burnet44
06-28-2007, 11:18 PM
Round Rock limits athlete transfers
By Jake Trotter
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, June 28, 2007
ROUND ROCK — The Round Rock school district voted Tuesday night that incoming freshmen student-athletes transferring from their home school into another school's academy are ineligible to participate in varsity athletics until their junior year.
Before, a freshman had been able to transfer from one district high school — either McNeil, Round Rock, Stony Point or Westwood — into another and be eligible to play varsity athletics immediately, as long as he or she cited the reason for the transfer was to enroll in that school's specific four-year academy not offered at their home campus.
Tuesday's motion, which goes into effect for the 2008-09 school year, was passed specifically to curtail a recent flow of more than 50 incoming freshmen a year who leave Stony Point for Round Rock, enroll in Round Rock's business and finance academy and stay eligible in athletics.
Each Round Rock district high school has two academies. Stony Point has the information technology and science and medicine academies, but no business academy.
Stony Point supporters contended at Tuesday's meeting that Stony Point students were transferring to Round Rock under the auspices of the business academy, but in reality were using the policy as a loophole to transfer to Round Rock for athletic purposes.
Stony Point supporters also complained that several former Stony Point students dropped the business academy program once they were at Round Rock, yet were allowed to stay at Round Rock, which is against district policy that states students should return to their home campus if they drop an academy program.
Diane Cox, the president of the district board of trustees, said the school district "had been watching that the last couple of years" to ensure the policy was being enforced.
According to district statistics obtained by Stony Point parents through open records requests, Round Rock High School has received 50 percent more transfers than any other district school within the last five academic years.
Round Rock had 251 total student transfers — seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen — of whom 156 came from Stony Point. Of the transfers, 89 — all from Stony Point, according to the figures — also participated in athletics. McNeil had 37 student-athlete transfers, Westwood had 48 and Stony Point had six.
Figures were not available on how many transfer students into Round Rock had dropped out of the business academy curriculum.
Students who transfer who do stay in the academy program — the requirement is one academy class a year for four years — will be eligible to play freshman and junior varsity athletics their first two years, but not varsity athletics.
"I'm pleased that they decided to take action, (but) disappointed they're not implementing (until the) 2008-09 year," said Rick Schindel, a Stony Point parent who headed the effort that brought the issue to the board's attention. "It's another crop of our students who will be going to Round Rock."
Incoming freshmen for this coming school year won't be affected by the ruling.
"My main concern was not to change rules on people midstream who made decisions based on policies we already had in place," Cox said.
Cox said she is doubtful that Tuesday's motion would have much impact on the number of academy-based transfers.
She said that only three freshmen and five sophomores who transferred from Stony Point to Round Rock because of the business academy competed for the Dragons at the varsity level last year.
"I don't know that it's going to affect it all that much," said Cox, who believes that placing a business academy at Stony Point would be more of a long-term solution to keep students at Stony Point.
The board expects to look at a presentation before the next academic year that would ignite plans to give Stony Point a business academy, perhaps as soon as the 2008-09 school year. If that happens, board members said Stony Point students would no longer be allowed to transfer to Round Rock because of the business academy.
By Jake Trotter
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, June 28, 2007
ROUND ROCK — The Round Rock school district voted Tuesday night that incoming freshmen student-athletes transferring from their home school into another school's academy are ineligible to participate in varsity athletics until their junior year.
Before, a freshman had been able to transfer from one district high school — either McNeil, Round Rock, Stony Point or Westwood — into another and be eligible to play varsity athletics immediately, as long as he or she cited the reason for the transfer was to enroll in that school's specific four-year academy not offered at their home campus.
Tuesday's motion, which goes into effect for the 2008-09 school year, was passed specifically to curtail a recent flow of more than 50 incoming freshmen a year who leave Stony Point for Round Rock, enroll in Round Rock's business and finance academy and stay eligible in athletics.
Each Round Rock district high school has two academies. Stony Point has the information technology and science and medicine academies, but no business academy.
Stony Point supporters contended at Tuesday's meeting that Stony Point students were transferring to Round Rock under the auspices of the business academy, but in reality were using the policy as a loophole to transfer to Round Rock for athletic purposes.
Stony Point supporters also complained that several former Stony Point students dropped the business academy program once they were at Round Rock, yet were allowed to stay at Round Rock, which is against district policy that states students should return to their home campus if they drop an academy program.
Diane Cox, the president of the district board of trustees, said the school district "had been watching that the last couple of years" to ensure the policy was being enforced.
According to district statistics obtained by Stony Point parents through open records requests, Round Rock High School has received 50 percent more transfers than any other district school within the last five academic years.
Round Rock had 251 total student transfers — seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen — of whom 156 came from Stony Point. Of the transfers, 89 — all from Stony Point, according to the figures — also participated in athletics. McNeil had 37 student-athlete transfers, Westwood had 48 and Stony Point had six.
Figures were not available on how many transfer students into Round Rock had dropped out of the business academy curriculum.
Students who transfer who do stay in the academy program — the requirement is one academy class a year for four years — will be eligible to play freshman and junior varsity athletics their first two years, but not varsity athletics.
"I'm pleased that they decided to take action, (but) disappointed they're not implementing (until the) 2008-09 year," said Rick Schindel, a Stony Point parent who headed the effort that brought the issue to the board's attention. "It's another crop of our students who will be going to Round Rock."
Incoming freshmen for this coming school year won't be affected by the ruling.
"My main concern was not to change rules on people midstream who made decisions based on policies we already had in place," Cox said.
Cox said she is doubtful that Tuesday's motion would have much impact on the number of academy-based transfers.
She said that only three freshmen and five sophomores who transferred from Stony Point to Round Rock because of the business academy competed for the Dragons at the varsity level last year.
"I don't know that it's going to affect it all that much," said Cox, who believes that placing a business academy at Stony Point would be more of a long-term solution to keep students at Stony Point.
The board expects to look at a presentation before the next academic year that would ignite plans to give Stony Point a business academy, perhaps as soon as the 2008-09 school year. If that happens, board members said Stony Point students would no longer be allowed to transfer to Round Rock because of the business academy.