A Long Island high school boasts a record-breaking 21 valedictorians, who achieved straight A+’s in every class for all four years.
Jericho High School has so many that they can’t all make speeches at their June 28 graduation, so they’re filming a video instead.
“We are trying to create other opportunities to celebrate this incredible accomplishment,” co-Principal Brian Cummings told NBC.
Jericho High School has a record-breaking 21 valedictorians this year. ABC7NY “The students will wear sashes that say valedictorian 2026.”
The Nassau County school churned out multiple valedictorians because they grade on a letter system, which means a 97 or higher average earns students an A+ in a class, Cummings explained.
“Historically this is the way we’ve done it with letter grades. The difference between a 99.8 and a 99.83 is insignificant so letter grades really capture what we represent,” he explained to the outlet.
Jericho’s valedictorians didn’t take the easy route either, and packed their school schedules with AP classes and extra curriculars.
Jericho High School is ranked ninth within New York’s best high schools according to U.S. News & World Report’s rankings. ABC7NY “I took Calculus BC, that was one of the most hardest classes I’ve ever taken in high school,” valedictorian Harnoor Joneja told NBC.
“And I was a little bit concerned about losing it this year, but I tried hard and kept my average up.”
“We have National Merit Scholars; we have musicians at the highest level,” Cummings told ABC.
“It was hard. There were many nights where I wondered why I was putting myself through this,” added valedictorian Riya Shah, who will be attending Princeton in the fall.
Jericho High School, which broke its previous record of 15 valedictorians, is ranked ninth within New York’s best high schools and 108 in nationally, according to U.S. News & World Report’s rankings.
