[Conor Ryan]

My first tip, do not go above your Vice Principal's head yet. Remember, in order to compete in first you must be a student, so if you are not in class enough to convince some people that you are students you are going to have to work around that fact. Talk to your advisor, maybe you can start by making sure that everyone on the team is a good student, maybe setting a minimum GPA in order to travel with the team is a good idea. Maybe you could also throw in a few other ideas like minimum unexcused absents from school too, if your school has 15 days, maybe limit team members who want to travel to 10. Basically anything on paper to prove to your Vice Principal that you guys are willing to do anything to go to 3 competitions, will help.

Once you work things out with your advisor, set up another meeting with your Vice Principal, show him why students on 204 are more dedicated than other students in the school, show him that you are willing to go above and beyond the expectations that the average student is supposed to meet. Keep trying, if the first few attempts don't work with the Vice Principal, talk to the Principal, ask for more clarification, take your time before you go to the Board of Education, because what the BOE says, is most likely the final decision. Maybe asking your Vice Principal to be a chaperone might work too.