G-CHS to host forums on a new honors system that would diminish competition among students

GREENFIELD — The traditional class ranking system based on grade point average may soon be a thing of the past at Greenfield-Central High School, where school leaders are considering using a Latin Honors system instead.

Latin Honors systems award students the distinction of cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude based on their academic achievements rather than distinguishing the two students with the highest GPAs as valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.

Parents were notified of the potential change late last year and were invited to two public forums on the topic — one to be held at the high school Feb. 10 and another to be held virtually Feb. 15.

The high school currently ranks students by their grade point average (GPA), recognizing a valedictorian and salutatorian, as well as the top 10 ranked students each year.

To compete for the top honors, high-achieving students sometimes seek out the most weighted college-level classes to boost their GPA.

In addition to distinguishing high-achieving students by cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude, based on their GPAs, some Latin Honors systems also factor in students’ community service and extracurricular activities.

Jason Cary, principal at Greenfield-Central High School, said the Latin Honors system benefits students by taking the competitive edge out of the equation, encouraging students to select classes based on what truly interests them rather than how they’ll affect their GPA.

Kennedy Trapp, who was Greenfield-Central High School’s valedictorian last year, thinks that an honors system that takes into account community service and extracurricular activities is a great idea.

“It makes people not only focused on school but on community services and character development,” she said.

Trapp recalls wanting to be her high school’s valedictorian from a young age, pushing herself to succeed throughout high school. Ironically, she was in a race for the top spot with her twin sister, Kambell Trapp, who finished as salutatorian.

The two are now roommates at Purdue University, where they’re both studying biomedical health sciences.

Kendall Trapp said Greenfield-Central’s GPA-based ranking system pushed her to excel throughout high school, but a Latin Honors system would have likely taken some of the pressure off.

“The ranking system pushed me to work harder because I always wanted to graduate at number one, but it did put a lot of pressure on me. I had to be perfect,” she said. “A Latin Honor system sounds like it would help students develop as a person while still working towards a good GPA, without having so much pressure to be perfect throughout school.”

Cary said the Latin Honors system is far from a new concept; colleges and universities have been using it for years. High schools in Indianapolis, Carmel, Westfield, Fishers, Noblesville, Yorktown and Logansport have shifted to some type of a Latin Honors system when it comes to class rank, he said.

In Hancock County, Eastern Hancock, Mt. Vernon and New Palestine high schools all use a GPA-based class rank system.

Kim Kile, director of counseling at Greenfield-Central High School, is in favor of implementing the change to a Latin Honors system at the school.

“Education at the high school level should be about students exploring their academic passions, learning new and challenging material, and strengthening students’ skill sets for the next steps they’ll take after graduation,” she said.

“When schools utilize a class rank system, they set up an unnecessary competition between students for the top GPA and highest rank, instead of creating cooperative learning environments where students can take the classes they need for their individual future needs.”

Kile said Greenfield-Central’s Cougar Leadership and administrative teams have recognized the issue and have found the better way to honor students’ academic achievements is to allow students to set their own academic goals.

Doing so gives them the freedom to take the classes they want to meet those goals, she said, and to have the opportunity to work toward whatever degree of Latin honor they want.

“Outside of academia, there are no valedictorians, but there is a need for people to work and learn cooperatively while challenging themselves to meet their personal goals, and that is what the Latin Honors system does for us,” said Kile.

Cary said the high school staff has been examining the district’s grading practices for the last year or two, and first presented the Latin Honors system to the school board in November.

“During our last professional development session this fall, the speaker mentioned Latin Honors and why it is a better system than a traditional class rank system like we use. The teachers really felt like this was a great idea that we should explore, and so we are,” he said last week.

Cary is looking forward to sharing the district’s findings with parents at the upcoming public forums. If the reception is positive, the next step would be to present the findings to the school board and, if accepted, determine a timeline to implement the change.

“We hope to make the presentation to those (at the public forums) to give them some background on what Latin Honors might look like and gather their input. It is a very popular idea with our staff, and I think it could be something really special for our kids and our community,” said Cary, who is speaking not only as a principal, but as a parent.

“As someone who has two boys that this might affect, I think it is a much better system than the one we currently use,” he said.

According to an email Cary sent to Greenfield-Central parents detailing the Latin Honors system, “many high schools in Central Indiana have switched to a Latin Honors system and they are extremely happy with the change.”

The email stated that:

—The school’s current ranking system creates a competitive environment between students to achieve a rank.

—It fosters a climate of taking as many upper-level classes as possible to receive a weighted grade and not selecting classes based on students’ individual interests or future aspirations.

—We want to foster a collaborative environment based on love for learning, and moving to a system where students work towards their own academic goals without worrying about the grades of their peers allows students to focus on the learning experience rather than the numerical outcome.

The email also shared that “no two schools use the same system, so we would have plenty of examples to study if we decide to move in this direction.”

 

Parents of Greenfield-Central High School students, including next year’s incoming freshmen, are invited to discuss the high school’s proposal to switch from the current GPA-based class ranking system to a new Latin Honors system.

The new system would award students for their academic accomplishments based on their GPA, possibly taking into account extra-curricular activities and community service as well.

Students within certain GPA parameters would be awarded distinctions of cum laude, magna cum laude or summa cum laude, rather than honoring students by class rank.

Public forums to discuss the matter are open to all Greenfield-Central parents, students and community members.

The first will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 10 in the high school auditorium. The second will be held virtually starting at 7 p.m. Feb. 15.

Those who wish to log into the virtual forum should email high school principal Jason Cary at [email protected].