Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Saugus High Drops Valedictorian and Salutatorian Recognition : Education: Officials decided that making a fuss over honors students at graduation created too many problems. But some youths are disappointed.

The pressure from one student’s parents to graduate at the top of his high school class was so great he became suicidal. Two girls who were best friends since kindergarten turned into bitter enemies trying to outrank the other.

Saugus High School officials cite such incidents to partly explain why they have decided to eliminate valedictorian, salutatorian and top 10 honors for students beginning with this year’s June 22 graduation ceremony. Moreover, many students have taken some classes strictly to raise their grade point average, rather than pursuing subjects that truly interest them.

“We found that it was a tradition that we didn’t think had enough positives,” Saugus Principal Cheryl Brown said.

All students earning a 3.75 or higher GPA will be recognized as honors students during the graduation ceremony, Brown added. She said the policy was developed last year after consulting counselors and faculty members.

But Brad Bjelke, 18, who expected to finish at the top of his Saugus High class this year with a 4.44 grade point average, said he has been disappointed by the policy change ever since last year, when he heard it was being considered.

“I felt it was pretty much an injustice, but now that the time (for graduation) is coming up even closer, I really feel cheated,” he said. “I worked hard and put in all that effort for four years and I’m not even getting recognized.”

Bjelke, captain of the school’s tennis team and a participant in numerous other school activities, said he has never felt undue pressure to achieve high grades or taken classes he didn’t like just to boost his GPA.

Most public schools name their top-ranked senior as valedictorian and second-ranked student as salutatorian. All 49 comprehensive high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District honor valedictorians “to the best of my knowledge,” said Grace Strauther, an administrator for the senior high division of the district.

Bill Vasey, a high school education consultant for the California Department of Education, said it is not known how many schools have elected not to make such distinctions.

William S. Hart High School, the only other Santa Clarita school with such a policy, has skipped designating such ranks for many years.

Students at Saugus High had mixed reactions to the decision. Angela Quadra and Esther Kim, friends who are 18-year-old seniors ranked in the top 20 of their class, took opposite viewpoints.

“We’re in the top 20 and we work as hard as the valedictorian, so I think we all deserve recognition,” Kim said.

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Quadra agreed all of the top students work hard, “but if (a student) works to the point where (he or she) is No. 1, then that’s the recognition they deserve.”

Eliminating official recognition of a school’s top student won’t necessarily eliminate the competition to finish first, said Jennifer Bernsdorf, 17, this year’s salutatorian at Canyon High School. She said many students, especially those finishing near the top, know among themselves who received the highest grades.

“Whether I’m first or second or third doesn’t matter,” she added. “The top four of us have known each other since junior high school and there’s never been a problem” with competition.

Grades are only part of getting into college, Bernsdorf added. She said aptitude test scores and extra-curricular activities are also vital.

Pressure to finish at the top of the class has always been a problem for some students, said Fred Fels, a counselor at Saugus High for the past 18 years. But he said the pressure has seemed to increase in the past few years.

“The game-playing has been phenomenal to maneuver into top 10 positions, or into the number one and two positions,” he said. “Students would take less difficult classes to attain a top 10 ranking, or take classes off campus to allow their grade point average to increase.”

The emotional impact on many was extreme, including one student who began talking about suicide, Fels said.

“Such pressure placed on this individual by his parents that unless he achieved number-one status he was, for all intents and purposes, shunned by his parents,” he said.

Brown said finishing with a 4.0 grade point average--the equivalent of straight A’s in normal classes--isn’t enough for many students since an “A” in an advanced placement or honors class is worth five points instead of four. As a result, she said, many students select the advanced classes over subjects they are often more interested in.

“We felt it was unfortunate because we have a lot of good, relevant classes,” she added.

Times correspondent Douglas Alger contributed to this story.