A new policy requiring student-athletes to fill out blue forms every week, rather than only when they are failing a class, has sparked mixed reactions among students and teachers.

According to Athletic Director Quaron Pinckney, the change was made to better align all the schools in the district.

“Since we have athletics for middle school and high school, it is more equitable to ensure that everyone is doing the same thing,” Pinckney said. “Additionally, we also want to make sure that we are providing the same resources for all of our student-athletes.”

While the policy aims to keep students on track academically, reactions to it have been divided. For teachers like Mike Havens, the new policy has its benefits. 

“As a teacher, I’m fine with doing it,” Havens said. “I get to check in with students, and I can add any information I need to talk to them. Plus, I like to know how they’re doing in other classes.”

Havens noted that for students with consistently high grades the form may feel like a “seemingly meaningless task”.

“However, you’re still checking in with your teachers, you get a little side comment and little interactions one-on-one, that can’t be a bad thing,” Havens said.

Hockey player Desmond Collins ’27 disagrees with the policy. 

Collins said he believes the form is more of a hassle than a help.

“I think it’s unnecessary,” Collins said. “It takes a lot of time out of my day, and I don’t think we need it.” Collins said. 

Students previously had to fill out the form only when their grades fell below 70%. Collins believes that the former system was more efficient.

“It was easier to manage when the form was only required when a student’s grades were below a certain threshold,” Collins said.

Pinckney, who oversees the policy’s implementation, acknowledged the challenges that come with any new procedure. 

“There are always bumps in the road and things that need to be adjusted when implementing new procedures,” Pickney said. “We are always monitoring ways to improve, but I believe the Blue Form procedure as a whole is effective for its intended purpose.”

Pinckney stated that most parents understand the reasoning behind the change.

“I’ve received complaints from parents when it directly affects participation, but generally speaking, parents have not had an issue with the vision and purpose of the procedure,” Pinckney noted. 

“Most of the student complaints came at the beginning of the school year when the change was first implemented,” Pickney said. “Now that everyone is used to the procedure, those complaints are almost nonexistent now.”

The district is continuing to work on refining the Blue Form procedure to make it more manageable for both students and staff. 

“[However], there are no plans at this time to change things back to the previous way we ran the procedure, due to the equity lens,” Pickney said.