School Board cheats Sentinel seniors out of Valedictorian 2/27/18
The MCPS school board made a choice in the spring of 2013 to repeal and replace the Nationally recognized title of Valedictorian and replace it with a Medallion Medal, a decision that would go on to affect every academic class from 2018 on. While not only depriving students of tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships, this choice also diminished the value of work students have put into their educational careers.
Students from the beginning have been misinformed of the requirements, the school has procrastinated its efforts to create the new award along with implementing it upon the Senior class of 2018 without finalizing the selection process of the “Highest honor given to any MCPS student,” from the 2013 criteria brief for selection committee.
The school board has made this decision without asking the students or families if this change was needed or wanted. While this honor allows students to set themselves apart from their peers and be recognized for their well-rounded efforts, it does not hold the same weight and accolades that come with the title of Valedictorian, resulting in many potential 2018 Valedictorians to say, “It’s just not fair.”
The medallion was created to replace the title of valedictorian, an honor awarded to the student normally with the highest grade point average, and gives the final commencement speech for the graduating class before diplomas are handed out. Unlike most schools Sentinel awarded multiple valedictorian titles because of an unweighted grading system allowing for multiple students to tie with a 4.0 by the end of their senior year. This resulted in anywhere from 4-16 valedictorians from the graduating class.
Yet as Principal Ted Fuller said, “We don’t have a true valedictorian. When you look at the definition of valedictorian, it finds its origin in a weighted grading system.”
However there is no standard definition for valedictorian, as many schools across the country use different systems of grading, rewarding students for taking more rigorous courses, and have varying systems of grading scales. Additionally it is not a requirement for the valedictorian to be the student with the highest GPA.
This newly established title is not recognized outside of the MCPS district, if you were to put Spartan Medallion on your transcript or resume it wouldn’t hold the same weight as the nationally recognized title of valedictorian. Valedictorian is not only used by the U.S. but it is also used internationally by countries including Canada, Central America, and the Philippines. So is it fair to replace this traditional and highly revered honor with an award that doesn’t even require the same academic achievement?
Senior and potential valedictorian recipient Jamie Seifert said, “If you put anywhere on your resume or for colleges nobody is going to know what it is or care. Whereas valedictorian, even if you don’t like it, carries with it a sense of pride. People recognize that when you’re getting into college, or getting a job.”
The decision made back in 2013 came with general requirement for the individual school to decide upon what students would need to do to achieve this award. With components of community service, activity participation, and high academic achievement, these outlines were given to school after the decision was made, allowing schools to determine how their school would give out the award. Meaning that even though the title means the same across all MCPS schools, the standard for achieving it was different from each school.
Another valedictorian candidate Grace Stayner said, “It seems that it means a little less because you’re recognized as the same but for different things, but you could be great at one school, well rounded, but not the same outside of the school.”
While this new award is not only recognized for achieving different accolades in each school in MCPS, Sentinel High School is implementing a changed and unfinished award to the class of 2018. The senior class was presented with an initial award requirements at the beginning freshman year, consisting of 30 logged community service hours, maintaining a 3.92 GPA, a required five AP or Dual Credit courses, three years of foreign language, and documentation of participation in extra-curricular activities or clubs.
Then during our freshman year we had a change in principals, as Fuller joined the staff.
“The ’13-’14 school year was when Sentinel created the first round of criteria, and when I became principal in ’14-’15 and looked at that original criteria, I realized it was not in line with the Board’s criteria, so I formed a committee in ’15-’16 to develop this (current) criteria,” Fuller said.
The new criteria has made it easier, and harder, for many students to attain this title. With an increase to 75 community service hours, adding eight teacher evaluations, and now requiring a minimum of six participation points (sports, academic programs, and performing arts) for all applicants, all while maintaining an even lower GPA standard than valedictorians did or that the original draft required with a current 3.75 instead of a 4.0 or a 3.92. It creates a ridiculous amount of unneeded documentation to receive a reward that students didn’t want in the first place, yet with no other option, students begrudgingly apply for this award.
Senior Paige Childers felt very strongly about her view that the medallion, “Favors rich people that have money to do stuff outside of school vs. poor people who lose an opportunity.”
Childers believes students who do not have the time or the ability to participate in extra-curricular activities in and outside of school lose out on the ability to receive this award. Childers also said the replacement “makes me feel like there is no point in trying because you’re telling me that what I did and what I worked for doesn’t matter anymore because I was able to do other things.”
