Academic Scandal at Valley Prep
Strong River Valley Prep is one of the most prestigious private schools in the state. The school has a long waiting list, and the list continues to grow. The school has great athletic programs, but they’re best known for their high academic standards. Each year, they have multiple kids that go on to attend Ivy League universities. Rarely do you hear anything negative about Valley Prep, but the school is currently being rocked by an academic scandal.
The valedictorian and salutatorian spots are always high coveted, and there is a ton of competition and pressure on students to get these prestigious awards. This year that competition got out of control. Allie Grace Cheaten was crowned the valedictorian, and Ben Smart was the salutatorian.
But, students and parents immediately began the question the results. Smart made a 37 on his ACT, and he never made a grade less than a 98 all year. Cheaten only made a 23 on her ACT, and she only had a 3.65 GPA going into the fourth nine weeks. Parents demanded that there be an investigation into the results. It didn’t take long to figure out something was going on. One parent said, “Allie Grace’s dad is the Chairman of the board, and everybody knows he’s shady. His daughter is a spoiled brat, and everyone knew she wanted to be valedictorian. But, she’s probably not even in the top 15 of the 21 kid graduating class.”
After looking through some of Mr. Cheaten’s emails, it was discovered that he was pressuring multiple teachers to inflate Allie Grace’s grades. One email stated, “Please give Allie Grace a 100 on this history test. She has to be the valedictorian. Her mom has threatened to leave me if I don’t make sure she is valedictorian. I’ll pay you $1,000. Please!”
Another email said, “Look, I know Allie Grace isn’t the smartest in her class, but please make sure she gets the best grades in the class. We’ll give you and your family a free weekend at our Smith Lake house. Her mom will make my life a living hell if she’s not valedictorian.” School officials talked with the teachers listed in the emails, and they all said they inflated Allie Grace’s grades to please Mr. Cheaten.
After a short but thorough investigation, Valley Prep’s board has announced that Ben Smart is indeed the valedictorian. Unfortunately, the awards ceremony has already taken place, so Smart won’t be publicly honored. But, Smart does feel vindicated. He said, “Everyone knew she wasn’t the valedictorian. She cheated off me all the time.”
Smart was planning to go to Harvard, but they pulled his full scholarship when he wasn’t awarded the valedictorian. Smart’s mom said, “That little heifer and her shady dad cost my boy at chance to go to Harvard. Because of his superior intellect that he gets from me, he still has plenty of options. Wherever he goes, no other student can say they scored a 37 on their ACT.”
Ben said, “I’ll probably end up going to CoLin Tech, also known as the Harvard of The Valley. It’s not my #1 choice, but at least I’ll be close to Mom.”
Fortunately, justice and truth won out in this situation, but it’s going to be tough for Valley Prep to recover from this scandal. It’s unfortunate that these two young people got tied up in this, and we look forward to what the future holds for both.