Valedictorian policy changes

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

The new policy for choosing valedictorians and salutatorians at Rawlins High School is poised for final approval at the next Carbon County District 1 School Board meeting in late March.

The item received little discussion from School Board members during its first reading. The second and final reading is set for the School Board’s meeting near the end of March.

Previously, Rawlins High School’s policy matched that of Little Snake River Valley School, where the student with the highest grade point average was named valedictorian, with no limit as to the number of students who could earn the honor. Likewise, the student, or students, with the second highest GPA were named salutatorian.

Pending approval, next year’s policy will be revised to incorporate ACT scores. Students should be chosen initially by their GPA. In the event of a tie, the student with the best ACT scores would be named valedictorian. The student with the second-highest ACT score becomes salutatorian. If there is still a tie, multiple students receive each honor.

“There are pros and cons to both policies,” District 1 Superintendent Peggy Sanders said. “A pro to the old system is that many students get recognized. The other point of view is that if you have up to nine valedictorians, it doesn’t really distinguish to the highest honor of who should be recognized.”