Dayton Public’s policy for students to have at least a 2.0 GPA is higher than the state requirement that students need to be passing at least five classes, not including gym, and higher than some suburban schools.
DPS high school administrators presented their findings at the two most recent Dayton Public board of education meetings.
Some DPS high schools mentioned they had more students in winter sports than fall sports, and several said they had students who saw significant improvement from the previous semester. Most schools require just their athletes below the threshold to participate, but some schools, including Belmont, required all their student athletes to come to study tables either in the morning before school or after school.
But some high schools said they are still looking for other teachers and counselors to help oversee the study tables.
Pointz Career Technology Center principal Heather Davis said the school was struggling to find a qualified math teacher to help with study tables, as most of their math teachers were currently long-term substitutes and many of their students are struggling with math.
“There’s just not enough qualified math teachers to come in,” Davis said.
Recruiting teachers, especially math and science teachers, has become increasingly difficult for many school districts.
Other schools, like Meadowdale Career Technology Center and Stivers School for the Arts, said they were struggling with finding enough teachers and counselors to fill the offered positions that the school board funded earlier this year when they approved the project.
Dayton Board of Education member Karen Wick-Gagnet suggested that since so many schools were struggling to fill the positions, the district should look at involving people outside the schools who might be interested in working with students during the study tables.
“It’s basically a part-time job or some kind of supplemental thing,” she said. “I know there are many, probably retired people in the community who would love to come into a study table a couple hours a day and work with these young, exciting kids.”
Many schools also said they would like to have more food available for students. Elizabeth Lolli, the superintendent of Dayton Public Schools, said the district would look into options including protein, vegetables and fruits for students staying after school.
“We do serve snacks, but they’re chips and things like that,” Lolli said.
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