Jericho High School Sets Record With 21 Valedictorians
Jericho High School in Long Island has 21 valedictorians in this year’s graduating class, breaking the school record. Every one of the 21 finished four years of high school with straight A+'s in every class.
Principal Brian Cummings said the group includes National Merit Scholars and musicians at the highest level. The school says its valedictorian list is calculated using unweighted letter grades, which means students could technically earn A+'s without taking honors classes under that system.
Jericho High School Valedictorians
Most of the valedictorians did take honors and courses. Riya Shah said, “It was hard. There were many nights where I wondered why I was putting myself through this.” Shah has been accepted to Princeton, while Franklin Lee is headed to Stanford.
Lee said, “The plane schedules could be a little chaotic, and like maybe I could fix that,” when talking about his plans. Amneet Kaur is headed to Georgetown and said, “I wanna be a lawyer,” while Harnoor Joneja, also headed to Georgetown, said, “I’m a global health major in their school of health,”
Brian Cummings On Graduation
Cummings said, “We have National Merit Scholars; we have musicians at the highest level,” describing the class. Kevin Liu said, “By getting my SAT done within sophomore year, I didn't have the same level of stress,” and Kaur added, “You just really need to build yourself a strong support system,” offering advice to younger students.
The school cannot have 21 valedictorian speeches at graduation, so the record comes with a practical limit on how the recognition will play out that day. For students at Jericho High School, the result is a classwide honor that still leaves each graduate headed toward a different college path.