Childers would have received Valedictorian status for maintaining her outstanding 4.0 GPA through her four years of high school.
It is not right to implement this award on the class out 2018, as seniors from the beginning have been misinformed of what the award is and have lost out on a traditional and prestigious title that is actually recognized and understood outside of MCPS.
The first draft stated “We invite you to sign on to an exciting four years of challenging work.”
With the fact that this award has changed during our four years at Sentinel, it is not right to apply it to our class as we did not have the full time to attain it. This award should have been put into effect with the newest incoming freshman class after it had been finalized, not on to the senior class that had already been attending the school for two years.
Furthermore, even if the School Board wanted to implement a new award such as the Medallion Pledge, why then must valedictorian be removed? Why cannot both titles be recognized? What harm is there with retaining a nationally recognized title earned for achieving a high grade point average?
Students from the beginning have been misinformed of the requirements, the school has procrastinated its efforts to create the new award along with implementing it upon the Senior class of 2018 without finalizing the selection process of the “Highest honor given to any MCPS student,” from the 2013 criteria brief for selection committee.
The school board has made this decision without asking the students or families if this change was needed or wanted. While this honor allows students to set themselves apart from their peers and be recognized for their well-rounded efforts, it does not hold the same weight and accolades that come with the title of Valedictorian, resulting in many potential 2018 Valedictorians to say, “It’s just not fair.”
The medallion was created to replace the title of valedictorian, an honor awarded to the student normally with the highest grade point average, and gives the final commencement speech for the graduating class before diplomas are handed out. Unlike most schools Sentinel awarded multiple valedictorian titles because of an unweighted grading system allowing for multiple students to tie with a 4.0 by the end of their senior year. This resulted in anywhere from 4-16 valedictorians from the graduating class.
Yet as Principal Ted Fuller said, “We don’t have a true valedictorian. When you look at the definition of valedictorian, it finds its origin in a weighted grading system.”
However there is no standard definition for valedictorian, as many schools across the country use different systems of grading, rewarding students for taking more rigorous courses, and have varying systems of grading scales. Additionally it is not a requirement for the valedictorian to be the student with the highest GPA.
This newly established title is not recognized outside of the MCPS district, if you were to put Spartan Medallion on your transcript or resume it wouldn’t hold the same weight as the nationally recognized title of valedictorian. Valedictorian is not only used by the U.S. but it is also used internationally by countries including Canada, Central America, and the Philippines. So is it fair to replace this traditional and highly revered honor with an award that doesn’t even require the same academic achievement?
Senior and potential valedictorian recipient Jamie Seifert said, “If you put anywhere on your resume or for colleges nobody is going to know what it is or care. Whereas valedictorian, even if you don’t like it, carries with it a sense of pride. People recognize that when you’re getting into college, or getting a job.”
The decision made back in 2013 came with general requirement for the individual school to decide upon what students would need to do to achieve this award. With components of community service, activity participation, and high academic achievement, these outlines were given to school after the decision was made, allowing schools to determine how their school would give out the award. Meaning that even though the title means the same across all MCPS schools, the standard for achieving it was different from each school.
Another valedictorian candidate Grace Stayner said, “It seems that it means a little less because you’re recognized as the same but for different things, but you could be great at one school, well rounded, but not the same outside of the school.”
While this new award is not only recognized for achieving different accolades in each school in MCPS, Sentinel High School is implementing a changed and unfinished award to the class of 2018. The senior class was presented with an initial award requirements at the beginning freshman year, consisting of 30 logged community service hours, maintaining a 3.92 GPA, a required five AP or Dual Credit courses, three years of foreign language, and documentation of participation in extra-curricular activities or clubs.
Then during our freshman year we had a change in principals, as Fuller joined the staff.
“The ’13-’14 school year was when Sentinel created the first round of criteria, and when I became principal in ’14-’15 and looked at that original criteria, I realized it was not in line with the Board’s criteria, so I formed a committee in ’15-’16 to develop this (current) criteria,” Fuller said.
The new criteria has made it easier, and harder, for many students to attain this title. With an increase to 75 community service hours, adding eight teacher evaluations, and now requiring a minimum of six participation points (sports, academic programs, and performing arts) for all applicants, all while maintaining an even lower GPA standard than valedictorians did or that the original draft required with a current 3.75 instead of a 4.0 or a 3.92. It creates a ridiculous amount of unneeded documentation to receive a reward that students didn’t want in the first place, yet with no other option, students begrudgingly apply for this award.
