Student Responsibilities & Commitments

The Parkland Student Athlete Academy empowers students to connect their passion for sport with their commitment to learning in Parkland School Division. To provide the time students need for high performance athletic development with a community partner, we must ensure that the academic portion of the program is carried out as efficiently and effectively as possible.

This means:

Students will need to be able to work independently and to the best of their abilities to reach their academic potential and maintain their grades.
The learning environment must be a place with minimal distractions where students can focus on their work.
Students will continue to make academic progress throughout the year, completing coursework independently to keep up with their class while attending competitions.
Academics will always be prioritized in this program. Should a student fall behind in their studies, measures will be taken to assist them in catching up. This may mean missing one or more sport sessions, or, in extreme cases, reviewing the student's compatibility with the program, with the possibility of their removal.
A school site will remain open one evening per week to help Academy families manage the challenges of balancing a busy athletic and academic schedule. Teaching staff will be available to give students extra help with their core coursework.
Students need to be passionate about and dedicated to their athletic development, and fully committed to pursuing excellence within their given sport.
Students must adhere to the expectations of the community partner, and behave appropriately while being transported to and from their training sessions. Students are also expected to follow the rules of any training facilities they use.

Commitments

At Parkland Student Athlete Academy, we operate within a commitment-based culture. Our staff and students each establish a series of personal behavioural standards that are shared through commitment statements. If any member of the PSAA team is failing to live up to expectations, their teachers, coaches, and peers will support them until they are back on track. Relating to each other in this way creates community by building trust.

Though PSAA staff and students' individual commitments may vary slightly, overall we commit to:

Working as a team;
Showing humility in victory and graciousness in defeat;
Leading ourselves before we lead others;
Serving others to grow our influence as leaders;
Taking calculated risks in our learning;
Being honest with ourselves and others;
Treating our peers with compassion and kindness;
Holding ourselves accountable;
Maximizing our abilities as learners;
Showing resilience in the face of adversity; and,
Pursuing excellence.

The BEnCH

Building • Engaged • Consistent • Habits

PSAA students who have fallen behind academically may be put on the BEnCH: held back from their afternoon sport activities in order to get supplemental academic support.

Being "BEnCHed"

There are four stages in the BEnCH process.

Stage 1: Student Warning

The classroom teacher has a private meeting with the student to discuss their academic concerns. During this meeting, the student and teacher agree on a timeline for the student to catch up on missed work based on their personal situation and the number of academic assignments they have left incomplete. If necessary, such a timeline may include benchmarks and checkpoints to break up the student's missing assignments into manageable portions.

The student’s name is placed on the BEnCHed spreadsheet, and they are given clear deadlines for when their assignments must be completed.

Stage 2: Parent Call & Coach Email

If the student fails to meet their deadline(s) or misses a checkpoint, the classroom teacher will notify the student of an imminent call home to inform the student’s family of the situation and discuss next steps.

Once notified, parents/guardians may opt to BEnCH their student until they have caught up, or elect to establish a new assignment completion timeline.

Once a plan has been created for the student, this information will be shared with their coach via email.

Stage 3: BEnCHed

Should the student fail to meet their deadline(s) for a second time, the teacher will notify their parents/guardians, and BEnCH them until they have caught up to an agreed-upon standard.

Stage 4: Return to Regular Activities

Once the student has met the academic goal set out by their teacher, they are immediately reinstated to regular afternoon activities.

Student Assessment for Program Readiness

Prior to being accepted into the program, students and parents will fill out the form: Student Assessment for Program Readiness, as part of the Academy registration process. Please refer to the Register page for full details. Once accepted, students are asked to revisit the questionnaire monthly to reflect on their habits and behaviours in our program.