To the Editor:
Students will no longer be able to hold the title of valedictorian or salutatorian in my district, as the board has chosen to move to a college-type system of cum laude standings.
Competition was the main reason. I find it sad for the students who have worked for four years, striving for excellence. I find it equally tragic for a school board to choose not to honor intellectual achievement.
It was always my assumption that it would be a school’s dream to have students competing fiercely to be the best. How does one equate the idea of eliminating the aforementioned honors with promoting intellectual achievement? As excellence fades away, mediocrity becomes the new goal.
Diane Hanfmann
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
