West Orange High School Strictly Enforcing Academic Proficiency Among Student Athletes

Officials at West Orange High School are stressing the importance of academics with a new initiative called Athletic Students for Academic Proficiency (ASAP) Program.

The program emphasizes athletics and how the word ‘student’ comes before ‘athlete’ in student athlete.

Superintendent Jeffrey Rutzky, West Orange High School Athletic Director Ron Bligh, Principal Hayden Moore, Athletic Trainer Eugene Palatanios and Attorney Peter Till met with student athletes and parents on March 30 in the third of three yearly required meetings and laid out the requirements of the program, West Orange school district said in a release.

“It is not your parents’ responsibility to prepare you for high school,” Rutzky said in the release. “It is your responsibility to get it done in the classroom.”

“Most importantly you can’t get back today or yesterday,” Rutzky added. “Do not give up in the classroom. Start strong and finish strong the rest of the year.”

According to Bligh, if a student athlete has a grade of D or F in a course he or she will enter into a 10 day grace period to improve the grade before entering into the ASAP program. When in the program, student athletes cannot play until they participate in the program and improve their grades, West Orange Public Schools said.

“A 2.0 GPA is not good enough to compete for college placement and slots at D1, 2 or 3 colleges,” Till said. “You have to have the grades.”

For more information regarding the ASAP Program, visit the West Orange Public Schools website.

(Photo courtesy of West Orange Public Schools)