Washington County Public Schools valedictorian, salutatorian policy hangs in the balance

Dave McMillion, The Herald-Mail
·5 min read

A proposal by Washington County Public Schools to do away with the designations of valedictorian and salutatorian in favor of other ways to measure student success at graduation is getting push back.

Currently at county high schools, the valedictorian, who has the highest grade point average, is invited to give a commencement address at graduation ceremonies. The salutatorian, who has the next highest GPA, can also speak.

Gary Willow, associate superintendent for curriculum and instruction for WCPS, told the Washington County Board of Education on Jan. 17 that determining the salutatorian and valedictorians in county high schools is based on the number of A grades students receive in their classes.

Today, students are exploring all sorts of different educational opportunities, rather than just what they experience in a high school classroom, Willow said.

For example, a high school student may start taking courses at Hagerstown Community College at night to get a jump start on higher education, or a student may start working as a nurse at Meritus Medical Center through an apprenticeship program that allows the individual to start work on a four-year college degree in that field, Willow said.

"How do we weigh that? How do we make meaning out of that?" Willow asked the board. "When you and I and all of us were in school, the rules were just different. There weren't as many options and opportunities. And the fact we have more options and opportunities are a good thing."

What is the school system proposing to change regarding graduations?

The school system is proposing to address Willow's questions through changes in its "IKD" policy that deals with honor rolls and graduation honors. Under the proposal, valedictorian and salutatorian would be eliminated and a school's principal, or the principal's designee, would select commencement speakers.

Board of Education member Darrell Evans criticized the idea during the Jan. 17 meeting, saying it penalizes students who work toward the goal of being valedictorian and salutatorian. Evans made the example of someone who achieves being No. 1 in his or her class. Then the principal gets involved because of some reason, and "now all the sudden, it's subjective," Evans said.

Preiously:Where will we teach the kids? The math about classroom space and new housing development

"I don't understand why we're taking that away from the kid who did all the hard work," Evans said.

Willow emphasized during the meeting that the school system is not taking away the class ranking system, which measures a student's performance against others in the class. Some colleges no longer ask for class rankings, district officials said.

Are other academic awards affected too?

Willow also said the school system is not taking away any academic awards, like graduating summa cum laude. That honor has requirements such as maintaining a 4.0 GPA and having at least 14 credits in courses identified as honors. Graduating magna cum laude has requirements such as maintaining a 3.75 GPA and at least 12 courses identified as honors. Graduating cum laude requires a 3.5 GPA.

In response to a question from Board of Education member Peter Bickford about when the changes would be implemented, Willow said the plan would start with next year's incoming ninth-grade class. In other words, students currently in grades nine-12 would not be affected by the changes.

Evans is one of two people who sent letters to the editor at Herald-Mail Media about the issue.

"What does the public have to say about this?" Evans wrote. "Do the parents and other members of our community agree that this should pass, effectively beginning the end of our merit-based education system in Washington County? Or should we continue to recognize the hard work of our future leaders and update other policies to make them more current with today’s education?"

Board of Education member Stan Stouffer said during the Jan. 17 meeting that more than one speaker could be chosen for high school graduations.

"When I graduated from high school, we didn't have a valedictorian or a salutatorian. We had the top three speakers. I don't know how they were chosen," Stouffer said.

The board approved the first reading of the changes to the IKD policy on a 5-2 vote during the Jan. 17 meeting. Board member Mike Guessford voted along with Evans against it.

Bickford said in a phone interview Friday afternoon that the school system is getting a flood of emails over the issue, reminiscent of the number of comments it got about mask mandates tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said most of the comments are in opposition to the change. Bickford said he's been disappointed that some of the arguments have become political, and there's a feeling among some in the community that the changes have already been approved.

Bickford said he is still studying the issue, although he said the fact that a lot of principals support it is notable. He said the positive side to the debate is that it shows how education has evolved in Maryland, and there are so many educational tracks available to kids these days that are very beneficial to them.

"We are very much in the debate stage on this," Bickford said.

How can I comment on this?

The school board's policy committee is seeking public input on the proposal, and comments can be mailed or emailed to the committee by Feb. 14. The committee's next meeting is Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. at the Board of Education's offices at 10435 Downsville Pike. Following that meeting, the policy committee will again present the proposed changes to the board on Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. for a second and final reading of the proposal.

At that meeting, policy committee members will have the chance to recommend changes to the proposal based on public comments they've received.

Comments can be emailed to policy committee members at the following email addresses:

Comments can be mailed to:Washington County Board of Education10435 Downsville PikeHagerstown, Maryland 21740

Anyone who needs a hard copy of the policy with the proposed changes can contact the school system's public information office at 301-766-2809.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: WCPS considering end to valedictorian, salutatorian policy