Graduating with Honors

The Valedictorian and Salutatorian are selected each year from the graduating class. The Valedictorian ranks first in GPA and is considered the top student of their class; the salutatorian ranks second in GPA and is considered the second highest student in their class. Students with a GPA of 90.0 or higher by the time of graduation will receive a special cord to wear at the graduation ceremony and will be acknowledged in the program.


The Valedictorian and Salutatorian will be determined by the GPA of the students at the mid-semester mark of spring semester before graduation. The mid-semester mark will be the date of the student-led conferences, which typically take place in April. The valedictorian and salutatorian must have been a student for ESA for 2 or more years.
If a student transfers from another school, their grades from their previous school(s) will be calculated into the overall GPA.
If students’ GPAs are within 0.10 points of each other, the school may award the titles of valedictorian and salutatorian to multiple candidates.