Administrative Guidelines of Dearborn Public Schools are as follows:
5431 – SELECTION OF VALEDICTORIAN AND SALUTATORIAN
The selection of valedictorian and salutatorian will be the responsibility of each individual high school.
- The valedictorian designation shall be the student who has the highest cumulative grade point average (8 Semesters)
- Must have earned their last 11 credits in Dearborn Public Schools and have attended a minimum of one year at their graduating high school
- The salutatorian shall be the student with the second highest cumulative grade point average (8 Semesters)
- Any disciplinary issue dealing with academic honesty will disqualify a student (including but not limited to cheating and/or plagiarism)
- No one may be valedictorian or salutatorian if they receive any major discipline in junior or senior year (Out of School Suspension of 2 or more days)
- In the instance of a tie, students will be awarded a designation as co-valedictorian or co-salutatorian
- The Valedictorian and Salutatorian give a 2-3 minute speech at Senior Honors Ceremony but do NOT automatically speak at graduation
Some form of recognition should be granted to both individuals during the Honors Night and the graduation ceremony beyond the designation in the printed program. Such recognition may take the form of being a student speaker, sitting on the stage, leading the pledge to the flag, standing and being introduced by the principal during their remarks to the audience, noting the student’s achievements during their high school career, etc.
Graduation Speakers: Selection of Edsel Ford High School’s “At Large” Speaker
It is the policy of the Dearborn Schools to encourage the involvement of as many students as possible in both the Honors Night and graduation ceremony. Therefore, selection of student speakers should not be confined only to those students with academic honors. Some high schools have class officers speak, others hold a competition for student speakers from the senior class. Methods of selection of students to represent the student body on the program is the prerogative of each high school. Each school has a similar selection process including an audition and faculty panel.
- The Class President speaks at graduation for 2-3 minutes
- An additional “at large” graduation speaker is selected by a panel of teachers using a rubric
- The “at large” graduation senior does not have to be from the top 5 students; it is open to all graduating seniors in good standing
- A minimum of five staff members and one administrator will serve on the selection committee
- The committee will use a rubric for the selection process
- Interested seniors submit a speech (5 minutes or less) by deadline
- A panel of five teachers read the speeches and rate them (the names are removed so that there will be no bias)
- After the panel selects the top three, they are presented to administration for final approval of the appropriateness of content
- The Principal then meets with the finalist and informs him/her that he/she will speak at graduation.