Since the grading system has changed at Albert Lea High School, there are no longer valedictorians. This has been replaced, to my understanding, with the rank of summa cum laude, which is achieved by having a grade-point average of 4.0 or higher. Last week there was a listing of these students along with the other honor students.

I found it disappointing that the Tribune didn’t do a feature on these people as they did with valedictorians in the past. There is so much coverage of students that have excelled in athletics in the paper, is it too much to ask that students be honored for their academic excellence once a year? Please reconsider doing the feature to honor these students for their hard work.

Richard Buringa

Albert Lea