Submitted photo and press release:
Starting with the Class of 2024, Le Roy Jr.-Sr. High School will recognize graduating seniors through a Laude System.
Our current seventh-grade students will be the first to move through the Sr. High School without using our current graduation class ranking system, including Top Ten and Valedictorian/Salutatorian designations.
Last year our School Improvement Team, comprised of teachers, counselors and administrators, evaluated the execution of our graduation class ranking system and how it impacts our students and school culture.
In our findings and evaluation, it became clear that our current graduation system was not maximizing our student potential.
We then searched for successful ways schools are motivating and celebrating student success at graduation. We analyzed schools in Rochester, Buffalo, and the Midwest, and talked with colleges and universities about the impact of moving from a numerical ranking to a Laude System.
One of the local schools we talked to, Webster Thomas, implemented a similar process 10 years ago.
The new Laude System is a point-based system that combines honor points and cumulative grade-point average. At Graduation in 2024 we will begin celebrating student success with the following levels: Summa Cum Laude ("with highest honor") for 95 GPA +20 points, Magna Cum Laude ("with great honor") for 90 GPA + 15 points, and Cum Laude ("with honor") for 85 GPA + 10 points.
Finally, our student graduation speakers will be voted on by the senior class and all students in a Laude level will be eligible for this honor.
Again, the Laude System is in place for our current seventh-graders, the Class of 2024. It does not affect our students in grades 8-12. We will be meeting with the Class of 2024 to go over these changes prior to the 2019-2020 scheduling process.
Comments from Tim McArdle - Le Roy Jr.-Sr. High School Principal
"After extensive research, our team sought to create a system that did two things. One, create a me vs. me system instead of student vs. peer, encouraging rigor in student course selection, decreasing unnecessary competition between classmates, and increasing students' academic and intellectual risks. Two, to honor all the many pathways our students travel to Graduation and reward them for taking a rigorous road that will not only maximize their potential but prepare them for the competitive world."
"We would like to thank our entire staff for their vital part in giving feedback and developing this exciting new change. Also, a big thank you to our School Board who carefully reviewed this process and unanimously approved it."
