`A' TEENS TO SHARE HONORS; HIGH SCHOOLS TO NAME MULTIPLE VALEDICTORIANS.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer LANCASTER - The Antelope Valley Union High School District The Antelope Valley Union High School District (A.V.U.H.S.D.) is located in the Antelope Valley area of California, in northern Los Angeles County. The district includes eight public high schools, one trade school, and two continuation high schools in the cities of Palmdale will once again have the potential for more than one valedictorian at each campus. Reversing a decision made in the spring, trustees now want to bestow be·stow tr.v. be·stowed, be·stow·ing, be·stows 1. To present as a gift or an honor; confer: bestowed high praise on the winners. 2. the valedictorian honor on any student who achieves a grade point average of 4.0 or higher. In April, the board decided the academic honor should go to the student who had the highest grade point average based on a weighted system that allows students in honors and advanced classes to score higher than the traditionally perfect 4.0. The board reconsidered the policy after students last November said the policy of having a single valedictorian at each campus hurt the chances of other straight-A students to obtain college scholarships. ``It opens more doors to students,'' board member Darrel Brown Darrel Brown (born October 11, 1984) is a sprinter from Trinidad and Tobago. In the beginning of his career he performed well in World Youth and Junior Championships. The 100 m at the 2003 World Championships saw him finishing second behind surprise winner Kim Collins. said about having multiple valedictorians. ``There are many scholarships open to students who are valedictorians. Why should we shut out any opportunities to our students?'' The board voted 4-1 this week to direct staffers to write up a policy calling for students with a GPA GPA abbr. grade point average Noun 1. GPA - a measure of a student's academic achievement at a college or university; calculated by dividing the total number of grade points received by the total number attempted of 4.0 or higher to be named valedictorians. The student with the highest weighted GPA should be given some additional honor, the board said. Wording of the policy will come back for final approval at a board meeting to be held Wednesday. The issue brought out a standing-room-only crowd of parents and teachers at the meeting this week. About 10 spoke in favor of upon the side of; favorable to; for the advantage of. See also: favor allowing co-valedictorians at each campus. The speakers included last year's Lancaster High School Lancaster High School may refer to:
 , Long Beach. Cal State Long Beach offers full scholarships to every California valedictorian. Board President Bill Olenick cast the dissenting dis·sent intr.v. dis·sent·ed, dis·sent·ing, dis·sents 1. To differ in opinion or feeling; disagree. 2. To withhold assent or approval. n. 1. vote. He said choosing a valedictorian should be purely an academic exercise, not one that takes economic issues into consideration. Under a co-valedictorian policy, he said, there could be as many as 30 in one class. ``By definition, a valedictorian is the one student who statistically has the highest GPA,'' Olenick said. ``The majority wanted to help kids. They heard arguments based on economic and social issues. To me, this is purely an academic question, not an economics issue. If you water it down so much, you eliminate the purpose and status of having a valedictorian.'' Olenick said some parents and students believe the policy of having a single valedictorian might encourage students to cheat in pursuit of a college scholarship. |
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