(Editor’s Note: This article was posted on April 1st as an April Fools joke. Since it is still being shared post-April 1st, we want to make sure that everyone knows this was a joke.)

Due to lower standardized test scores this year at Fair Grove Schools, the School Board voted Wednesday to discontinue all non-tested activities at all levels. Superintendent Mike Bell remarked, “The main focus of schools in America is to prepare kids for the real world. When kids start graduating unprepared for their future, changes need to be made. The Board voted to discontinue all activities that are non-tested.”

The School Board met Wednesday to put this long awaited change to a vote. Bell added that the discontinued programs include: “the music program, the arts, sports, and all clubs. While this may come as a shock to the community, we feel that this change will allow more time for students to focus on academics and be more prepared for life after High School.”     

Junior Griffin Merillat responded to this change by writing a letter to the Fair Grove Eagle’s Eye. “I am upset that the Soccer program will be discontinued, because soccer is super important to me. I feel that [Fair Grove] is causing students to lose potential scholarships for sports and other activities, because we can’t participate in those activities anymore,” Merillat wrote.

Students and teachers at Fair Grove feel very differently about this change. English teacher Joseph Florez noted, “English scores have been dropping each year, with this year reporting the lowest scores I’ve ever seen as a teacher. I think this change will allow students to achieve higher scores and be smarter humans.”

A recent poll of the teachers reports that only one teacher was not in favor of discontinuing non-tested programs. “Extra-curricular activities take away too much time from our curriculum, grading, and our family time. This is a very necessary change,” one teacher added, who chose to remain anonymous.

The discontinuance of these programs begins on the last day of the current 2018-2019 school year. Fair Grove Schools looks forward to higher standardized test scores and higher GPAs for every student.