http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...nmetvaledictorian.3b254412.html?npc&nTar=OPUR
This is a partial excerpt from the article:
Grapevine High School senior Anjali Datta holds the highest grade-point average of the 471 students graduating from Grapevine High School this year.
In fact, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD officials believe her GPA of 5.898 may be the highest in the high school's history.
It's still not enough to make her the valedictorian, which brings a one-year college scholarship from the state.
Her closest competitor's GPA is 5.64. No one disputes that she's the top student in her class numerically. The problem rests with another number entirely.
Anjali rocketed through high school in only three years.
But a school district policy states: "The valedictorian shall be the eligible student with the highest weighted grade-point average for four years of high school."
The dispute over Anjali's status as valedictorian comes down to interpretation: Does four years mean calendar years of school attendance or does it mean completing the credits it takes most students four years to earn?"
It depends on whom you ask.
The 16-year-old started taking high school classes in middle school and says her teachers encouraged her to graduate a year early because she had more than enough credits for graduation.
She said a counselor assured her that doing so wouldn't affect her valedictorian status because she earned her four years of high school credit in the district's schools. Officials had no comment about what a counselor may have said.
The policy was created to protect students from others who might transfer into the district close to graduation and usurp the class ranking of longtime students.
Though that's not the situation in this case, the district's attorneys interpreted the policy literally.
So at graduation ceremonies, 18-year-old Tyler Scott Franklin of Colleyville will be the Grapevine High School valedictorian.
Anjali will be "Valedictorian Three-Year."
------------------------------
Let's hope she learned something from Blair Hornstine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blair_Hornstine
I love the fact that Blair got her acceptance to Harvard recinded for being a putz and all the notoriety she received for suing the school district.
This is a partial excerpt from the article:
Grapevine High School senior Anjali Datta holds the highest grade-point average of the 471 students graduating from Grapevine High School this year.
In fact, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD officials believe her GPA of 5.898 may be the highest in the high school's history.
It's still not enough to make her the valedictorian, which brings a one-year college scholarship from the state.
Her closest competitor's GPA is 5.64. No one disputes that she's the top student in her class numerically. The problem rests with another number entirely.
Anjali rocketed through high school in only three years.
But a school district policy states: "The valedictorian shall be the eligible student with the highest weighted grade-point average for four years of high school."
The dispute over Anjali's status as valedictorian comes down to interpretation: Does four years mean calendar years of school attendance or does it mean completing the credits it takes most students four years to earn?"
It depends on whom you ask.
The 16-year-old started taking high school classes in middle school and says her teachers encouraged her to graduate a year early because she had more than enough credits for graduation.
She said a counselor assured her that doing so wouldn't affect her valedictorian status because she earned her four years of high school credit in the district's schools. Officials had no comment about what a counselor may have said.
The policy was created to protect students from others who might transfer into the district close to graduation and usurp the class ranking of longtime students.
Though that's not the situation in this case, the district's attorneys interpreted the policy literally.
So at graduation ceremonies, 18-year-old Tyler Scott Franklin of Colleyville will be the Grapevine High School valedictorian.
Anjali will be "Valedictorian Three-Year."
------------------------------
Let's hope she learned something from Blair Hornstine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blair_Hornstine
I love the fact that Blair got her acceptance to Harvard recinded for being a putz and all the notoriety she received for suing the school district.
