An Illinois student has the highest GPA in his class but school officials say he won’t be awarded the top spot of valedictorian because of a rule no one’s ever heard of.
Ladarius Sapho has the best grades at Proviso East High School and wants recognition for his hard work, but says school officials are standing in his way.
“I have to be the best. Myself and me. I have to be the best I can be,” Sapho told Fox 32 News.
His determination to be the best earned the 18 year old a 4.135 GPA, an above perfect average which reflects the number of honors courses Sapho matriculated through during his time in high school.
“I was gonna be number one, valedictorian of 2014. I was going to be giving the speech at graduation,” said Sapho.
That all changed when Sapho and the salutatorian were brought into the principal’s office and told that they couldn’t take top honors because they were transfer students. Principal Tony Valente told them that since they began at the school as sophomores, they were both disqualified.
“You’re gonna tell me just two weeks before graduation? I had a speech ready, I was ready to give this speech, practicing and he tells me I can’t be number one,” said Sapho.
Antoinette Gray, a community advocate, says the policy to which Principal Valente is referring doesn’t even exist.
“There is no policy,” said Gray. “They have been asked not once, but two or three times to produce that written policy. And the reason that was given by Tony Valente, the school principal, was that it was his discretion to make that decision.”
The graduation is scheduled for Saturday but Sapho hopes that by then, the school will have reversed its decision.
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