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Proposal eliminates vals and sals
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: March 12, 2015

If it receives final approval, there will be no more Valley Center High School valedictorians and salutatorians starting with the 2019 graduating class.

After months of consideration — and years of discussing the idea — high school Principal Jamie Lewis and an advisory group of parents and teachers presented to the school board March 9 a senior recognition program that would replace vals and sals with a three-tiered cum laude system based on grade point averages.

Graduates with GPAs of 3.5 to 3.6999 would be designated cum laude. Those with GPAs of 3.7 to 3.8999 would be magna cum laude. And summa cum laude would be given to graduates who have GPAs of 3.9 or higher.

"Change can be difficult, and change can be hard to accept at times," Lewis said. "I think it goes back to, is the change appropriate? … Is it appropriate for our students? We think it is."

Over the years, the number of valedictorians at VCHS (students with 4.0 GPAs) and salutatorians (students with the second-highest GPAs) has ballooned. Some years, there have been as many as eight valedictorians.

Some board members were concerned about taking that distinction away from high achievers.

Other board members wondered whether the group had considered a grade-weighting system that would assign higher values to more difficult classes to separate the top achievers.

Lewis said the group discussed such an option. However, the group said, a weighted system would unfairly lean toward math and science courses because the school doesn't offer higher-level courses in literature and art.

"Ultimately, a true sense of success is an individual's ability to achieve in his or her area of interest," Lewis said. "… We want them to pursue those avenues. We don't want to create a barrier that would push them in a direction that they don't want."

Traditionally, valedictorians were selected to be commencement speakers. With the proposed system, speakers would be chosen through an audition process, which would be open to all graduates, Lewis said.

"Sometimes, the best speakers are not the 4.0 students," Lewis said.

Newton, Campus, Goddard and Goddard Eisenhower schools use a cum laude system to recognize graduates, Lewis said.

"This is not something that was put together overnight," he said. "We spent a good amount of time researching programs … and really examining what we believe to be the best option of recognizing all of our students."

Board members said they wanted time to think about the proposal and talk to constituents before making a final decision. The proposal was tabled until April 13.

If approved, the system would affect next year's freshman class.





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