After GHS cheerleader trip controversy, school board is taking a
closer look at how many school days students will be missing
Gilroy – The school board’s field trip policy will likely see a few changes after controversy over the GHS cheerleaders going to Hawaii sparked concerns about how many school days students miss because of field trips.
Once the November elections are over and the new Gilroy school board is in place, the policy, which was adopted in June of 2005, will almost certainly be looked at again by the board’s policy subcommittee and discussed with other board members, school district administration and school staff members, said Pat Midtgaard, school board president.
“We still have concerns about the total numbers of school days missed, and I think some clarifications are needed,” she said. “I like the current wording, but what I think may be at the heart of the need for change is the definition of what is co-curricular and what is extra-curricular.”
Trustee Tom Bundros agreed this distinction makes a difference when field trips are approved or denied.
“Obviously, three or four days visiting the Smithsonian, and seeing where legislation happens in Washington, D.C. is in a different category than three days doing something like the cheerleaders performing (at the National Football League Pro Bowl). It’s like comparing the nutritional value of eight ounces of a soft drink with eight ounces of a vegetable juice.”
But cheerleading coach Jeanne Baumgartner said when reworking the policy, board members should take into account the value of having a once-in-a-lifetime experience as well as academic value before denying a field trip.
“It’s not like going on a family vacation to Hawaii,” she said. “These girls are going to be out on a field in front of hundreds of thousands of people. They’ll never have an experience like that again. I did it when I was a cheerleader at GHS in 1987, and I’ll never forget it.”
Baumgartner went on to express concern over the current policy’s verbiage, pointing out the term “excessive loss of class time” is too vague, and excessive for one student may be manageable for others.
“My cheerleaders have a 3.4 grade point average, so I don’t feel that three days of school is excessive for them,” she said. “They’re honor role students, so clearly they’re motivated enough to handle missing a few days of school. If they were struggling, obviously it wouldn’t be smart to be gone for three days. But they’re not struggling.”
Midtgaard said she was not concerned about the policy’s use of the term, though Trustee Javier Aguirre has said he would like to define how many missed days are “excessive.”
Last week, the board approved 11 different field trips. The longest trip, the GHS Chamber Singers’ trip to Japan, spans Spring Break. Most other trips include weekends. Of the 11 trips, the most school days students will miss are two. Midtgaard said she was happy to see teachers making an effort to plan long field trips over school breaks and said she hoped more would follow suit.
“My personal view is that one day is excessive when you take into account that we only have 180 days of instruction,” Bundros said. “That’s less than half a year. Teachers go to great lengths to create lesson plans, so you better have a darn good reason to even have one day away. I think people who plan events like the wrestling competitions over school days are putting us in a tough position. Students shouldn’t have to pick between sporting events and attending class. I think maybe it’s time for us to start pushing back on these event organizers.”
Both Bundros and Midtgaard said the board would be looking at how many school days students missed because of sports. Nearly half of last week’s approved field trips were for the GHS wrestling team.
“They may not be missing many days consecutively, but they are missing an awful lot of days total,” Midtgaard said. “We need to look at that. The U.C. system may give P.E. credit for sports or cheerleading, but they’re not transferable the way band, choir or theater would be. Those are considered fine arts.”
Though Baumgartner said she welcomed changes in the policy, she hoped the board placed the proper value on sports, cheerleading and other extra-curricular activities.
“I think it may be time for the board to consider two different policies,” she said. “Right now the policy dictates trips for grades K through 12, but those trips aren’t the same thing. In high school, you’re dealing with a lot more clubs and after-school sports. As kids get older, they’re able to do so many more things. I think the board should have a policy for grades K through 6 and another policy for grades 7 to 12. I don’t think you can group all those students under the same policy.”
Kelly Savio is a staff writer for South Valley Newspapers. Reach her at (408) 842-2205 or ks****@**********rs.com.
