone is looking to become [a] pro [athlete]. The likelihood of that is against us. But [students] are definitely going to go to work someday. So where are your priorities?"

According to the county's Office of Interscholastic Athletics participation data, students playing high school sports declined from 8,401 in the 2004-2005 school year to 7,938 in 2009-2010, despite the addition of Henry A. Wise High, the county's 22nd high school, which opened in August 2006. Participation declined by 204 in 2007-2008, the first year of the No E rule, but it has risen by 86 in the two years since then.

Prince George's Schools Athletic Director Earl Hawkins pointed out that while the number of athletes has declined over the past six years, the percentage of high school students participating in athletics has remained stable. In 2004-2005, 20.9 percent of high school students played sports, compared to 20.2 percent in 2009-2010.

In the 2009-2010 school year, 627 athletes were ineligible because of the No E rule, compared to 614 who were ineligible because of the 2.0 provision. In 2008-2009, 523 athletes were impacted by the No E rule, and 448 were sidelined because their GPAs were below 2.0. No ineligibility data is available for 2007-2008.

With the number of students impacted by the No E rule exceeding the number impacted by the 2.0 provision, coaches say the rules keep too many students from participating.

"I have so many kids walking around at Crossland that are ineligible, I can field a whole team [with them]," said Taft Hickman, the boys' basketball coach at Crossland High School in Temple Hills. "I think a 2.5 GPA or above [should be the rule]."

Crossland had the second-highest number of academically ineligible athletes in the county during 2009-2010 with 99 and the fourth-highest total in 2008-2009 with 72.

Linda Henson-Hubb, athletic director and volleyball coach at Gwynn Park High School in Brandywine, said the figures do not tell the whole story because they count only the athletes whose grades forced them to stop playing during the season.

"They don't survey how many kids would have come out to play but couldn't [start the season] because of an E," said Henson-Hubb, whose school had the eighth-lowest total of academically ineligible athletes in the county last year with 40.

Hawkins said there is no way to track the number of students who didn't come out for sports because of their grades.

"When I coached, kids would say they were going to come out for the team all the time," Hawkins said. "Then when practice starts, they don't show up. There is no way of knowing why the kid decided not to come out for the team. If you have a talented kid in the building and are afraid he might not be eligible, then you have to do whatever you can to help that kid out. Have the kid work with counselors or attend study halls. If the kid is really that good, then you have to make it your project to get him on the field."

Eligibility equity

Many coaches dislike the state's policy that allows each school system to create its own academic eligibility rules.

Maryland is one of three states where the high school sports governing body does not have a specific statewide academic standard. The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association requires each local school system to "establish standards of participation which assure that students involved in interscholastic athletics are making satisfactory progress toward graduation."

"It makes no sense that in one county you can have a 1.0 GPA and be eligible, and you could have a 3.0 in another and not be eligible," said Forestville High School football coach Charles Harley.

In states that do have detailed statewide policies, state athletic association bylaws also permit school districts to establish more rigid standards. Athletic officials in several states told The Gazette they are aware of school districts that enacted stricter rules than the state requires, but were unable to say how many.

Ned Sparks, executive director of the MPSSAA, said a one-size-fits-all approach is not effective.

"From school to school, how can you compare whether my general math class was as difficult as your trig class, or whether my advanced chemistry class was as difficult as your earth science class?" Sparks said. "That can be true even within the same school. One student may have the toughest English teacher in the school and another student taking the same English class at the same school has a different teacher who makes it hard to fail. We require schools to have a plan that works best for them. I can understand the frustration in Prince George's County. It's a pretty tough rule. But everyone knows what it is."

Del. Jay Walker (D-Dist. 26) of Fort Washington sponsored a bill in the Maryland General Assembly session earlier this year that would require the state school board to enact academic requirements for athletic participation at all public schools. The bill did not advance past a first reading in the House Ways and Means Committee.

Charlene M. Dukes, vice president of the state school board, said establishing a statewide standard is not on the board's radar.

"I'm not sure I think it's something the board should do," said Dukes, the president of Prince George's Community College. "Jurisdictions are different. We don't have a monolithic approach. That's why we have the opportunity for local control of these kinds of decisions. I'd suggest that athletic directors, supported by whatever information they have, should speak with Ned Sparks and talk about what they see as some of the conflicts or incongruities."

According to the MPSSAA's handbook, the process of establishing new rules, like a specific statewide academic policy, begins with a formal proposal to the MPSSAA Board of Control by a school, a superintendant of schools, an MPSSAA committee or the MPSSAA executive director. The next step is winning approval from the Board of Control, which is comprised of at least two representatives from each school system. School systems with larger enrollments have more representation on the Board of Control. The proposal then would go before the state school board, which would have the final say.

Taking care of classroom business

Prince George's School Board member R. Owen Johnson (Dist. 5) coached at several middle and high schools in the county from 1969 to 1992 and was the county's athletic director from 1996 to 2002. He said that too often athletes and their families are focused more on sports than on schoolwork. He said maintaining eligibility is a responsibility athletes, parents and coaches must share.

"In many instances, parents and students don't look at the academic side of the ball, and that's where a coach can say, ‘Here's where you can get help,'" Johnson said. "In 22 years of coaching and 15 years as an administrator and board member, I can't remember one time when I've gone to an educator and said, ‘This young person needs assistance,' and they've not said, ‘Yes.'"

For Jeremiah Hendy, it was simpler than that. Hendy said he fell behind on the reading in his Advanced Placement world history class, and his grade slipped as a result.

While Hendy was unable to compete for another state high jump title, he will be on the field for Bowie's football team this fall. He regained his eligibility by passing his world history class in the fourth quarter of the school year.

He'll have one more season of high school track next spring, but his athletic future is on the football field. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound Hendy is a cornerback, ranked as Maryland's seventh-best player in the Class of 2011, according to recruiting website Rivals.com. He committed to the University of Maryland in April.

Hendy said sitting out a season because of academic ineligibility is an experience he will not soon forget.

"It made me focus on how playing sports is not as important as my grades," Hendy said. "[The football coaches at Maryland knew about it and] were telling me that I have to be a leader on and off the field. You don't want the younger players to look at me, as a captain, failing. I set an example for them.

"It did help me get better as a student. It was really kind of embarrassing. I've never been the type of dude to fail a class. A lot of people knew about it, because I wasn't on the track team and they would ask me why I wasn't going to meets and I would have to tell them. I don't ever want that to happen again."

Staff writers Terron Hampton and Joshua Hudson contributed to this story.

E-mail Seth Elkin at selkin@gazette.net.