From middle school on, students receive a report that defines the entirety of their academics into a single number. This creates the perception that their educational journey is decided by GPA and the only way to succeed is to inflate it as much as possible. By only considering GPA, the process of deciding valedictorian at Wheeling Park, along with class ranks encourages this kind of thinking. When a student is reduced to a number, what truly makes them extraordinary is overlooked. The best way to convey this is not by giving a long drawn out explanation, but by showcasing students who refuse to let GPA dictate their educational journey.
“I think we need to take a closer look at and honor students who are doing things that are ultimately better for their own learning and development as future citizens, and better for the school community, said former teacher and former Ohio County Schools Board of Education member, Mrs. Koegler.
Japeth Bayes is president of the Wheeling Park’s FFA program; he has earned many individual and team awards, Including placing first individually for AG mechanics, which requires a variety of skills such as welding and an understanding of engines and electrical processes.
“I have won a couple competitions at the state level. I’ve got first individual at Dairy judging, and we actually won it as a team. I also placed first place individually for AG mechanics. There’s a lot of different aspects going on with that one, whereas the dairy judging one is just looking at dairy cattle, evaluating dairy cattle, giving reasons and talking about why you placed them that way,” said Bayes.
Japeth, through FFA and AG classes, has been able to foster his passion for agriculture and develop the skills he needs for his future goals. By taking advantage of the AG classes at Park he has been able to build an incredible resume.
“I knew I wanted to be involved in agriculture, and FFA has honed my interest and my knowledge of agriculture. It has added to what I’ve learned through the AG classes into a career goal, which is, some sort of livestock or food animal vet for a breeding technician and cattle,” said Bayes.
While Japeth’s FFA achievements are impressive, his ability to communicate with others and make people laugh is unmatched. He contributes the development of his unique social skills to the FFA program which has introduced him to a variety of people both in and out of West Virginia.
“I’m a very social person that likes to have fun, but one thing FFA has taught me is how to hone my social interaction into something productive, like social networking. It also taught me how to straighten up when I need to be, but also, and how to have fun at the same time. I’ve been to Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania for competitions and have met people in each of those places,” said Bayes.
In terms of Ariauna Friend, plays violin and viola for Wheeling Park’s Orchestra. The music department at Park has given her the opportunity to develop a deep appreciation for teaching and music, which she plans to pursue in her future.
“The music department at Wheeling Park School has inspired me to take my passion in music and make it into a career. I want to pursue music education in order to help students of my own just like my teachers helped me,” said Ariauna Friend.
Ariauna has performed at a high level in Park orchestra and she has performed in West Virginia all state orchestra.
“I’ve been a member of the blue group orchestra for four years and a member of the red group, the advanced group, for three years. During that time, I’ve played both the violin and viola. Additionally, I’ve made and performed in the West Virginia All-State orchestra my sophomore and junior year and will be attending this year as well,” said Friend.
Through her involvement in the orchestra Ariauna has nourished a commendable ability to push through obstacles. She feels that music has allowed her to approach challenges with a persistent attitude.
“In music, not everything you play is going to be great on the first try. Music at Park has taught me that I need to work hard in order to get better and to not give up when things are difficult. I wouldn’t be where I am today without participating in and persevering through difficult pieces of music, audition processes, and performing in concerts,” said Friend.
Wyatt Riggle has earned completer status for welding at Wheeling Park, a program that has given him experience working in a simulated work environment. The hands-on aspect of welding has inspired Wyatt and given him an idea of what he wants to pursue for a future career.
“Welding has developed my goals by making me want to strive to pursue a career in a hands-on area,” said Riggle.
Along with the completer title, Wyatt is part of the career and technical honor society. These are both honors he feels will benefit him as he transitions out of high school.
“An important achievement I have in welding is me becoming a completor along with a part of the National Technical Honors Society, which I feel are great resume boosters,” said Riggle.
The hands-on projects he completed in welding class has given Wyatt a positive perspective on learning. With his experience in the welding program, Wyatt has learned to embrace mistakes and the importance of patience.
“An important value that welding has taught me is that you can only get better after multiple mistakes and that practice will make perfect,” said Riggle.
If these students were evaluated solely based on GPA or any other superficial statistic, the activities and achievements they involve themselves in would go unnoticed. Extracurriculars and electives have given these students the opportunity to grow in their perspective fields. With the societal emphasis on GPA, students often feel pressured to forego their interest in unweighted extracurricular classes. Students should be encouraged to branch out and diversify their schedules, so they can get involved in something that they truly love.
Wheeling Park’s administration wants students to take advantage of the many programs the school has.
“As a whole, I believe we work very hard to encourage students to “experience the Park”. We allow our students to build schedules that meet their future plans and are blessed to have such a wide variety of courses to choose,” said Wheeling Park principal, Mrs. Dailer.
The problem is not that the diverse opportunities that Park has to offer are not encouraged or highlighted; the problem lies in the way achievement and awards are often decided. If the goal is for students to “experience the Park,” why are achievement in extracurriculars left out of the conversation when it comes to honors like valedictorian?
“I think if you look at some of our top colleges in the country they are looking for evidence of leadership and well-roundedness in the students. So, why should we not be looking for leadership and well-roundedness, including a strong GPA from the students who we choose to honor,” Mrs. Koegler.
Despite the overall simplicity of ranking students based on GPA, there is not much of an argument for using it as the lone defining factor of academic success. There are effective ways honoring high achieving students while incentivizing them to take advantage of what Park has to offer. This would require that students be evaluated as people rather than numbers and an evaluation system that considers achievements outside of traditional academics.
‘The high school that I went to had a scholar award given and there were some certain criteria around GPA, rigor and variety of courses that you took. Nominations came from the students. Then, there was a panel of teachers and administrators, who interviewed top nominated candidates and ultimately awarded the winner based on the interview process, said Mrs. Koegler.
Just by implementing an interview process and interacting with students would provide a better understanding of what they have truly achieved throughout their high school journey. It would also actively encourage students to take advantage of the many opportunities that Park has to offer.
“I think that it was a really beautiful process because it actually incentivized students, instead of just trying to max out their GPAs, to take on leadership roles if they wanted to be honored and to take on service opportunities”, said Mrs. Koegler.
The achievements of the students spotlighted in this article cannot possibly be represented by numbers. Their participation in extracurriculars have given them skills that they could not have learned in any other class. The question that remains for Wheeling Park is, will the administration and teachers continue to put such an emphasis on GPA, or will they look beyond the numbers?
