Denying Students into class

[GaryVoshol]

If this is a regular school class, then the school administration (principal, counselors, etc) have the say on who gets in. It will be based on prerequisites, meeting requirements, most likely class standing, and unfortunately in a few cases it will be based on parents that complain the most.

If the class is part of the team structure, part of being in the club, then the admittance requirements may be governed by school policy. For example, our district has a policy of a minimum grade point average to be involved in any extra-curricular activity - whether that be robotics, the football team, SADD, or the forestry club. It matters not how beneficial the activity would be for a student or the community - if the student can't keep up his grades, he's not on a team or club.

The team also has had an application process, simply to ensure that all who show up have at least a minimal level of interest. It's easy to show up at a meeting and say, "I'm on the team." If the student has to write a couple of short essay answers and get a teacher recommendation, there's more commitment.

I don't know what the response would be if all the answers came out, "To hang with friends and get a few days off of school on trips." Nor if the student couldn't find any teacher willing to recommend her. I don't think that's come up.

We have had to deal with a few behavior issues on prior teams, had to put restrictions on team members when their grades slipped, or had to drop team members for non-attendance. When the last happened, it generally was a mutual thing - the student stopped coming, the team didn't expect him any more, and if he had shown up 2 days before leaving on a regional or championship trip he would have quietly been told by a mentor that he wasn't going because of his attendance.