Senior Paige Childers felt very strongly about her view that the medallion, “Favors rich people that have money to do stuff outside of school vs. poor people who lose an opportunity.”
Childers believes students who do not have the time or the ability to participate in extra-curricular activities in and outside of school lose out on the ability to receive this award. Childers also said the replacement “makes me feel like there is no point in trying because you’re telling me that what I did and what I worked for doesn’t matter anymore because I was able to do other things.”
Childers would have received Valedictorian status for maintaining her outstanding 4.0 GPA through her four years of high school.
It is not right to implement this award on the class out 2018, as seniors from the beginning have been misinformed of what the award is and have lost out on a traditional and prestigious title that is actually recognized and understood outside of MCPS.
The first draft stated “We invite you to sign on to an exciting four years of challenging work.”
With the fact that this award has changed during our four years at Sentinel, it is not right to apply it to our class as we did not have the full time to attain it. This award should have been put into effect with the newest incoming freshman class after it had been finalized, not on to the senior class that had already been attending the school for two years.
Furthermore, even if the School Board wanted to implement a new award such as the Medallion Pledge, why then must valedictorian be removed? Why cannot both titles be recognized? What harm is there with retaining a nationally recognized title earned for achieving a high grade point average?
While not only covering a controversial and hot button issue at Sentinel, I was able to get the opinions of Seniors and express a few of my own. With my initial research being conducted online and through a few documents, I was also able to back up my information with a one-on-one interview with our schools Principal Ted Fuller.
ted_fuller_medallion.mp3 | |
File Size: | 10115 kb |
File Type: | mp3 |
With this package I was able to contact the owner and day-to-day operator to set up an interview for our broadcasting program. My group came in and shot all of our shots on location and interviewed one of their managers about the business' history and how they run the restaurant. The evidence was verified with the owner and assembled into a package the following week.
SHS Grad Rates Best in Montana AA - Konah 2017-18
Aston Kinsella
Editor-in-Chief
Once again Sentinel High School leads the pack in graduation rates for the state.
The Montana Office of Public Instruction recently released statewide statistics showing Sentinel sits above the AA schools’ leaderboard with a 90.3 percent graduation rate, a 1.8 percent higher rate than the second place Billings Skyview.
“When you consider this data in light of our other high performance metrics--dual credit, AA Cup extra-curricular performance, ACT achievement, AP programs--there is no question that Sentinel remains the highest performing comprehensive AA high school in Montana,” Principal Ted Fuller said.
Locally, Big Sky and Hellgate ranked tenth and eleventh, with 82.9 percent and 82.7 percent graduation rates, respectively, of the 14 AA schools in Montana.
“I could not be more proud of the work of our staff. Achievement of this sort is not an accident, coincidence, or an aberration,” Fuller said.
According to OPI, in 2017, the average graduation rate for Montana was 85.8 percent.
Missoula County’s graduation rate was 86 percent, Flathead County’s was 87 percent, and Ravalli County boasted a nearly 92 percent four-year graduation rate.
Editor-in-Chief
Once again Sentinel High School leads the pack in graduation rates for the state.
The Montana Office of Public Instruction recently released statewide statistics showing Sentinel sits above the AA schools’ leaderboard with a 90.3 percent graduation rate, a 1.8 percent higher rate than the second place Billings Skyview.
“When you consider this data in light of our other high performance metrics--dual credit, AA Cup extra-curricular performance, ACT achievement, AP programs--there is no question that Sentinel remains the highest performing comprehensive AA high school in Montana,” Principal Ted Fuller said.
Locally, Big Sky and Hellgate ranked tenth and eleventh, with 82.9 percent and 82.7 percent graduation rates, respectively, of the 14 AA schools in Montana.
“I could not be more proud of the work of our staff. Achievement of this sort is not an accident, coincidence, or an aberration,” Fuller said.
According to OPI, in 2017, the average graduation rate for Montana was 85.8 percent.
Missoula County’s graduation rate was 86 percent, Flathead County’s was 87 percent, and Ravalli County boasted a nearly 92 percent four-year graduation rate.
This news article featured information form our Principal and the latest statistics from the Office of Public Instruction. All information was gathered in an interview and e-mail chain with our schools's principal.
