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It's one of those things that most people will just avoid talking about. But for the life of me, I can not understand why. The Roanoke County School Board is considering a measure that would make it mandatory that student athletes must maintain at least a 2.0 GPA to play sports. However, there are those - especially officials at William Fleming High School - who say that the proposal will negatively affect those schools with a large percentage of African-American students. There are some things in life I don't understand and this is one of them.
The African-American community in this nation has made gigantic strides over the last 400 years in gaining equality in this country. Granted, racism still exists and there is much work to be done and many people still left to win over. But, the movement continues in a positive direction for the most part. Then, something like this comes along that sets the African-American community back. Administrators at William Fleming High School say their athletic programs will be hurt the most and it is because 75% of the students there are African-American. So, are the administrators at William Fleming saying, in essence, that African-American children in their school are incapable of achieving at the same learning curve as other schools in the Roanoke School District? Are the officials at William Fleming saying that "athletics" is the only thing keeping many of their kids in school? I have many African-American friends, most far more educated with far more intelligence than 99% of the population. They are incensed at this notion and believe it sends a message to the African-American kids that it is ok not to achieve on a level with others. Incensed that a school administration would freely state that their students are not achieving on a level with other schools, is a notion that has most in the African-American community up in arms. So angry in fact that many this morning are asking "why would the students at William Fleming peform at a lower level than other schools?" Are schools with a large contigent of African-American students expected to perform at a lower level in the Roanoke School District and have a higher drop-out rate? It would seem to me that administrators at William Fleming need to rethink this and immediately and publically distance themselves from those in the school who believe their students should not be held to a education level equivelent to other Roanoke Schools. If students at William Fleming are not performing at the same level as other schools, it is NOT because of they are African-American. It is because their teachers and administrators have set a level of expectation that is lower than other schools. It is because their teachers and administrators have not challenged their students to perform. In fact, with their public comments against the 2.0 GPA, school officials at William Fleming are basically telling their students they EXPECT them to perform at levels below other schools. Flemings football coach, Robert Senseney, was quoted on Channel 7 news saying "that's (the African-American Community) a large portion of our population, that's always a concern". I am disgusted by his comment and if it were up to me, he wouldn't be able to find a job coaching anywhere this morning. It is a travesty. It is a black eye on William Fleming High School. In one sentence, a man who many young student-athletes look up to has basically told African-American students that they should not be expected to perform on an even level in the classroom and they would be expected to drop out if they could not play sports. Perhaps "Coach" (and I use that term not in the sense of being someone who can be looked up to) Senseney needs to consider the fact that if his student-athletes at William Fleming are deficient in their studies or are dropping out of school, then it is HIS fault for not challenging them to strive for something better. Do we really want teachers, coaches and administrators who accept the notion that African-American students will drop out of school if they can't play sports? Do we want to accept this as "it is what it is"? Perhaps the stats suggest that the dropout rate might be higher among African-American students, but where does much of the fault originate? A lot of it comes from teachers who simply give up too early on individuals and accept a premise that academics alone will not keep kids in school. Little imagination runs through many school administrations; imagination that provide an environment in the classroom of challenging student athletes as hard as they are challenged in the sports they play. The African-American community should rise up against this predjudiced thinking just as they do in other situations where race is exploited. And the Roanoke community and school officials need to take a hard look at William Fleming's athletic programs and coaches. One can only hope that Senseney's thoughts do not carry over to other coaches and administrators responsible for athletic programs at William Fleming. My opinion is that the man, clearly, does not belong in a setting where kids' futures and lives are being molded. He might know the "X's and O's" of the football field, but he appears to have no clue otherwise. So, I conclude by asking why this seems to be a subject that nobody wants to talk about as suggested by Channel 7? My opinion is that it is a subject that should be at the top of many lists.
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Just My Opinion 
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