Student athletes, performing artists make the grade
By tAKUL WbATHfcRrORD
High Point Corrcspondant
New research by Guilford
f County Schools (GCS) con
firms what "soccer moms"
have known all along:
, extracurricular activities
enhance students' academic
i performance.
A 1996-97 study involving
all 14 GCS high schools
showed that students who
were active in athletics or per
forming arts had better
grades, lower dropout rates,
better attendance and better
behavior. "The areas of athlet
ics and performing arts serve
as a catalyst to bring structure
and discipline to students'
lives and therefore contribute
to their overall achievement,"
explains Alan Parker, cultural
arts curriculum specialist
Parker and Herb Goins,
director of athletics, activities
and driver education, oversaw
the research. In 1994 the
school system began tracking
student participation rates in
athletics and performing arts.
During the 1996-97 academic
year, the system tracked stu
dents and organized data
related to grade point averages
(GPA), dropout rates, disci
pline referrals, attendance
rates and graduation rates.
First semester data showed a
strong link between those
areas and participation in.ath
letics and performing arts.
These findings shoot holes
through the "dumb jock"
stereotype.
"Active high school stu
dents," said Parker, "are
proven to be more successful
than students who simply
attend class."
Last school year, 4,815
high school students partici
pated in sports and 3,102 in
performing arts. The average
GPA for student athletes was
3.02. The average GPA for stu
dent performing artists was
2.81. The average GPA for stu
dents involved in neither
sports nor performing arts
was 1.92. On average, student
athletes missed 6.92 days of
school for the academic year.
Students who participated in
performing arts were absent
from school an average of
9.57. Students who did not
participate in either athletics
or performing arts missed an
average of more than 15 days.
Students involved in sports or
performing arts also posed
fewer disciplinary problems.
Approximately one in four of
those students exhibited
behavior requiring discipline
referrals, while nearly two in
five of other high school stu
dents received discipline refer
rals.
The findings were similar at
all county high schools
regardless of racial, ethnic or
socioeconomic factors.
in addition to athletics and
performing arts, Goins noted,
schools offer many other
opportunities for student
involvement. Clubs, publica
tions, debate and student gov
ernment are examples.
"Kids who are actively
engaged and tied to their
school tend to do better than
their peers," Goins indicates.
Because activities take time
away from academics, Goins
explains, participating stu
dents learn to budget their
time. Thus, extracurricular
activities help develop respon
sible study habits.
"Our hope," said Parker, "is
to continue our recruiting
efforts at both the middle and
high school levels and increase
student awareness and partici
pation."
HONORED
front page AI
other officers were selected to become
astronauts in the Air Force's now
defunct Manned Orbital Laboratory
program.
Just six months after being select
ed, Lawrence was training another
pilot on a new landing method when
the student crashed the Lockheed F
104 jet at Edwards Air Force Base.
The student was seriously injured;
Lawrence was killed. <w
Under Air Force rules at that time,
pilots had to fly 50 miles above the
earth to earn their astronaut wings ?
a feat that Lawrence had yet to accom
plish. Under NASA guidelines, pilots
are considered astronauts as soon as
they are accepted into the program.
The Air Force space program merged
with NASA's in 1969.
"On that day our space program
was denied one of the great talents,''
said Gen. Robert Herres. one of
Lawrence's friends. "His potential
was truly enormous. He was a brilliant
individual."
?
He was heralded on the front of the
New York Times and other new spapers
across the country as "America's First
Negro Astronaut." But it was not until
this year that the Air Force reviewed
Lawrence's status and formally recog
nized him as an astronaut. In 1983
Guion Bluford became the first black
astronaut in space as a member of the
space shuttle Challenger crew.
Law rence graduated ' from
Englewood High School and later
earned a bachelor's degree in chenv
istry from Bradley University and a
Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Ohio
State.
He excelled at chess and almost set
aside his love of flying to play class(J
cal piano. And when he was sent
teach flight school in Germany, hi
decided to teach himself German so h?
could better help his students.
"He was a remarkable boy*
Duncan said. "He was interested iQ
everything. He explored everything*
Lawrence will be formally honl
ored Dec. 8, the 30th anniversary ol
his death, at Kennedy Space Center
when the Space Mirror Memorial will
be rededicated. j
? ? ? \ ?
Aegis (pronounced e-jiss)
isn't exactly one of those
words whose pronunciation
or meaning is on the tip of
everybody's tongue.
In fact, if you ask Linda
Depew, John and Etta Idol,
Kathy Mitiku or the Hinton
family what Aegis means,
they'll each tell you some
thing different.
That's because they, like a lot of people in
Wilkes, Surry, Yadkin, Stokes, Forsyth and
Caldwell Counties, associate the word "aegis"
with Aegis Family Health Centers, which have
come to mean many different things.
Aegis Family Health Centers are community
medical practices staffed
and to
family in one location, close
to their home, they don't
have to run all over town to
keep appointments. When
you're a busy parent, that means a lot.
What could Aegis mean to you? It could mean a
new experience with physicians who specialize in
pediatrics, family practice, internal medicine,
OB/GYN and occupational and environmental
health.
It could mean |
you'll experi- |
ence a new
emphasis on
prevention and ^
For Kathy Mitiku, whose son, Solomon, had a
temperature of 106 and went into a seizure at
their Aegis Family Health Center, it meant a cool
headed doctor who would stabilize him and then
send his nurse to accompany Solomon and *
Kathy to Wake Forest University Baptist
Medical Center for additional treatment.
At Aegis Family Health Centers, we've found
that even when people attach a less
dramatic story to our name, it's no less
meaningful. To the Hintons, for example,
medical care for your whole
family. We participate in
most HMO's and PPO's. We
accept Medicare. All of our
centers are affiliated with
Wake Forest University
Baptist Medical Center.
*
And all of them are staffed with doctors who
offer a degree of compassion and caring that
you've probably never experienced before.
For Linda Depew, this meant finally finding
a doctor who could diagnose the cause of
migraine headaches that had plagued
her for 15 years.
For John Idol, it meant finding a doctor
who was so attentive when he had surgery
that he calls her his "Guardian Angel."
Aegis simply
means convenience. ,
Since we have doctors I
for their whole m
It could mean a new convenience to labs and
X-ray services. And access to physicians on-call
after hours for emergency care.
? why don't you call your local
Aegis Family Health Center for an
appointment or our information line,
Health-On-Call? at 1-800-446-2255.
Because above all, Aegis
means health.
f 'J And health means
In everything.
> t W li
Bringing the resources of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center to you