Saturday, January 30, 1999

Valedictorian dream dashed

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School honors lost to switch

BY BERNIE MIXON
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ricky Steelman says Oak Hills officials are 'saying I don't matter.' (Yoni Pozner photo) | ZOOM |

        GREEN TOWNSHIP — The dream of being class valedictorian was one of the things that kept Ricky Steelman going when he was recovering from illness in the ninth grade. Now his school administration wants to take that dream away.

        Beginning this year, Oak Hills High School no longer will recognize valedictorians and salutatorians at graduation. Students with a 3.9 grade-point average or higher now will receive “highest honors” distinction.

        “We previously have only recognized two students for outstanding academic achievement from a class of about 700,” said Principal Jim Williamson. “Why shouldn't we recognize more? We saw other schools with student recognition programs, and we thought it would be a good idea for Oak Hills.”

        Intense competition among students to become valedictorian has led high schools across the country to stop ranking students, according to the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

        Locally, other schools such as North College Hill High School, Sycamore High School and Ursuline Academy in Blue Ash have chosen to honor top students instead of naming valedictorians and salutatorians.

        For Ricky, recovering from alopecia areata, a disease that caused his hair to fall out, it means the end of a dream that was forged from illness.

        “No matter what anyone called me, no matter what I looked like — I thought, "If I work hard and do my best, I can achieve this,'” Ricky said. “I started to rebuild my life. This was the one thing I could be proud of and have self-confidence in. Now they are saying I don't matter,” said the 17-year-old Delhi Township student.

        Mr. Williamson said he “tried to make it clear to Ricky what was being done and why it was being done. I listened to what his concerns were and told him we would make adjustments so he could be number one and speak at commencement. I'm going to let him do that.”

        The district decided to review the policy after last year's top student took more classes at the University of Cincinnati than at the high school and, according to board policy, was not eligible to become valedictorian.

        The student was allowed to speak at graduation and was given an academic achievement award. The valedictorian award went to the No. 2 student and salutatorian went to No. 3. Both of those students also were allowed to speak.

        “Everybody was OK with that, and it was a situation where it probably shouldn't have existed,” Mr. William son said. “The point is here we've got some students who do outstanding academically. Why not recognize more?”

        Education itself has changed, offering students other avenues to earn their credits such as taking off-campus college courses that has led to debate over the true definition of a valedictorian.

        “The (valedictorian and salutatorian) titles may not represent the person who excelled in the curriculum the school offered,” Mr. William son said.

        “Is the definition of a valedictorian the person who had the highest grade-point average in the curriculum or the highest grade-point average no matter where they took their classes? What's it supposed to be?” Mr. Williamson said.

        Students say by eliminating valedictorian and salutatorian honors, school officials are eliminating healthy academic competition.

        “A lot of times, people in general, when they don't have to work the hardest for something, they may slack off a little bit,” said Georgia Polychroniou, 17, of Green Township, a senior at the high school.

        While they don't disagree with the movement to honor more students at graduation, the students say they disagree with the timing of the change.

        Students point to the “1998-99 Oak Hills High School Registration Book” that lists valedictorian and salutatorian as honors at graduation. School officials say the book was published before the change was made and is in the process of being updated.

        Mr. Williamson acknowledged students should have been told about the change sooner.

        “It was not done in a timely fashion. It was something that was done at a board meeting. We didn't address it because we didn't think it was a big deal. It's not something we considered to be a major thing,” Mr. Williamson.

        Students disagreed.

        “I think it's unfair. They changed the system in the middle of senior year,” said Lissa Herron, 18, of Green Township. “It will affect me because I was second in the class. It's not just a title; it's an honor that you earn.”

        Other seniors have a different view. Carly Purnhagen, 18, of Delhi Township said, “It's probably a very good idea. With high honors, it will reward more people.”

        Oak Hills ranks students based on weighted grades for varying levels of difficulty of courses. Courses taken in grades nine through 12 are considered in class ranking.

        Educators say students sometimes shy away from enrichment classes such as art, music and life sciences because they traditionally carry less weight in the ranking system.

        “There is no fair way to determine who's the best,” said Maryellen Parker, director of assistant principal services for the National Association of Secondary School Principals. “Do kids play a game of getting them in courses without struggling? There are some who do.”

        Under Oak Hills' new system, students still will be ranked within their classes for college recruiting purposes. Students also still will be identified as No. 1 and No. 2 for scholarship applications.

        Two students from the highest honors group will be selected to speak at commencement. Students must submit a speech in writing to the principal and deliver the speech to a group of faculty members who will choose the speakers.

        This year, the No. 1 and No. 2 students, and a third chosen from seniors who submit speeches, will be selected to speak at graduation, Mr. Williamson said. “To me that is a good compromise,” Mr. Williamson said.

        Honored students will be among the first to receive their diplomas at the ceremony and given front-row seats at graduation.

        When it comes to college admissions, the value of a valedictorian title can vary. At Vassar College, a co-educational, highly selective liberal arts college in New York, the title doesn't carry much weight.

        “The single most important factor for me is the nature of the academic program the student has taken and how challenging it has been,” said David Borus, dean of admissions and financial aid.“We look at per formance and standardized testing. Whether or not they are named valedictorian of his or her class doesn't enter into it,” Mr. Borus said.

        But not everyone is ready to do away with the title.

        To remove the academic honor from high school “is a shame. I would be in favor of adding honors graduates, not substituting for valedictorians,” said Karen Arnold, an associate professor at Boston University, who teaches higher education.

        “It's one of the honors that follow you in life,” said Ms. Arnold, author of Lives of Promise: What Becomes of High School Valedictorians.

        Looking back, Mr. Williamson said, he would have changed the timing on altering graduation honors.

        “When it was proposed to me that perhaps the high school should look at valedictorians and salutatorians and how it was chosen, I wish I had done it last spring and stated it last spring,” Mr. Williamson said.

        “Sometimes you do things and say "I wish I would have gone about this a bit differently,”' Mr. Williamson said. “Maybe I should have gone about this a bit differently. I'm trying to do what is right for kids. We are trying to recognize more students.”

       

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