Varsity Learners : Academics: Letters, traditionally reserved for athletes, will now be given to outstanding students at Saugus High School.

Mike von Buelow remembers slaving for good grades in high school and being annoyed that there was little recognition for academic excellence.

“You put so much time and effort and you set your priorities for academics and you work and work and nobody notices,” said von Buelow, now principal of Saugus High School.

So starting this spring, his remedy is to reward Saugus High students with varsity letters, not for whacking balls out of the park or slam-dunking basketballs but for winning top grades.

“We wanted to let them know that achieving academically gives them a much better chance of being successful than excelling only in extracurricular activities,” said von Buelow, who worked on the idea for more than a year with faculty and parents. “We wanted to come up with something to tell the students that we and the parents are very proud of their academic performances.”

Susie Lange, press secretary for state Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig, said few schools award academic letters, but the idea “is something we applaud.”

“Clearly our society has been sending students mixed messages,” Lange said. “You’re supposed to do well in school, but everybody who does well is made fun of--the smart student is a nerd--and athletes get all the attention.”

Saugus students will qualify for scholastic letters by making a 3.6 grade point average--an A-minus average--or by participating in academically oriented competitions for at least two semesters. Similar to those awarded to athletes, the block-style letter “S” will be light blue, bearing a symbolic torch of learning.

More than 100 of the 2,000 students are expected to get academic letters this spring, after filling out applications for them, he said. He expects about 150 to qualify, but some will miss the deadline and “some will be a little too shy” to apply, he said.

Junior Ronnie Mimran, an athlete whose grades qualify him for a letter, said he favors the idea because students who do not excel in sports due to handicaps will be recognized.

Students with good grades sometimes get rewards, usually scholarships, he said, but scholastic letters will reinforce the importance of learning. “It’s a way of getting your priorities straight.”

A few schools, such as nearby Canyon High School, also give their top students letters, school jackets, medallions or pins. Saugus’ letters will be given out each semester.

Not everyone on the faculty is happy with the idea. “If we started giving letters for people in academics, before you know it, the importance of athletic letters will be diminished,” said the school’s head basketball coach, John Clark.

“I’m an advocate of academic work, and we really stress academics with our basketball players,” he said.

Clark said he is not totally against rewarding academic achievers with letters, but “there are other ways to recognize academic success. The letter is a traditional athletic kind of reward, and it’s been around for 100 years.”

Linda Forsyth, a consultant at the state Department of Education, said some educators criticize rewarding academic achievers as “elitist.” She finds that laughable, she said, when schools interrupt class so students can witness athletic award ceremonies.

“It’s a hot issue, this business of rewarding kids who have extraordinary production in academic and creative areas,” she said, but letters provide “a legitimate, institutionalized recognition to yet another area of excellence” in addition to athletics.

Buelow said students told him that they would study harder for letters and hope that this, combined with other programs, will be an incentive for B students to push for higher grades.

But one 11th-grader said she is not excited about letter recognitions.

“It doesn’t mean anything, it’s nothing big,” said C student Mariza Scoglio.

She expects the same reaction from her friends and said that only “the people who get good grades” will like the program.