Top Notch, Second Spot

At first read, I was ready to pounce on how unfair this seems ...

Grapevine High School senior Anjali Datta holds the highest grade-point average of the 471 students graduating from Grapevine High School this year.

In fact, Grapevine-Colleyville ISD officials believe her GPA of 5.898 may be the highest in the high school's history.

It's still not enough to make her the valedictorian, which brings a one-year college scholarship from the state.

Her closest competitor's GPA is 5.64. No one disputes that she's the top student in her class numerically. The problem rests with another number entirely.

Anjali rocketed through high school in only three years.

But a school district policy states: "The valedictorian shall be the eligible student with the highest weighted grade-point average for four years of high school."

The dispute over Anjali's status as valedictorian comes down to interpretation: Does four years mean calendar years of school attendance or does it mean completing the credits it takes most students four years to earn?

However, what I think that a lot of these new, competitive and high achieving students need to learn is that high school, and school in general, is not just about grades, being the best and finishing the fastest. High school is a journey that normally takes four years. Each year has meaning and senior year is the culmination. Kids who've spent four years together in classes, at sports events and at parties will end their childhood with a prom and a graduation. The student who endures this right of passage by completing Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior years and has the highest GPA gets to stand before his/her peers and present them with an inspiring message that will take them into the next phase of their lives.

There will always be students who hate school and want to get out as fast as they can. Some drop out and get a GED and some complete all requirements and get an early diploma. Many forfeit the festivities of senior year because they really aren't interested in being a part of them - particularly since they will not be graduating with the students they entered high school with. Yes, Miss Anjali finished the race first but she skipped the journey and the journey is what high school is all about.