This interview was set up with one of Flying Squirrel's managers and researched with the company's official website to verify the information given in the interview. All shots were filmed on site the day of the video interview and broadcast a week later on SpartanTV.
SHS's Own Makes Olympics: Darian Stevens to Compete in Slopestyle - Konah 2017-2018
Aston Kinsella
Editor-in-Chief
In 2012, Darian Stevens walked the halls of Sentinel High School as a sophomore before moving to Park City, Utah to train full time. In two weeks, she will be walking onto the biggest stage of her life--the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Stevens, 21, got the call last week that she will represent the United States in Women’s Slopestyle Skiing, an event she missed out on four years ago by one place.
Stevens’ mother tells her she first clipped into a pair of skis at three years old, but Stevens says she first loved skiing when she began competing at age 8. Although she competed locally and nationally until high school, she didn’t decide to pursue the sport full time until her sophomore year, when she relocated to Park City to train.
“Skiing became more than a sport for me when I had been competing a couple years and could start to imagine a career in it,” Stevens said. “I started pursuing Slopestyle skiing full time when I was 15 years old. I left my family and friends when I was 16, halfway through my sophomore year at Sentinel. It was really hard on me at the time. I had to learn how to accept that I was no longer a regular high school student. I wanted to be with my friends a lot of the time and just be normal, but now looking back on it, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
In Utah, Stevens did most of her schooling online, until her senior year when she attended a school in Park City during the summer in order to ski during the winter.
“At the time I felt like I missed out on a lot of cool things like dances, and football games, and just making friends and memories. I missed my friends a lot and would always feel the fear of missing out while I was in Utah and my friends were doing cool stuff in Montana,” she said.
However, she does admit leaving home forced her to grow up faster than most, and helped her to find her independence by living away from her parents.
“I learned to cook dinner for myself, plan my own days with skiing and workouts, and just kinda make my own decisions,” Stevens said.
Fast-forward six years, and the decision to leave home has paid off. For the last year, her eyes have been on the Olympic stage. Starting with Olympic camps in Mammoth, Cali. last spring, training returned to Park City at the gym and at the new air bag jump throughout the summer.
Before the ski resorts in the U.S. opened for the season, the team traveled to Europe to ski in Switzerland and Austria for about a month in early fall.
“As of now, I am back in Park City and hitting the gym,” she said.
It takes a certain determination to make the Olympic squad, especially having missed the team four years ago by one place.
Teams are determined after athletes compete in five qualifying events, with the top four athletes as determined by points, making the final cut. Four years ago, Stevens took fifth place, just missing the chance to compete in the Olympics.
“I was completely heartbroken after missing the last Olympics and it took me a really long time to come back from it, but eventually I figured out a way to use it as motivation,” Stevens said. “I figured out that I needed to stop dwelling on the past and focus on the present and what I should be doing to be the best skier I can be so I don’t miss out on the next ones.”
Stevens also found motivation in her competitive spirit, and the desire to prove to herself and everyone else that she could do it.
“I think what motivated me each day to train again was just coming back from a huge hardship in my life and knowing that I wanted to be better. There was definitely a time when I almost quit, but I also knew that I wasn’t going to until I was going to the Olympics. I couldn’t quit.”
Stevens credits her family for being supportive of her dreams.
“My brother (Thomas Stevens, SHS ‘17), pushed me a lot when I was growing up because we were both so competitive that everything was a contest,” Stevens said. “My dad was kind of the same way when I was growing up. He wanted me to be the best I could be at anything we were doing. He taught me to not sell myself short and always do my best.
“My mom was just always so supportive of what I was doing and has helped me out a lot physically, mentally, and financially with skiing. They motivate me in the way that I want to make them proud.”
And we can’t forget the hill she grew up on.
“Although I currently ski the terrain park, and Snowbowl doesn’t have one, I couldn’t be any luckier with where I grew up. The terrain at Snowbowl is amazing, probably some of the best days of skiing I’ve had anywhere, and I’ve traveled all over the world to different resorts. Growing up at Snowbowl taught me to actually ski,” she said.
As for the Olympics, Stevens is just excited to be going, and plans to treat the event like any other.
“I definitely hope to do well at the Olympics, but I’m trying to just think of it as another contest. I am most looking forward to just taking everything in. I’ve watched the Olympics since I was a little kid and I’m just so excited to get to do everything there like opening ceremonies and see other events,” she said.
The Women’s Slopestyle events begin Feb. 17 and will be aired on NBC.
