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The county's high schools are switching from a valedictorian/salutatorian system to a cum laude system.
By PAULETTE LASH RITCHIE
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 25, 2001
INVERNESS -- As the high school graduation season gets into full swing in Citrus County, the county's three public high schools are, for the first time, exclusively using the cum laude system to recognize top seniors and choose graduation speakers. The district had used the valedictorian/salutatorian system to honor the top seniors. Last year, the district used a combination of both systems.
A cum laude committee made up of parents, students, teachers and administrators devised the cum laude system with two goals in mind: to encourage students to take more challenging courses and to recognize more students for academic achievement.
The concern was that students might be discouraged from taking difficult courses so as not to bring down their grade-point averages. In the cum laude system, students' GPAs are weighted, that is, an additional 0.02 is added to each 0.5-credit course that has been determined to be high-level, such as an honors course.
According to the Citrus County school district, students who graduate summa cum laude have a GPA of 4.0 or higher, based on the weighted system. Magna cum laude students have GPAs from 3.8 to less than 4.0, and cum laude graduates have grade point averages from 3.5 to less than 3.8. Once the levels are established, the individual schools decide on a method for choosing graduation speakers, who traditionally have been the valedictorians and salutatorians.
At Citrus High School, the summa cum laude students each received packages to submit if they were interested in delivering a speech on either the past or the future. Finalists were chosen by a committee consisting of the curriculum specialist, the senior class sponsor, a summa cum laude student, a teacher's assistant and a teacher.
Ten finalists presented their speeches orally, and three were chosen. They are Matthew Frankel, Irvin MacQuarrie and Beth Prentice.
At Crystal River High School, summa cum laude students were invited to prepare and anonymously submit speeches. Volunteer summa cum laude seniors who had chosen not to submit speeches then narrowed the submissions down to no more than five.
These finalists were reviewed by an administrator, a teacher, the Enhancement Council president, a parent of a student who did not submit a speech, and the principal. The two students chosen were Courtenay Ryals and Kim Fisher.
At Lecanto High School, summa cum laude students were invited to write a speech of reflection about the past or one of vision into the future. A judging committee of the graduation director, a senior sponsor, a community or parent member of the Enhancement Council and the class president (or a senior officer) screened the submissions and chose two. The Lecanto High School speakers are Kristy Barkofski and Nilesh Patel.