Policy Update for Combined Schools
Published November 7 2019

Recently WGI changed its policy governing combining students from multiple schools within the same program. Per WGI Policy, groups must now submit an application for approval to be able to combine students from multiple schools. As a result of this new policy, a similar process will be implemented at the local level within CWEA.

CWEA will define scholastic groups as the following:

Single School – A group whose total membership are students from the same school, schools that feed into that school (i.e. middle schools), or home-schooled students that reside within the school district boundaries. The group shall submit the CWEA Single School Participating Group Master Agreement signed by the authorizing school principal or administrator and filed with the CWEA Administration. Groups falling into this category are not required to submit an application to combine schools.

Combined School – A group in any scholastic class may apply for approval to combine students from multiple schools within a school district under the following guidelines:

• Groups combining students from multiple schools within a school district should not have another group in the same division (Color Guard, Percussion, or Winds) participating locally with CWEA.
• School districts with multiple competitive field marching band programs within the district will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for approval to combine students from multiple schools.
• Scholastic groups utilizing students from parochial, vocational, or charter schools, must apply for approval under combined school guidelines.
• The group shall submit the Combined Schools Participating Group Master Agreement signed by the district superintendent and filed with CWEA.
• Groups applying to combine students from multiple schools within a school district must apply for approval by December 31.

CWEA Groups may access the application by scrolling to the bottom of this article or by clicking this link: https://cwea.knack.com/admin#public-combined-schools-app

Groups who compete nationally with WGI must submit an application to combine schools with the WGI office no later than December 1, 2019. The WGI application is located here: https://wgi.org/application-for-combining-schools/. If WGI approves your application, you may submit a copy of the approval letter to the circuit administration which will be accepted at the local level.

All applications to combine schools will be reviewed by a committee including the respective Advisory Council Chair for each division and the Vice-President of CWEA. In the event of a tie, the President shall make the final decision on the application to combine.

Groups with questions concerning this new policy are encouraged to contact [email protected] for additional assistance. CWEA remains steadfast in our commitment to providing performance opportunities for students and will work with groups to navigate these new policy directives from WGI to the best of our ability.

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