Brevard schools choose own valedictorian policies
Cocoa High's valedictorian criteria was inadvertantly left off a list of Brevard high schools. It has been added
When Brittney Davidson found out she had the highest GPA in her graduating class at Eau Gallie High School, she was excited. She was No. 1 in the class and itching for an opportunity to give a speech at graduation as valedictorian.
But so it turned out, not only was she not the sole valedictorian, but she also wouldn't be giving a speech. In fact, she was one of six named valedictorians and she would need to "try out" for the chance to speak at graduation.
While this may sound unusual to some, the idea of naming multiple valedictorians is an ongoing trend in Brevard.
Each high school in the county has its own policy on valedictorians, and several have multiple students who are selected. For instance, Satellite, Viera and West Shore don't have a single valedictorian, either. West Shore actually has 27 valedictorians this year, as all students with an un-weighted 4.0 are considered to have a No. 1 class standing, said Principal Rick Fleming. There are no salutatorians, valedictorians aren't ranked in any order and the named valedictorians must compete for a chance to give a graduation speech. This is the case for Eau Gallie as well, which has had the policy for several years.
PHOTOS: Graduations in Brevard
In the case of Davidson, she was not selected by the committee in charge of choosing speakers, which includes Eau Gallie Principal Jeremy Salmon and other administrators. Instead, she was offered the opportunity to give her speech at two other ceremonies for students. Michelle Irwin, director of communications for Brevard County Schools, confirmed that Davidson holds the highest weighted GPA, but not the highest un-weighted GPA.
This creates a discrepancy, said Davidson's mother Norma Frair, with the meaning of the word "valedictorian," which is defined as "the student who has the highest grades in a graduating class and who gives a speech at graduation ceremonies," by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, she cited. Because six students were named valedictorian, it takes away some of the value, she said, and in this case, it took away Davidson's opportunity to give the graduation speech.
"How do you push that child to continue to keep going and do the best she possibly can?" Frair said. "Why work hard if you're not going to be able to get a reward for it or acknowledged? She's heartbroken."
Still, there are some schools in the county, such as Rockledge, Space Coast and Titusville, that follow the traditional approach, naming the student with the highest GPA valedictorian, and the second highest GPA the salutatorian.
Just as schools possess the authority to create their own valedictorian policies, they also possess the authority to not have a valedictorian at all. This is the case at schools such as Bayside and Melbourne. There are no valedictorians or class standings at either school.
"We honor all of our grads equally," said Bayside Principal Christine Moore.
There are varying opinions on the matter, said West Shore's Fleming, but his philosophy of selecting multiple valedictorians is something he feels strongly about.
"I do not want kids to be put in the unenviable position to choose between a passion such as jazz band or music theory and AP physics because they need to have the highest weighted course for their GPA," he said. "I don't want kids to have to choose between those classes just so they can be valedictorian."
As for Davidson, though, she said the entire ordeal has been embarrassing and disheartening.
"I felt really embarrassed, because I worked so hard and it's kind of been taken away from me … I'm really sad because I've worked so hard for this and I can't even address my class at a very formal event like graduation," she said. "I was told I could speak at the awards ceremony, but it's not the same for me."
She will, however, be walking away with an AA degree from Eastern Florida State College, a diploma for completion of the AICE Cambridge program, 820 community service hours and an acceptance to the University of Florida.
Contact Saggio at 321-242-3664 and JSaggio@FloridaToday.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaJSaggio.
High school valedictorian policies
•Astronaut: No valedictorian, but names Top 10 in class
•Bayside: No valedictorian
•Cocoa High: Highest unweighted GPA
•Cocoa Beach: Anyone with a 4.0 un-weighted GPA (nine this year)
•Eau Gallie: Anyone with a 4.0 un-weighted GPA (six this year)
•Edgewood: Highest weighted GPA (but must have at least a 4.0 unweighted)
•Heritage: No valedictorian
•Melbourne: No valedictorian
•Merritt Island: Highest weighted GPA (will change next year to highest weighted in core classes only)
•Palm Bay Magnet: Highest weighted GPA
•Rockledge: Highest weighted GPA
•Satellite: Anyone with a 4.0 un-weighted GPA (nine this year)
•Space Coast: Highest weighted GPA
•Viera: No valedictorian, names "principal scholars" who have an un-weighted 4.0
•Titusville: Highest weighted GPA
•West Shore: Anyone with a 4.0 un-weighted GPA (27 this year)
Graduation coverage
In print, today and Sunday: Look for two pages of photos from sites around Brevard. Pages 8-9A
Online through the weekend: Check out our photo galleries and videos from the ceremonies at floridatoday.com/graduation