For a few years now, the existence of a valedictorian at SHS has been non-existent. The S.T.A.R.S. program was added in place of this allowing for students graduating with a GPA of 4.0 or higher to all be recognized.

Not having a constant fight to the top has been very beneficial for students and no longer having a valedictorian was a smart move for SHS to make.

Because students aren’t fighting for their spot on top, the S.T.A.R.S. program has given students a breath of fresh air as well as allowed for them to have more fun at school.

Some classes considered “fun classes” wouldn’t be on many students’ radar to take even if they’d enjoy them. To have the highest GPA, you’d have to take the hardest classes, which only pushed more stress on students.

Having too many difficult classes would just burn students out and cause them to dread their time at SHS. Imagine taking all these classes and working so hard, just to not get valedictorian and no recognition.

Another great thing about the S.T.A.R.S. program instead of the valedictorian is, as previously mentioned, it allows for hardworking students to get the recognition they deserve.

So many students work hard on their academics all through high school and they deserve to be celebrated for being able to maintain high grades.

No longer having the valedictorian makes high school less of a competition for greatness and allows for more room for mistakes and room to grow.

Having more wiggle room when it comes to stress keeps students working hard and allows them to perform better academically.

The S.T.A.R.S. program is so much more beneficial than having a valedictorian and helps students have a better experience at SHS. 

The opportunity to have a more positive high school experience should triumph over being the best in class, so the valedictorian should remain something in SHS past.