Editor-in-Chief
In 2012, Darian Stevens walked the halls of Sentinel High School as a sophomore before moving to Park City, Utah to train full time. In two weeks, she will be walking onto the biggest stage of her life--the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Stevens, 21, got the call last week that she will represent the United States in Women’s Slopestyle Skiing, an event she missed out on four years ago by one place.
Stevens’ mother tells her she first clipped into a pair of skis at three years old, but Stevens says she first loved skiing when she began competing at age 8. Although she competed locally and nationally until high school, she didn’t decide to pursue the sport full time until her sophomore year, when she relocated to Park City to train.
“Skiing became more than a sport for me when I had been competing a couple years and could start to imagine a career in it,” Stevens said. “I started pursuing Slopestyle skiing full time when I was 15 years old. I left my family and friends when I was 16, halfway through my sophomore year at Sentinel. It was really hard on me at the time. I had to learn how to accept that I was no longer a regular high school student. I wanted to be with my friends a lot of the time and just be normal, but now looking back on it, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
In Utah, Stevens did most of her schooling online, until her senior year when she attended a school in Park City during the summer in order to ski during the winter.
“At the time I felt like I missed out on a lot of cool things like dances, and football games, and just making friends and memories. I missed my friends a lot and would always feel the fear of missing out while I was in Utah and my friends were doing cool stuff in Montana,” she said.
However, she does admit leaving home forced her to grow up faster than most, and helped her to find her independence by living away from her parents.
“I learned to cook dinner for myself, plan my own days with skiing and workouts, and just kinda make my own decisions,” Stevens said.
Fast-forward six years, and the decision to leave home has paid off. For the last year, her eyes have been on the Olympic stage. Starting with Olympic camps in Mammoth, Cali. last spring, training returned to Park City at the gym and at the new air bag jump throughout the summer.
Before the ski resorts in the U.S. opened for the season, the team traveled to Europe to ski in Switzerland and Austria for about a month in early fall.
“As of now, I am back in Park City and hitting the gym,” she said.
It takes a certain determination to make the Olympic squad, especially having missed the team four years ago by one place.
Teams are determined after athletes compete in five qualifying events, with the top four athletes as determined by points, making the final cut. Four years ago, Stevens took fifth place, just missing the chance to compete in the Olympics.
“I was completely heartbroken after missing the last Olympics and it took me a really long time to come back from it, but eventually I figured out a way to use it as motivation,” Stevens said. “I figured out that I needed to stop dwelling on the past and focus on the present and what I should be doing to be the best skier I can be so I don’t miss out on the next ones.”
Stevens also found motivation in her competitive spirit, and the desire to prove to herself and everyone else that she could do it.
“I think what motivated me each day to train again was just coming back from a huge hardship in my life and knowing that I wanted to be better. There was definitely a time when I almost quit, but I also knew that I wasn’t going to until I was going to the Olympics. I couldn’t quit.”
Stevens credits her family for being supportive of her dreams.
“My brother (Thomas Stevens, SHS ‘17), pushed me a lot when I was growing up because we were both so competitive that everything was a contest,” Stevens said. “My dad was kind of the same way when I was growing up. He wanted me to be the best I could be at anything we were doing. He taught me to not sell myself short and always do my best.
“My mom was just always so supportive of what I was doing and has helped me out a lot physically, mentally, and financially with skiing. They motivate me in the way that I want to make them proud.”
And we can’t forget the hill she grew up on.
“Although I currently ski the terrain park, and Snowbowl doesn’t have one, I couldn’t be any luckier with where I grew up. The terrain at Snowbowl is amazing, probably some of the best days of skiing I’ve had anywhere, and I’ve traveled all over the world to different resorts. Growing up at Snowbowl taught me to actually ski,” she said.
As for the Olympics, Stevens is just excited to be going, and plans to treat the event like any other.
“I definitely hope to do well at the Olympics, but I’m trying to just think of it as another contest. I am most looking forward to just taking everything in. I’ve watched the Olympics since I was a little kid and I’m just so excited to get to do everything there like opening ceremonies and see other events,” she said.
The Women’s Slopestyle events begin Feb. 17 and will be aired on NBC.
This article was featured in the Feb. 1, 2018 edition of the Konah. The interview was conducted through e-mail with Stevens and her mother over two days. Stevens, being a Sentinel alum, felt happy to share her story with me as we featured her in our paper. Information was verified with school attendance records, and by available information through public records.