In the latest example of assuaging the feelings of students rather an encouraging them to simply strive for excellence, one magnet school in Tennessee made 48 of its 193 students valedictorians.
Central Magnet School, named the No. 1 high school in Tennessee by U.S. News & World Report, was simply following the precepts of the Rutherford County Board of Education, whose requirements for becoming a valedictorian were stated in 2009-10: a GPA of 4.0; a minimum of 12 honors or above honors-level courses (that meet the Tennessee Board of Education guidelines); and meeting all state requirements for a student graduating with honors and distinction.
The Associated Press has reported that according to the National Association of Secondary School Principals, nearly half of high schools in the United States no longer report class rank.
Hobgood Elementary principal Tammy Garrett, whose two children have become valedictorians at Central Magnet, said, “It shows them hard work pays off. … For us it’s meant a lot of money to go to college, and a lot of opportunities. My son is the first kid on either side of my family to go to a major university. For him to go to an SEC school … for my family, that’s tremendous. I never thought that growing up that would be a possibility for me.”
Central Magnet Principal John Ash added, “Most of our valedictorians take somewhere between eight and 15 (Advanced Placement) courses. But I think there are a lot of other opportunities for children to succeed in areas other than academic. We try to give as many challenges as we can to develop a well-rounded person.”
Rutherford County school board member Aaron Holladay echoed, “It would be incredibly challenging to change those requirements and very likely seen as unfair to students who are in their junior or sophomore or freshman years trying to achieve an honor where the rules had been in place for a number of years. Each of these students has worked extremely hard and they deserve the honor under the requirements that have been in place.”
But former county school board chairman Wayne Blair, whose son, Zack was a valedictorian at Smyrna High in the early 2000’s, differed, saying, “We do have to wonder how prestigious the title is if a fourth of the class earns it. I think it warrants another look by the board. We’ve done it once before. We may need to see what other kinds of formulas are out there. I understand what goes into it, but it’s something we really need to discuss.”