In the News - December/January
Arkansas Activities Association Discusses Public/Private Differences
By Bob Herman
In an effort to help alleviate differences between public and nonpublic high schools in Arkansas, the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) holds meetings biannually to discuss the issues between the two parties. The most recent meeting occurred October 9, and the next is scheduled for March 5.
"There was never any communication between the two administrative groups," AAA Executive Director Lance Taylor said. "(These meetings) have been very beneficial."
Taylor said that public schools think private schools have a distinct advantage in state championships, and that's the root of the public/private issue.
"Nonpublic schools were winning a lot of state championships, and that became a problem (between the two groups)," Taylor said. "There are about 500 members in the AAA, and about 25 are nonpublic. They make up seven percent of our membership, but they're winning 38 to 39 percent of our state championships. We've worked hard to try to establish rules and policies to make sure we have a level playing field."
One of those policies was a multiplier for private schools. A multiplier was the three-year enrollment average of 10th- to 12th-grade students multiplied by 1.35 (and later 1.75). Hypothetically, a private high school with about 400 students would be classified like a high school of 540 students. However, starting in 2008, the multiplier will be discontinued, and the private schools will instead be simply bumped up one classification.
"The multiplier moved some nonpublic schools up two classifications, and some didn't move up at all," said Mike McSpadden, assistant superintendant of the Alma (Arkansas) School District. "The governing body in our schools felt that simply moving the nonpublic schools up one class was fairer."
These meetings began last year, and the most recent one further discussed details and initiatives that had been passed in the spring.
Although the AAA distinctly holds these discussions, public and private issues are universal across the United States.
"I don't think this is a problem that is unique to Arkansas," McSpadden said. "There is contention between public and nonpublic schools, and there is initiative by the AAA staff to try and bring these two groups to the table."
McSpadden also explained that the meetings help set up a stronger relationship between the administrators, who don't convene frequently.
"It's been a great and positive thing for our state," McSpadden said. "Many of our nonpublic school members don't attend the same school meetings as the public schools, so there hasn't been much relationship-building between the administration at nonpublic and public schools. Public school administrators always see each other at other education meetings, but nonpublic administrators only see each other at athletic events.
"The more opportunities for these two to meet together, the better it'll be for the future."
Alabama High School Athletic Association strikes deal with local newspapers and Web site
By Bob Herman
The more, the merrier. This saying goes hand-in-hand with the recently signed five-year deal among the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA), three Alabama newspapers and their affiliated Web site al.com.
This deal among the AHSAA, The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times, Mobile's Press-Register and al.com focuses on a collective networking plan that endorses al.com's high school sports statistics and online sports video, promotes sportsmanship and involves co-marketing.
High school coaches and statisticians can now post team stats on al.com, which also can be used by the newspapers and AHSAA. The Web site will also feature exclusive video footage of all AHSAA events. An emphasis on sportsmanship through online blogs, statewide awards and scholarships is another prominent feature of the partnership.
The AHSAA is composed of more than 700 high schools and more than 100,000 participants and has been a member of the NFHS since 1924.
Bob Herman is a fall semester intern in the NFHS Publications/Communications Department. He is a junior at Butler (Indiana) University, majoring in journalism (news editorial) and minoring in Spanish.
NFHS launches online interpreters meetings
By Emily Cerling
With new technology continually changing the way we communicate, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has initiated a series of online rules interpreters meetings. In July, the NFHS launched trial online meetings for one fall, winter and spring sport.
Due to travel costs and time restraints, online meetings offer another means of communication for officials who are unable to attend the actual meeting. The in-person meetings generally last most of a day, but the online version is kept at 90 minutes, while still addressing the annual rules changes and Points of Emphasis. While this option is still new, it is an effective tool for the NFHS to interact with its member state high school associations.
"The online meeting does not take the place of the in-person meetings because those enable so much more interaction," NFHS Chief Operating Officer Bob Gardner said. "However, attending an online meeting is a resourceful tool and time well-spent gathering information that was discussed at the in-person meeting."
The main purpose of these meetings is to open lines of communication among individual officials, their respective organizations and the member schools they service, and to foster a spirit of cooperation among all groups.
In July, the online soccer rules interpreters meeting was the first of the trials to be held. This event had limited success as only nine participants from their respective states participated, as opposed to the 38 attendees from 25 states attending the in-person meeting.
However, the online wrestling rules interpreters meeting conducted in September by NFHS Assistant Director Bob Colgate was more popular. The in-person meeting had 41 people from 27 states in attendance, and the online meeting had 19 people from 16 different states. In addition, the online meeting added representatives from 13 states previously not in attendance in person.
