How a Long Island high school has 21 class valedictorians – NBC New York
Valedictorians are the very prime of their graduating class, and this 12 months at Jericho High School, there are 21 of them.
Yes, 21 college students who’ve earned the distinction of getting a good GPA: Earning an A+ in all their courses for all the 4 years of high school
“I think it’s so amazing,” stated one of many valedictorians, Liv Akiva. “We have such a sturdy group right here at Jericho, particularly among the many valedictorians.”
It’s a report for the Long Island school; their earlier report was 15 college students. Co-principal Brian Cummings stated to get an A+, you could have a 97 or greater common within the class.
“It shows a lot of success,” stated Cummings. “Historically this is the way we’ve done it with letter grades. The difference between a 99.8 and a 99.83 is insignificant so letter grades really capture what we represent.”
These college students pulled off this unbelievable feat even whereas taking tougher programs like AP Physics or Multi Variable Calculus.
“I took Calculus BC, that was one of the hardest classes I’ve ever taken in high school,” defined Harnoor Joneja, additionally a valedictorian. “And I was a little bit concerned about losing it this year, but I tried hard and kept my average up.”
Typically, being valedictorian means you give a speech at commencement. But with 21 college students that might be difficult, so this 12 months the school will craft a video of them to play as a substitute.
“The students will wear sashes that say valedictorian 2026,” Cummings stated. “We are attempting to create different alternatives to rejoice this unbelievable accomplishment.”
The pursuit of perfection means these teenagers might have missed social occasions and gatherings alongside the way in which, however these children knew they have been working for a larger purpose.
“Despite all the competitiveness there’s still a lot of collaboration and we are all trying to bring each other up as we go,” stated valedictorian Tommy Yuan.
“What’s wrong with recognizing their hard work?” stated Dr. Robert Kravitz, the superintendent of faculties. “We ought to rejoice as many as we are able to as a result of they’re displaying that they care about what they’re doing.”
All their onerous work has been paid off because the 21 prime college students are headed to varsity within the fall, to proceed their pursuit of excellence.
(*21*)
