Gilman board looks at dual sport option for high school

The Gilman school district is looking to begin a “dual sport participation” program, after the motion passed in a board vote of four in favor and two against, with one abstention. This will allow students to take two sports at the same time.

One sport will be considered the student’s “primary” sport that will take precedent over their “secondary” sport, meaning that if events of the two different sports landed within the same time frame, the student would, most of the time, have to attend their “primary” sporting event. However, there is a matrix system in place to determine which event would be more important, such as whether the event is conference or non-conference.

The idea was put forth in large part due to low enrollment rates, leading to a need for sports teams’ numbers to be bolstered by allowing students to play, for example, both track and baseball in the same season.

Students must demonstrate that they are capable of upholding Gilman’s academic standard while they are playing both sports to be considered eligible for the program.

Grades 5-12 principal and athletic director Jon Hess underlined the importance of ensuring students are looked after properly, and that they are the number one priority over sports teams’ numbers.

“This is by far one of the most comprehensive plans I’ve had presented to me,” said Wally Leipart, Gilman’s superintendent and 4K-fourth grade principal. “A tremendous amount of effort went into making something that is very challenging appear about as clear and concise as it can be.”

Some members of the board voiced their concern over the potential stress students could face.

Board member Valorie Kulesa pointed at coaches holding students responsible if they miss practice/games because they were preoccupied with their other sport as a potential problem: “There’s coaches who are going to take this out on the kids,” she said, also expressing her disbelief that the matrix will properly handle the student’s time Hess countered by stressing that dual sports will be taken seriously, with a mandatory meeting between himself, the coach, the parents, and the student taking place for each individual student that wants to participate, to ensure everybody is on the same page.

Leipart added that coaches have to follow the rules just as much, if not more than, the students: “If a coach steps out of line and does not adhere to the practice, then that is a performance issue.”

“I think this is not holding parents accountable, and making your kid decide,” said board member Jessica Wiscocky, unconvinced the program was a good idea, and went on to explain that her own child was going to have to choose a single sport and stick with it. “You’re taking track or you’re taking baseball.”

“We’re just making it available to them,” said board member Bruce Ewings Sr., stating that it is an extra choice being made available to the students, and not something they must sign up for.

The dual sport participation program is slated to begin a bit later this year.

Student levels

Gilman’s students are showing growth in academics, particularly for those who were listed in the “emergency” level. The “emergency” level simply means a student who is not quite up to par on a particular subject.

First grade had a substantial growth in the number of “proficient” students, increasing from four out of 16 students during the fall, to 11 out of 16 in winter. The increase occurred over a three month time period.

“We’ve had students increase full grade levels in their reading ability in those months,” said Leipart.

It was noted that the growth is less than stellar for the upper classes.

Leipart placed the blame, in part, on what he calls “reading stamina,” which is the idea that the students don’t possess the drive to have sustained reading sessions, leading them to not try as hard on the assessments.

“In the middle school, our goal is to try and get to 30 [minutes of sustained reading],” he said. “We had to break it down to three minutes... As crazy as it sounds, that’s where we started. I believe they’re up to 20 minutes now.”

“This is not a Gilman problem, this is a systemic problem in education,” Leipart went on. “We see low levels of engagement when it comes to student academic performance, and we have to start rethinking.”

Conferences are being held to help the students with fledgling grades, with an average of 73.2% of the “emergency” level students having been conferenced in the past 14 days.

Fitness Center

The school’s community fitness center has been open for about four weeks, with the number of people joining far exceeding expected membership. Already there are 250 members, in the town with a population of around 400.

Improvements are still being made to the facility, such as mirrors in the cardio room, and access to sanitation wipes. Lockers and smaller cubbies are being installed to hold exercisers’ items.

The center contains assorted exercise equipment, and is an excellent way to stay in shape.