The January online baseball rules interpreters meeting will be conducted in the same fashion. After it concludes, the NFHS staff will assess the role of these meetings and fine-tune them for the future.
"We hope to expand these meetings to all sports regulated by the NFHS," Gardner said.
For those who participate in the online meeting, a fee of $50 per computer is applied. Other information is available on the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org.
NFHS creates National High School Spirit of Sport Award
By Emily Cerling
When boys basketball coaches Jim Johnson of Greece Athena (New York) High School and Josh Harter of Spencerport (New York) High School met in the last game of the 2005-06 season, they hardly knew they would be responsible for the birth of a new National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) award.
At that game, Jason McElwain, the autistic team manager of the Greece Athena team who previously never played, was provided playing time on the basketball court. In his three minutes of action, he scored an outstanding 20 points, including six three-point field goals.
Although the "National High School Spirit of Sport Award" was not officially established at that time, Johnson and Harter received the award at the 2006 National Conference of High School Directors of Athletics last December in Anaheim, California. Their inspiration and spirit led the NFHS into formalizing the award. The NFHS will now present the award to worthy individuals on an annual basis, starting in summer 2008.
In collaboration with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association, the NFHS has further developed the specific criteria for the new award. Among those, the deserving individual should reflect the mission of education-based athletics. Once the national award winner has been identified, he or she will be recognized at the annual NFHS Summer Meeting.
The recipient can be a coach, athletic administrator, trainer or student-athlete who embodies the principles of a positive spirit of sport. The award can be given to an individual for an ongoing activity or for one specific event.
Worthy individuals can be nominated either by a high school working through a member state high school association or through the state association itself. The nomination forms are distributed among member high school associations and their respective high schools. The form is also available on the NFHS Web site.
Nominations can be submitted until March 1, when the selection process begins. The eight-member national committee is composed of state association administrators, as well as high school administrators, athletic directors and coaches. Each of the eight NFHS sections is represented by the members of the committee.
After all nominations are received, the committee selects one national winner as well as several state and regional winners. Each winner is recognized in the May issue of "High School Today," as well as on the NFHS Web site.
Emily Cerling is a fall semester intern in the NFHS Publications/Communications Department. She is a senior at Butler (Indiana) University, majoring in integrated communications.
Utah school voucher program rejected
By Bill Boyle
Voters in Utah clearly rejected on November 6 what would have been the most comprehensive school voucher program in the nation.
More than 62 percent of voters rejected the plan, which was passed into law by the Utah State Legislature and signed into law by the governor in February 2007.
An aggressive petition campaign was successful in gathering the signatures of 124,000 Utah voters and putting the issue on the ballot.
The election garnered interest both in the state and across the nation, with millions of dollars spent in the off-year election. An estimated $8.5 million was spent during the campaign for a program that would have cost $5.5 million in the first year.
Utah has been at the forefront of the voucher movement in recent years. The state is extremely conservative and faces challenges educating its growing population.
The demographic challenges created by the young population is unprecedented in the United States. Utah has the lowest per-pupil spending in the nation, but also spends the highest percentage of its state budget on education.
The Utah Legislature has considered school vouchers in each of the past 10 legislative sessions. In 2004, the Legislature passed the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship, which created a voucher system for handicapped children.
The proposal on the ballot passed by a single vote in February during the 2007 legislative season. The bill was signed into law the next day by Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. The plan dwarfed other state voucher plans by creating universal vouchers between $500 and $3,000 that could be used for private school tuition. The voucher amount would have been dependent upon the parents' income. It was a universal voucher program, with all students eligible for some voucher.
A coalition of educational organizations, "Utahns for Public Schools," coalesced in opposition to the voucher plan. The coalition included the state Education Association, School Board Association, Parent Teacher Association, School Employees Association and others. The National Education Association and education associations from other states contributed the majority of the funding in opposition to the voucher plan.
Voucher supporters include the Republican leadership in the Utah State Legislature, Utah Governor Huntsman, several business and trade groups, and Parents for Choice in Education. "All Children Matter," a pro-voucher group based in Michigan, has for several years donated money to support legislative candidates who support vouchers. The Patrick Bryne family, the founders of Utah-based Overstock.com, contributed the majority of the funding for the campaign in favor of vouchers.
After the election, Bryne called the referendum a "statewide IQ test" that Utahns failed.
Bill Boyle is editor and publisher of the San Juan Record in Monticello, Utah. He is also a member of the board of the San Juan School District, the Utah High School Activities Association and the High School Today Publications Committee.
