The family of a Texas high school senior who was stripped of her valedictorian title due to a “miscalculation” held their own ceremony where she was honored with the achievement.
Maya Veliz was chosen as Blue Ridge High School’s valedictorian of 2024 in March, but was devastated when the school’s principal revoked her degree in April because some of her credits didn’t transfer when she changed schools.
Her family, including members traveling from Guatemala and Switzerland, decided not to attend the school’s graduation and celebrated their own on Thursday, where Maya was recognized as valedictorian.
Wearing a white dress and blue cap and gown, Maya gave the speech she wrote when she was first awarded valedictorian status on a stage festooned with balloons.
‘It was great. She gave her speech,’ said her father Jorge Veliz. The New York Post.
Maya Véliz gave her farewell speech at a private ceremony after she was stripped of her title due to a ‘miscalculation’.
His family, including members traveling from Guatemala and Switzerland, decided not to attend the school’s graduation ceremony and held his own
‘An anonymous viewer of our local news (who also featured Maya’s story) paid for her freshman year at the University of Texas.’
Maya had already written her valedictory speech and accepted an offer to the University of Texas with the understanding that her freshman year would be covered by a scholarship.
A draft of Maya’s speech seen by The Post revealed how “honored” she was to be named valedictorian.
“I stand before you tonight, honored as the valedictorian of the class of 2024,” Maya’s draft speech read.
“Failure has made me who I am today and I have found success and persevered regardless of the outcome.”
Maya gave the speech she wrote when she was first awarded valedictorian status.
His father described the private ceremony as “great” and said an anonymous donor paid for his first year of college.
Maya said she dreamed of being valedictorian and even set out to do so four years ago.
She was originally told that her GPA over the past year brought her to the top of her class, but that was later corrected to number three.
“Hearing those words, not even 30 days before graduation, was heartbreaking,” Maya said. WFAA.
“It’s almost the end of the year and I saw that this was going down a different path.”
According to her father, after Maya transferred as a junior from another school in Frisco, Texas, in 2022, he and his wife made sure to stay in touch with her new school counselor and that her credits and grades were in order. order.
“(The counselor) had told us, ‘Oh, don’t worry. Maya is on the right track. The only way I can foresee that Maya will not be the best student is if she completely fails her course,” Jorge said. People.
The cheerleader was originally told that her GPA over the past year led her to be at the top of her class, but that was later corrected to number three.
Her father added that Maya “hasn’t failed anything,” was enrolled in AP honors classes and was taking dual credit courses.
‘We even asked him if it was necessary for him to take any extra courses and (the counselor) told him, ‘No, everything is fine,’ Jorge said.
She then discovered that, under a policy established in 2017 by the Blue Ridge Independent School District, Maya could not earn credit for courses she took at her previous school.
Jorge said credit is not awarded for classes from another school if they are not offered in the Blue Ridge School District.
‘Well, some of those courses are in the catalogue, but they’re saying they don’t have teachers to teach them,’ he said. “So they kind of contradicted each other on policy.”
Under a policy established in 2017 by the Blue Ridge Independent School District, Maya was unable to earn credit for courses she took at her previous school, which flagged her rank.
“She said she feels like the school keeps saying they respect her and that she’s a big part of the community, but it makes her feel like she’s not.”
The school district told WFAA they had “investigated” the students’ “private matter and contacted the parents.”
‘The district reviews academic performance, grade calculations, and class rank during this period each year in accordance with applicable state law and EIC and EIC Local board policies,’ the district added.
‘Calculation errors were originally made in finalizing GPA and class rank; it was later corrected to ensure compliance with both board policies. All affected students have been notified.’
The district added that they have created plans to ensure that “a mistake like this” does not happen again.
Maya said she had dreamed of being valedictorian and even set out to do it four years ago.
It’s unclear who the new valedictorian is. DailyMail.com has contacted the school district for comment.
Jorge has expressed his disappointment in the situation and feels sorry for his daughter.
“This is something I wouldn’t want any child or parent to have to deal with,” Jorge said.
He said he would “understand” if the policy was in place for “a year or two,” but it was in place before Maya transferred to the school.
“She’s worked hard,” he said. “She used to be a dancer and she put that dream aside to dedicate her time to school because she knew it was going to be a difficult task to manage both.”