Students and a guidance counselor are urging Cleveland Metropolitan School District to address class-rank inequities created by this year’s high school consolidation, according to Signal Cleveland.
Marilia Tsirikos, a senior at John Hay High School, told the school board on Oct. 27 that she and others had earned strong grades but could lose valedictorian or salutatorian recognition. Signal Cleveland reported that students at merged campuses were told by guidance counselors there would be one valedictorian and one salutatorian per school.
Tsirikos previously attended Campus International, which she said offered fewer Advanced Placement, honors and college-credit courses than some other schools. John Hay guidance counselor Cynthia Dalveren said a Campus International student could not mathematically win the top honors under the current weighted-GPA method. The district first uses unweighted GPA and then weighted GPA to break ties.
Ardae Perry, who spoke with Tsirikos, said he has not been affected by the change but supports recognizing would-be top students from each merged school at graduation without altering transcripts or GPA calculations. Two other students submitted written comments, according to the report.
CMSD CEO Warren Morgan told the board no final decision had been made on class rank for this year. The report noted that state law does not bar the district from setting its own policy and that some Ohio districts no longer rank students.
Class rank can affect merit scholarship calculations, the report said.