Student athletes in Everett Public Schools could soon be held to a higher standard with more academic requirements and stiffer penalties for abusing drugs and alcohol.
Administrators are proposing a series of changes to the athletics code of conduct, which has not been updated for several years.
Among the ideas:
• The code would apply 365 days per year, not just during a sports season.
• Students must regularly attend and be passing all of their classes. Currently the district requires students to be in three classes per day and passing at least four.
• Discipline for drug and alcohol use would be more stringent and similar to neighboring districts.
Students on the first offense could have their athletic suspension reduced if they self-report and get treatment. A second offense would bring a one-year suspension, while a third would mean being permanently ineligible to play.
The current code includes no treatment details or anything that would permanently kick an athlete off a team.
Schools and coaches have largely done things their own way, and the changes will set a uniform standard, district athletic director Robert Polk said.
“There’s always been this misconception that athletes get special treatment,” Polk said.
The changes show athletes actually must meet a higher standard, he said.
“They’re in the paper, the morning announcements. So we want these students to represent us well,” he said.
Tutoring would be offered to students who are failing classes. If grades improve, they could compete again.
Keeping athletes in top form in the classroom is something Mike Moran has done all along in his 11 years of coaching.
“No education, no recreation,” said Moran, who has led the Henry M. Jackson High School softball team in Mill Creek for four years. “It’s just something the girls know, that’s the way it’s going to be. And more often than not it turns into a benefit.”
Sports are the reason some students come to school, and the threat of not competing is the motivation they need to get their grades up, Moran said.
Good grades are key, agreed Kelsey Lundberg, 16, an athlete involved on a committee that reviewed the code.
“I think it’s important that we set a higher standard for the kids, especially athletes, because they are representing our school,” said the junior, who plays soccer and softball at Cascade High School.
But especially in cases of drug and alcohol violations, school leaders need to consistently hold students to the tougher rules, something that hasn’t been done, Lundberg said. “If there are going to be rules, they need to be enforced.”
Hap Wertheimer, mother of an Everett High School athlete, said she hopes the new code will provide consistency across sports.
“It’s all about maturity and taking responsibility for your actions. But coaches and the administration have to be consistent. Kids see inconsistency quickly and shoot it full of holes,” Wertheimer said.
Her son, Alex, 17, worries about athletes being held to a different standard.
“Do chess people have these rules? Sports, I guess, are more public … but they shouldn’t be more pressured to do the right thing than anyone else,” the junior said.
The new code is part of a review of the athletics program that started two years ago. Polk recently gave school board members an overview of the plan, though administrators continue to hammer out details.
The school board was expected to see a formal proposal at its meeting Tuesday. It likely would not vote on a plan until late June, giving athletic directors time to inform coaches and athletes before fall sports.
Melissa Slager is a writer for The Herald in Everett.
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