To the Editor,

I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to the Tecumseh High School class of 2008 valedictorians and salutatorian.  The distinction that you have earned is well deserved and to be celebrated.  Correspondingly, I would also offer my apologies to the graduates of 2009 and beyond that will distinguish themselves with the same level of academic achievement, but will not be recognized by either their school or community due to a policy revision.  

It is my assumption that the aforementioned policy amendment was brought about to answer concerns of community members who were troubled by the number of students each year that are able to achieve the distinction of valedictorian at Tecumseh High School.  I am puzzled at the logic of such concerns, and would pose the following questions in response.

• I have to question if it is widely understood by the community that the reason that Tecumseh High School has so many valedictorians is that our school offers students the opportunity to accept the challenge of college level (AP) courses which have a 5.0 grading scale.  The Tecumseh community should be proud to have a school system that offers this extended level of academic opportunity to our students.  Under the current policy, prior to revision, to achieve valedictorian status at Tecumseh High School (>= 4.0 GPA) a student must, at a minimum, have achieved all A’s in high school level courses if they took no AP courses.  However most, if not all of the THS valedictorians, have also attained A’s in college level courses, my reason for believing that they have unequivocally earned the distinction they received.  Please excuse my naïveté for being from a simpler time when the achievement of all A’s in high school level courses was enough to earn recognition.  In 2009, with the new THS policy only 1 valedictorian and 1 salutatorian will be named.  Therefore, any student who earns all A’s in high school level courses (4.0 GPA) and all but 2 others who earn a 4.0+ GPA, by taking college level courses, will receive no recognition at all.  I can only ask, “What message are we sending to students with this policy change?”

• I wonder if the concern that community members have regarding the number of valedictorians at THS is matched, at least equally, by a concern for the number of students that drop out of school prior to graduation, the growing number of THS students requiring the services of our Special Education department, or the fact that, due to budget cuts, our middle school students no longer have the opportunity to learn a foreign language, in an age when every major corporation and most local companies have expanded their operations to foreign lands?  It is my hope that the same level of energy is being applied to solving these weightier problems.

• I would also be curious for an account of how many among those who feel that Tecumseh High School should have only 1 valedictorian and 1 salutatorian can claim the same level of academic achievement as the students that they desire to strip of this hard earned distinction.  

Though not my intent, please accept my humble and sincere apologies if the questions that I pose are of an offensive nature.  I only write this letter because I feel a duty to lend a voice to whatever contingency may exist within our community who believes as I do, that Tecumseh High School and this community should be proud to claim the “problem” of 16 valedictorians.  I also believe that parents and community members should join with our schools to instill the values of integrity, honesty, and high expectations for academic excellence in all of our students.  I am of the opinion that the new policy is counterproductive to that aim.

Pamila Britt
THS class of 1980