Spurred by a question from a school board member in May, Clay Community Schools is seriously considering a change to how it honors the top students at Clay City and Northview high schools.

The board heard a presentation Thursday from Northview High School Principal Chris Mauk, regarding a potential move to the Latin honors system from the current valedictorian-salutatorian model.

The discussion started in the May meeting when board member Charley Jackson commented that with new graduation requirements from the state taking effect, it might be a “golden opportunity” to look in a new direction when it comes to weighted grades, top 10 percent and other matters.

With this direction, Mauk and Clay City Principal Michael Owens researched the matter of the Latin honors system. Owens was unable to be in attendance Thursday for the presentation.

Rather than using class rank to determine honors such as valedictorian, salutatorian or top 10 percent, Latin honors uses grades alone to determine the level of honors a graduate earns, regardless of what others might do. It is the same system used by many colleges and universities, as well as a growing number of high schools.

Latin honors includes three levels of awards, which include Cum Laude (with honors) for GPA 3.5-3.69, Magna Cum Laude (with high honors) for GPA 3.7-3.89 and Summa Cum Laude (with highest honors) for GPA 3.9-4.0.

Mauk noted that this would remove the valedictorian and salutatorian designations from the local schools. In the current system, the student or students with the highest GPA are honored as valedictorian.

“If it’s not a 4.0, it’s pretty dang close,” Mauk said.

The salutatorian is the next student or students in the case of ties.

He noted, however, that the case of just two students being honored is becoming rarer.

“We’ve seen a sharp increase in the last seven years, I’d say, in the number of valedictorians and salutatorians we’ve had,” Mauk said.

In 2025, Northview had six valedictorians, while Clay City had four. If current GPAs hold, the class of 2026 at Northview would feature 11 at Northview and four at Clay City.

“The current number of valedictorians and salutatorians devalues the designation,” Mauk said.

Mauk said that he worries that the need to maintain that 4.0 — which represents straight A’s throughout four years — students may choose to take a less challenging path.

“At the high school, we’re not just preparing them for high school. We’re preparing them for life,” Mauk said. “With the current system, they’re looking for that 4.0. If they’re just doing it by going for watered down classes, they’re not challenging themselves.

“It would help us avoid the gaming of the system by students to help them maintain that highest GPA,” he added. “We’re comparing apples and oranges in some cases, but the students had the same GPA.”

Similar to thoughts expressed by Jackson last month, Mauk noted that starting with the incoming freshmen for 2025-26 could be good timing, as the Indiana Academic Honors Diploma, one requirement for valedictorian or salutatorian, is going away beginning with this class.

He also noted the unhealthy levels of competition that sometimes come with the current system, saying some students express relief when they get their first A-minus, knowing they can just settle in and study without worrying about being valedictorian.

He also said that when Northview teachers were surveyed, 93 percent were in support of the change, noting that there is sometimes parental meddling when a student is at risk of losing that 4.0.

“They don’t want to be the ones responsible for a student not receiving that. That’s what the parents tell them – that the teacher, not the student, is responsible,” Mauk said.

Noting drawbacks to a potential change, Mauk said change is difficult and that breaking tradition is often unpopular.

“We joke at Northview that if we’ve done something one time, it’s tradition,” Mauk said.

He did note that students would still earn class rank.

“They would still be No. 1 in the class. We will still have class rank,” he said. “They just won’t speak at graduation.”

Who speaks at graduation would be open for ideas. It could be class officers or the speaker or speakers could be chosen by the faculty.

Asked point blank about his thoughts, Mauk said that both he and Owens would support the change to Latin honors. He did add, though, that others need to be talked to, such as parents, students and teachers.

“We need to get our stakeholders involved. We need to get our teachers involved,” Mauk said.

The school corporation is on a tight schedule, though, as the change would likely need to be implemented before the class of 2029 starts high school, and just one school board remains before these students begin their freshman year.

While it’s unclear what direction the board might take, at least three board members seem to have some positive feeling about it. Besides Jackson being the person who brought it up, two others spoke positively.

A former school administrator, David Bess said he helped bring the same system to three different school corporations and thought it would be “a very positive move” for Clay Community Schools. He also suggested that weighted grades might be a next step.

For his part, Michael Shaw called the move “a no-brainer.”

It appears the matter will be up for consideration at the next regular school board meeting, which is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 10.

In other business, the board:

• Appointed Kim Kelley as the new principal at East Side Elementary School.

A veteran teacher at the school, Kelley is currently a first-grade teacher.

“I’d like to thank the members of the board and Central Office administration. This is an incredible opportunity,” Kelley said. “I’ve been blessed to call East Side home for 17 years, and I have some pretty big shoes to fill. But we have an incredible staff, amazing students and families, and I’m confident we can keep the momentum going.

A full story on Kelley will be included in an upcoming edition of The Brazil Times.

Shaw, who was part of Kelley’s interview process, told her she “knocked it out of the park.”

“Sometimes you have lightning in a bottle, and you just want to keep it there,” he commented.

Board member Andrea Baysinger congratulated Kelley on the appointment as well, saying it spoke well of her that so many East Side teachers were in attendance.

“I think it says a lot to have your staff here on a Thursday evening in the middle of June,” Baysinger said.

• Heard a school update from North Clay Middle School Principal Bethany Jones, who said, “We had an exciting year, a lot of good things happening.”

Jones presented a video of some of the highlights of the year, but the real treat was having therapy dog Wally, and his handler, school counselor Julia Fritch.

The principal noted the way the mini goldendoodle has positively affected student behavior.

“Kids that have really struggled, you just see a smile come across their face,” Jones said.

Fritch agreed: “The kids say, ‘I love you. I’m going to do well on my test today because of you.’ They’ll say, ‘I came today because I thought you were going to be here, and you are.’”

She went on to note how students follow rules better when the dog is around and how he’s helped a couple of students through panic attacks. One neurodivergent student could particularly relate.

“We did not bring him the last day of school because we have lots of activities that go on. It’s very chaotic, and it’s very loud, and he can get overstimulated. And so I kept him home,” Fritch said. “And we have an eighth-grade student who is on the autism spectrum. He has an IA that walks around with him, and he wears his headphones. He just loved Wally from the moment he met him, and he asked (on the last day) where Wally was. We said, ‘It gets pretty loud, and it can get pretty chaotic the last day.

“And his question was, ‘Oh, does he have autism too?’ It was very neat to hear that coming from him. It was just really lovable.”

Jones also noted the impact on the staff as well

“It has been very beneficial for the students and for the staff,” she said. “He’s just as much a therapy for the staff as he is for the students.”

All school board members were in attendance, with President Tom Reberger, Amy Burke Adams and Cheryl Schopmeyer joining those already named.