We are revamping our rules and would like CD input. How do your teams handle academic requirements for your students? Do students just need a certain minimum grade point average or can they not have any one class below a certain grade (i.e. nothing below C)? Is the deadline for grades the end of last semester or is it the week of competition? Do students have to get a form signed by all teachers releasing them?
We keep our students to the same standards as our school’s sports teams, minimum GPA which is set by the school to participate in extracurricular activities.
Our team requires students to submit grades every Thursday during build/competition season (once a month in offseason). We require a C average or better and no F’s as school comes before robotics. Teachers have access to grades, so if something seems fishy, they can check, no need for teacher signatures. Of course, grades are a factor in whether or not you get to go to competitions or not. If you are at risk of failing or dropping below a C average, chances are you may not come to competitions with the team.
The way we do it, you can attend practices no matter what your grades are, but you have to have C-or-above grades in all of your classes in order to go to competition*. Before the competition, students go up to all of their teachers with a grade check form and ask them to sign them, therefore giving them release to go. Let me know if you have any more questions.
*We also allow for students with grades below C in classes to go to competition if they work out a plan with their teacher in that class to get caught up.
Our system functioned similarly to the above posts. Back when I was a HS student, the school mandated that you have a C+ or better in all classes in order to go on a trip. For the most part, that rule was enforced by the school, with the team checking for compliance.
That being said, I’m pretty sure this was just for missed class periods. Since we’re in districts now, many events are on weekends.
We’re a community team, so we take a bit of a different approach:
We make a point of repeating multiple times before & during the season that “School comes before robots”. We don’t allow students to bring homework or studying to the shop - instead, they are required to stay home and get it done. There’s probably some formal GPA requirement written down somewhere, but I don’t recall a recent history example of us having to enforce it. It’s up to students and parents to set standards as to what is acceptable.
We’ll certainly work with parents and administrators to take action if our club is causing someone’s grades to drop. But, given the limited duration of build season and offseason meetings, it’s hard to make the argument that robotics would be solely at fault. The good news is these cases are few and far between.
At Lincoln Prep (the school 1775 is from), you have to maintain a 2.5 GPA. If you are not meeting those requirements, you are to stay home until you get it back up. However, at practice you can do homework if needed or while having a break/snack. At then end of the day it is school before robots.
But as a community, no one wants to see that happen, so on our Slack, we created a channel dedicated to homework and school questions. This year, we haven’t had anyone have to take a break to catch up on grades!
We require all of our students to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA and no “E” grades throughout the build and competition seasons. WE check once every two weeks.
If a student during build season has a less than 3.0 GPA or an “E” grade, they are then given a two week grace period in which they are asked not to show up for practice so they can focus on getting their grades up. If after those two weeks, their grades continue to be below the 3.0 GPA or the “E” is not fixed, then FIRST robotics should not be their priority and are asked not to return for the remainder of the season. If after those two weeks, their grades are back up above 3.0 and no “E” grades, then they are welcomed back so long as they maintain their grades.
If this happens during competition season, the student is not excused from any school days to attend robotics competitions.
Our priority is always academics. We will work our tails off to inspire you and help you gain STEM related skills, but we would be doing you a disservice if we let your GPA go down the drain in the process.
Two cents dispensed.
Our team requires study hall time during the season. If a student does not attend two study halls, they cannot participate in the next week of build season.
We also follow the minimum GPA requirement for sports teams.
My team also institutes a C or above standard for students. Makes sure students keep their grades up, that school comes before robotics, and it keeps our team’s relationship with the school teachers maintained.
No such requirements. As long as the student complies with the FIRST national and state organization rules, the student is good.
But, we’re technically a community team even though all of our students come from the same school.