Valedictorian Position Will Be An Option: Anne Arundel Schools

ANNE ARUNDEL, MD -- Instead of completely eliminating the position of high school valedictorian or salutatorian, the board of education for Anne Arundel County Public Schools has altered its proposal and instead is opting to redefine the criteria required to be named a school’s valedictorian or salutatorian.

An amendment adopted by the board at its May 15, 2019, meeting stipulates that students who earn summa cum laude honors (weighted grade-point average of 4.3 or higher) after seven high school semesters would be eligible to apply to be class valedictorian or salutatorian. The honors would be based on a student’s character, leadership, scholarship and service, according to a press release from the district. Winners would be selected through a school-based process to be determined by the superintendent of schools.

Valedictorian and salutatorian honors currently are based solely on a student’s grade point average. The amendment offered by board vice president and student member Josie Urrea – who also proposed the overall policy changes – was adopted by an 8-1 vote. The board will review the proposed policy changes again at its June 5, 2019, meeting. If adopted, the changes would take effect for students entering the ninth grade for the 2021-2022 school year, the press release stated.

The board last considered removing class rank along with the valedictorian and salutatorian honors when the cum laude honors system, which recognizes a wider array of students for outstanding academic work, was instituted in 2017. It opted at the time to also maintain class rank and the top two class honors.