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Valedictorians to be less common in future years
School board votes to toughen requirements
It's impossible to know how many valedictorians the Class of 2013 will produce-- they won't even begin high school until August -- but it's a good bet that there will be fewer of them than in the class of 2009.
At their May 18 meeting, the Hesperia Unified School District school board voted to toughen up the standards that produced 37 valedictorians in this year's Hesperia and Sultana High School graduating classes. (That number has risen over the years: There were 18 valedictorians in the Class of 2007 and 25 in 2008.)
Currently, the HUSD awards valedictorian status to any student who earns 188 points over the course of 44 semester-long grading periods in high school. Points are awarded based on grades, with regular classes earning a student 4 points for an A, down through 1 point for a D. Honors and Advanced Placement classes award 5 points for an A, down to 2 points for a D.
Starting with the Class of 2013, valedictorians will have to earn 194 points, instead of 188. Under that system, the Class of 2009 would have had 16 valedictorians instead of 37.
The board unanimously approved the change, which had been recommended by the district's Curriculum Alignment and Review committee.
"My personal thing, there's supposed to be a [single] valedictorian and a salutatorian," said board member Chris Bentley. In most of the country, schools award the valedictorian title to the highest-achieving student, and the runner-up is named the salutatorian. "This is a step in the right direction, I guess."
"I think what we're trying to do is cut it down," said board member Robert Kirk. "I think having so many cuts down on the significance of it."
"In our defense, we are the largest school district [in the Victor Valley] and we're trying to provide opportunities for those who go above and beyond" academically, said Bentley.
The next meeting of the HUSD school board will be held on June 8, 2009, at 6 p.m. in the HUSD Educational Support Center Annex, 15576 Main Street.
Beau Yarbrough can be reached at 956-7108 or at beau@hesperiastar.com.
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| can I win valedictorian or salutatorian award even if I fail a class or I have to go to summer school I been doing good all yr long |
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| mr mena - Jun 15, 2009 12:39:12 PM | Remove Comment |
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| HUSD parent
you are so right, it is all about the kids. i heard at graduation that 3 of the vals got full rides to Long Beach and the criteria for that is they have to be vals under the high school's system, no matter what it is. |
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| right on - Jun 10, 2009 08:17:58 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Something else to consider in regards to more than one student receiving valedictorian status is college entrance. Students who receive valedictorian status are more likely to qualify for scholarships to college. I believe that this is a good thing. More students attending college, means more qualified individuals someday entering the workforce. I say it is a good thing to have more students being able to attend college, many of these kids might not otherwise be able to afford college. It's is all about the kids! |
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| HUSD parent - Jun 10, 2009 07:27:46 AM | Remove Comment |
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| One Val. One Sal. That's how it should be. The top is the top. I have a kid in contention for Val using the points system but it won't be the top. Does my student deserve honors? Sure. But not Val status, that should be reserved for the sole top student. |
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| One each - Jun 09, 2009 11:44:40 PM | Remove Comment |
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| To Worked In Education. That makes perfect sense in determining the "TOP" student in the senior class.
Thank you for the info. |
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| Thanks - Jun 09, 2009 05:33:08 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Here is some information to share with you.
Using the GPA alone is why schools end up with more than one Valedictorian and Salutitatorian.
Schools first need to decide if they want the honor to go to one and one only in each category.
I can understand why some schools use the following criteria for determining one Valedictorian and one Salutitorian.
They look at the following
1. Grade point average, GPA
2. Number of credits as some students graduate with more thanthey need because of college classes and determination.
3. The level of class rigor such as Basic or Advanced.
4. Extracurricular like volunteering in the community, leadership on and off campus and things like that.
5. Honors and Awards of Merit earned throughout the 4 years of high school. Example are Presidents Award, National Honor Society, Citizenship and so on.
When all these things are taken into consideration, you can easily determine the schools top student as Valedictorian and the runner up gets the honor of Salutitaorian.
Hope this helps. |
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| Worked in Education - Jun 09, 2009 01:08:04 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Traditions in the HUSD should not be changed. I agree with HUSD parent, I do not have a problem with all of these wonderful students being given Valadictorian honors.
While I believe change is good, it is not in this case. The new board really is filled with morons who are trying to change HUSD traditions. |
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| ScorpionsSultansBulldogs - Jun 08, 2009 06:01:09 PM | Remove Comment |
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| grandpa, when my kid graduated from a local high school, there was a little mention but a 2 page spread about a jr hs graduation with names, pictures and even the principals speech, word for word. thats because the editors daughter was at that school so be lucky they got a name. and dictionary so do we encourage our students to take the easiest classes so they get straight A's in pe, class aide, etc. etc. Probably a reason for the point system. |
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| youre lucky - Jun 08, 2009 11:31:20 AM | Remove Comment |
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| One valedictorian. It defines the word. Kids get honored. It's called honor roll. |
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| DictonaryDotCom - Jun 08, 2009 10:21:15 AM | Remove Comment |
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| The local newspapers don"t even recognize our Valedictorians or Salutitorians. I am sad that they don't take the time to mention that when they produce the names of the graduates in the newspapers. |
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| Grandpa of Valedictorian - Jun 08, 2009 09:47:14 AM | Remove Comment |
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| I was a valedictorian when I graduated many years ago. I had earned the highest GPA and was the only one to do so. Students today earn above well above that GPA. I do not have a problem with our high schools honoring all students who have achieved this status. We should honor those who have excelled in their academic career. Why not? We need more emphasis on things in education that are positive and inspiring! |
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| HUSD parent - Jun 08, 2009 07:34:28 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Bentley actually agrees with Kirk. Unbelievable. |
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| WOW - Jun 07, 2009 08:00:59 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Wow. Can't believe I'm agreeing with Chris Bentley, but I am. I've always known valedictorian status to be an honor one student earns. I'm a teacher in HUSD and honestly had no idea the highschools had so many. |
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| More than one? - Jun 06, 2009 09:31:25 PM | Remove Comment |
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| When did there become more than one valedictorian? Am I wrong or did it used to be the person with the highest GPA? |
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| When ? - Jun 06, 2009 02:17:56 PM | Remove Comment |
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| I think all of the students that reach the amount of points for valedictorian status should be recognized. It is not an easy job to achieve those grades. If you want to cut it down to just 2 people speaking then you should let those students that reach that mark vote who gets the honor of speaking at graduation. |
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| hhsandohhs - Jun 06, 2009 08:50:43 AM | Remove Comment |
