Parents and students press Astoria SD 1 board over proposed valedictorian, GPA changes

Parents, students and other community members told the Astoria School District board during public comment that proposed changes to graduation honors need more study and clearer safeguards. A parent who identified herself as Madison said lowering the valedictorian threshold from the highest GPA to 3.95 "really felt like a slap in the face" to students who had worked under prior rules.

Madison described concerns about dual‑enrollment coursework counting against high‑school honors, saying a local community‑college class taken by her child provided "no syllabus" and "no grades were given until the final term," leaving students unclear about how those credits would affect their GPA. "Parents have very little oversight and control over the quality, the structure, and the instructional expectations of those classes," she said, urging the board to exclude non‑graduation college coursework from honors calculations.

Board members and staff did not record a formal vote on the policy at the meeting. The public comment period included requests that the board consider retroactive impacts on current students and provide clearer rules for how dual‑credit and community‑college classes will be counted when calculating graduation awards.

The board heard student voices at the meeting, including valedictorians and student representatives who described senior projects and other end‑of‑year activities. Board members thanked the students and said they appreciated the perspectives brought forward. No final action on the valedictorian policy was taken; the item is expected to return for further review at a future meeting.