Valedictorians Crowd Podiums Students With Straight A’S Increase, Prompting Review Of Farewell Tradition

Spokane County schools may have more valedictorians than Kootenai County schools, but that doesn’t necessarily give the Washington schools bragging rights.

Most graduation ceremonies across Spokane County this month will honor more than one valedictorian. Mead High School has 15, Ferris 16, Shadle Park 17 and Central Valley 18. Each earned straight A’s for four years.

In Kootenai County, most school districts stick with one valedictorian. The exception is Coeur d’Alene, where 15 students at Lake City High and 10 students at Coeur d’Alene High are being honored this year.

At least one school district thinks it has too much of a good thing. Later this month, the Central Valley School Board will consider new standards for selecting valedictorians. Coeur d’Alene schools will implement new standards in 1999.

Spokane School District officials say they’re not discussing any change; neither is Mead. “These students have worked hard for four years to achieve a 4.0, and they should all be recognized,” said Laurine Jue of the Spokane School District.

But, said Mike Pearson, a Central Valley administrator, “If you look in the dictionary, the definition of valedictorian is the one student who is selected or elected to give the presentation at graduation.”

Post Falls and Kootenai have stuck to one valedictorian this year, while Lakeland honors four.

“Normally we only have one,” explained Lakeland Principal Charles Kinsey. This year, “we had four outstanding students who met all the criteria.”

At Lakeland, a committee of teachers and counselors chooses the valedictorian based on grade point average as well as the difficulty of courses taken. Citizenship and community activity also count.

Selection is less restrictive in the Central Valley district. Central Valley and University produced a combined 28 valedictorians. Last year, there were 24.

“What really brought it to the table was that a lot of students will sign up for a class - say, honors English - then they get in there and find out they may get a B, so they withdraw and go into (regular) English, to maintain their A’s,” Pearson said.

“They want to protect their 4.0.”

A 4.0 cumulative gpa or the best gpa in the senior class now earns the title of valedictorian, no matter what classes the student has taken.

CV’s proposal would add two advanced placement courses. In a tie, the student with the highest number of advanced classes wins. If the board approves, that standard will be phased in over three years.

Coeur d’Alene requires honors classes, but the district still has 25 valedictorians this year.

Coeur d’Alene High counselor Warren Olsen said the high number may reflect an increase in the number of students with greater thinking skills.

More kids are growing up playing computer games and learning how to program computers, he said.

“Those students plug those higher-level thinking skills into higher math and science courses,” he said.

The class of 1999 will usher in an age of tougher requirements. Instead of three honors classes, they’ll have to take five from three of the core areas: math, science, English and social studies.

The district made the change primarily to mirror changes in college requirements, not to decrease the number of valedictorians, Olsen said.

At its heart, the debate is about academic rigor vs. academic recognition.

“Probably a majority of folks say, ‘We applaud the rigor. But don’t do it while my child is in school,”’ said Pearson of Central Valley.

So how does one handle graduation speeches with so many valedictorians and salutatorians?

Ferris High’s 15 valedictorians will read selections from a Dr. Seuss book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.”

At Central Valley, the 21 valedictorian and salutatorians were divided into three groups of seven.

Each group will get a total of three minutes to deliver a speech.

“We can’t let them each speak,” said Stan Chalich, senior class adviser.

“Can you imagine how long we’d be there?”

It took about 30 minutes at Lake City’s graduation Saturday.

The 15 students were asked to keep their comments to two minutes each.

, DataTimes