At Greeley West’s last assembly on January 16th, Dean of Students, Ms. Brianna Tanner announced a Dean’s List of students to celebrate. This was a new annconcemebnt that and something West had never done. Tanner said her hope was that the Dean’s List would, “recognize students who demonstrate exceptional alities as a leader in their education,” Tanner stated.
This list wasn’t mean to be confused with a college Dean’s List, as it was more focused on strong attendance, passing grades, proper behavior, and demonstration of exceptionality in an area of observation.
However, the list did create some controversy of students not included.
Many students came forward to say they did not agree with how it was constructed. Senior and IB student Corbin Suntych believes it was a subjective mess. “Many of these people recognized were those who were the closest to the teachers and those who the teacher liked, instead of the highest achievers and those who deserve it for what the Dean’s List is supposed to be,” Suntych explained.
Suntych said the general idea is fine, but call the award something else. “The idea is good, as it recognizes those who put in effort and attempt to challenge themselves with their education,” Suntych said. “But for this to be done effectively, the Dean’s List needs to become what it is supposed to be: an objective recognition of those with the highest academic achievements and GPA. It just should not be considered a Dean’s List; keeping that name implies something different then what it is.
Some students at West thought were excited at the assmebly when it was annoucned, but then began to change their minds after the final few names were announced. Senior Mariana Enriquez said, “I love that the school is trying to recognize students more, but most of the list was super predictable, and that becomes extremely unfair to the kids who deserve recognition but never get any.”
There was some positive feedback on this idea though. Senior Jeremy Keener stated, “It could very well encourage students to work hard and be the best they can. Maybe using a different approach such as a West Student of the Week may work better than the Dean’s List idea.”