School leaders choose group to study feasibility of middle school athletics

By Lynn Hotaling

Members of the Jackson County School Board Monday (Nov. 27) appointed a study committee to examine the possibility of fielding countywide teams for seventh- and eighth-graders. The task force includes Arlin Middleton of the Central Office; high school principals Kenny Nicholson of Smoky Mountain and Lib Balcerek of Blue Ridge; athletic directors Si Simmons of SMHS and Joe Brooks of BRS; and school board members Ray Trine and James Roper.

Monday's discussion initially centered around the problem of recruiting enough coaches but quickly zeroed in on the principals' and athletic directors' perception of Jackson County's need for a comprehensive middle school athletic program. Such programs are in place in other area schools, Nicholson said, and are vital components in most.

"Adjoining counties have developed athletic programs that hinge on middle school teams," Nicholson said. In Jackson County, on the other hand, Nicholson said, there are five teams of seventh- and eighth-graders, composed of some 75 kids.

"There's no way they'll all play at the high school level," he said. "In the other counties there's one team and the kids play together before they get to high school."

Continuity was another concern brought up by the principals and athletic directors. "Unless the seventh- and eighth-grade program really mirrors the high school program, our athletic teams will suffer," Balcerek said.

Offering a coordinated athletic program is less of a problem for the K-12 Blue Ridge, Brooks said, because the high school and middle grade coaches can work closely together with the high school coach directing the program. Because of the school's low enrollment, the middle school team is more like a junior varsity since Blue Ridge does not have JV teams, Brooks said.

"I think we really need to take a look at middle school teams," Simmons said. "If these kids play together for three years (on middle school and JV teams), it will make a difference."

Board member Ali Laird-Large pointed out that this county does not have a middle school.

"Yes, but you could have middle school teams," Nicholson said. "We already do in football."

When Boyce Deitz took over as SMHS football coach in 1997, he formed a third football team for eighth- and ninth-graders. Countywide middle school teams were added this past spring for track and girls' soccer, Nicholson said.

Cooperation among the various elementary athletic programs will be hard to achieve while they are competing against each other, Brooks said.

"You're never going to get the elementary schools doing the same thing when they're playing each other," he said.

While there are many reasons to try a middle school athletic program, Burrell reminded the principals and athletic directors that a major objection during debate about a middle school was that it would mean the loss of separate school teams, Superintendent Frank Burrell said. "I'm not convinced we can't do both," Simmons said.

Nicholson and Simmons told the board that SMHS will feel the lack of middle school teams even more next season when it moves to the competitive Mountain Athletic Conference.

"Smoky Mountain is the smallest 3-A school in the state, and that won't change for four years," Simmons said. "Our athletes are at a disadvantage without a middle school program."

Also Monday:

- SMHS business teacher Anna Hair shared news about the school's performance on the National Assessment of Education Progress, a nationally-normed test. Local students scored above all sites in the state and above all other HSTW sites in all areas tested - reading, math and science. SMHS students take the exam because the school is part of the High Schools That Work program. "I'd like to commend you folks at Smoky Mountain," Superintendent Burrell told Hair and Nicholson. "I know the High Schools That Work was something you did on your own - you didn't have to do it. I appreciate what you've done."

- Permanent water and power should be connected to the new school by the end of this week, construction coordinator Clarence Hubbell reported. The school should be ready for final inspection in April.

At SMHS, the boiler is installed and working, Hubbell said. The foundation walls are in for the workforce addition, which will connect to the existing D Building. The floor should be poured next week, he said.

A problem with a batch of concrete at the Blue Ridge site caused a delay, he said. Some footings and masonry work had to be torn out, but the concrete company is absorbing the cost of the repairs. New footings were expected to be poured this week.

- In personnel action, board members employed the following:

Barbara Phillips, custodian (Central Office) and bus monitor (Cullowhee Valley); Margaret Nations, teacher assistant, Smokey Mountain Elementary; Faye Jacobson and Catherine Compher, remediation, Cullowhee Valley; Laura Miller, fourth grade teacher, Fairview; Colleen Betz, secretary, Central Office; Nicole Rice, Spanish tutor, and Billie Jo Holland, child nutrition, Blue Ridge; Erin Byrnes, English teacher, SMHS; and Robert Campbell, alternative learning specialist, Discovery.

Approved as substitute teachers were Charles Cope, Kathy Lovedahl and Victoria Sprinkle.

Back to Archive: 11/30/00.