Parents and students at Cherokee County’s Etowah High School are upset that the coveted title of class valedictorian will go to a student who has never attended the school.
Class rankings made public this week gave the honor to Kelly McCahill, who attends the University of West Georgia through a dual enrollment program at Etowah.
McCahill took the No. 1 ranking — and hence the title of valedictorian — from Sydney Perlotto, an Etowah student who has been tops in her class since the ninth grade.
This sparked an outcry over how the grade-point averages are calculated for students who are dually enrolled in the county’s high school and college programs.
At Etowah, Perlotto’s classmates have aired their protests on a Facebook page they’ve labeled “Team Sydney.” They’ve also circulated a petition, asking that county policy declare the school’s valedictorian and salutatorian be required to attend the school for some period between their freshman and senior years.
“It’s just not fair at all,” said Kaleigh Cooper, organizer of the petition drive. “We didn’t grow up with [McCahill]. We grew up with Sydney, and she’s done so much with the school.”
On Thursday night, the Cherokee County school board discussed a possible policy change to lessen the chances that students enrolled in college courses have an advantage over students taking advanced placement classes. Another board discussion will be held in March, followed by a vote.
“The real problem here is that colleges refuse to give number grades and that hamstrings the school system,” said Superintendent Frank R. Petruzielo, adding that the current policy has been in place for 10 years and this is the first inequity issue raised.
The controversy continues, in part, because a school valedictorian is a much bigger deal than just giving a speech at graduation. The title can open doors to scholarships and push a student’s name to the top of the college application pile.
Until lawmakers slashed the state budget last year, the governor had money to offer a college scholarship to any high school valedictorian who attended a public or private college, in hopes of keeping the best and brightest in state.
In Gwinnett County, private businesses traditionally do the same for the school system’s valedictorians, said Jorge Quintana, school system spokesman.
Perlotto said Thursday she was really shocked to learn that she’d lost her No. 1 ranking and the chance to be valedictorian.
“I just tried to work my hardest,” she said, fighting back tears. Particularly painful, she said, was that it happened in the second semester of her senior year.
Mark Perlotto, Sydney’s father, said the school system is sending the wrong message.
“They’re saying the way to be an outstanding student, which is the definition of the valedictorian, is to never attend class there, never take any instruction there and never set foot on campus for any of the activities,” he said.
McCahill attended other public schools in Cherokee County, but not Etowah, her mother said. She lives on campus at West Georgia, although she’s enrolled at the Woodstock high school. She’s felt a backlash since she was identified as the newly installed valedictorian.
“People are really angry at me,” she said.
McCahill has been warned that dead animals might turn up at her door and her boyfriend’s brother has been pulled out of class at Etowah and yelled at over what’s happened, she said.
“It’s very hurtful,” said Patty McCahill, Kelly’s mother. “People who were supposedly her friends for years can’t be happy for her. She’s taking advantage of an opportunity everyone has access to.”
Kelly McCahill said it’s an uncomfortable situation she hopes can be resolved.
“All I want is to be respected for my hard work and not take anything away from the other girl,” she said.
McCahill is hoping to talk with school administrators about a potential compromise. Mark Perlotto, however, said he expects his daughter to be salutatorian at graduation.
Not every county calculates the grade-point average for students in its dual enrollment program in the same manner. In Cherokee County, students in regular high school classes receive numerical grades. Yet students who take college courses receive letter grades, and the system usually assigns the highest credit possible, which is an inequity that might emerge.
Etowah parent Patricia Emery said her daughter Megan would have ranked second among juniors this year if not for the difference in the grading systems.
“As the way it stands now, sadly no matter how hard Megan tries to succeed and maintain her A’s while taking the hardest classes offered at EHS, next year she will not have a chance to be valedictorian or salutatorian,” Emery said. “As she said last night, ‘If you know the result of the race, why even run it?’ What does that say for our grading system?”
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