ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, September 7, 1996 TAG: 9609090029
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Football pads and uniforms can help keep youngsters in school - and they're cheaper than prison cells, Jeff Artis says.
If Roanoke taxpayers are concerned about their own financial interests, he says, they should support reinstating competitive athletics in the city's middle schools.
"This whole thing is about saving kids," said Artis, a substitute teacher and former assistant track coach. "It's about preventing kids from dropping out and becoming criminals and drug dealers. It's about preventing girls from becoming teen mothers."
Artis, an unsuccessful GOP candidate this year for Roanoke City Council and last year for a House of Delegates seat, is heading a petition drive to re-establish the middle school sports program. He wants it to be comparable to the city's high schools and to middle schools in nearby localities.
Fewer youngsters would drop out if they could join a team and compete with other schools, he says.
Roanoke's dropout rate is 5.5 percent, compared with 1 percent in Roanoke County and 2 percent in Salem. The county and Salem have middle school sports.
Helping athletes get college scholarships and strengthening the teams at Patrick Henry and William Fleming high schools are not the main reasons to have middle school athletics, Artis says.
"The most important thing is keeping young people interested in school, helping them feel good about themselves and adopting creative, positive and healthy lifestyles," he said.
Artis, who was a hurdler on the James Madison University track team, will take his campaign to the School Board on Tuesday.
A coalition of community organizations and groups is backing the petition drive: Rebuilding the Black Community, the Roanoke chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Roanoke Inter-Denominational Ministerial and Lay Person Alliance.
Petitions will be presented to school officials.
Councilman William White wants teams at middle schools, too.
"I think it would help keep some students in school and off the streets," said White, a former School Board member.
Roanoke eliminated football and competitive athletics for grades six through eight several years ago when it switched from the junior high alignment (grades seven through nine) to the middle school concept.
School officials were afraid that younger students could be injured in football.
Superintendent Wayne Harris has said he doesn't favor football teams for middle schools. Football equipment would be expensive, and surveys have shown a lack of interest in the sport, he said.
School Board Chairwoman Marsha Ellison doesn't support football at middle schools, either.
"At this point, I don't think it should be reinstituted," Ellison said Friday. "I don't think it is very safe for young boys, and it can also be expensive."
But board member Melinda Payne supports middle school athletics.
"Not only are they a feeder for high school teams, but I think they give the kids something to do," she said.
Payne doesn't think the athletic programs operated by the city recreation department and other groups give children enough recognition. Also, she says, some children can't participate in these programs because they don't have transportation.
City school officials say eighth-graders at middle schools can play on freshmen football teams at Patrick Henry and William Fleming, and sixth-and seventh-graders can play on sandlot teams if they desire.
Some coaches cite the lack of middle school football as a reason Patrick Henry and William Fleming haven't had consistent winning seasons in recent years.
Willis White, football coach at Salem High, says Roanoke's plan to drop middle school football was one reason he left the coach's job at Patrick Henry.
But the Roanoke schools are now doing better in football and seem to have overcome the lack of middle school teams, Ellison says.
"I think we have a good policy, and I don't see a need for a change," she said.
Roanoke's middle schools carry on limited competition against each other in basketball, track, soccer and tennis, but they do not compete against schools in other localities. They modify the rules to increase participation, adhering to the philosophy that everyone on the team gets to play.
Former Councilman Mac McCadden says Roanoke's middle school sports are basically intramural contests, and there is little incentive for the youngsters because the schools don't compete against teams outside the city.
Middle schools in Salem and Roanoke County field teams in football and other sports, competing against each other as well as teams from nearby localities.
County school officials believe athletics have a positive impact on academics and help keep some students out of trouble.
Although college scholarships and better high school teams should not be the main objectives for middle school sports, Artis says, athletic ability does help some students get admitted to college and earn a degree that helps prepare them for a career.
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