New York City Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels used a taxpayer-funded high school graduation to tell 109 seniors that learning each other's "identities, cultures and lived experiences" is what matters — at a school that eliminated valedictorian and salutatorian honors entirely.
The June 26 commencement at the College of Staten Island High School for International Studies featured Samuels praising the school's 100% graduation rate and $7.5 million in scholarships, but his central message was diversity itself as the supreme educational outcome. "We are lucky to live in New York City, one of the most diverse places on earth in every sense of the word," Samuels said, according to the Staten Island Advance. "Your peers are also your teachers as well. You have learned so much from each other. You've learned each other's identities, cultures and lived experiences."
Notably absent from the ceremony: any recognition of a single top student. The Staten Island Advance reported there were "no designated valedictorian or salutatorian" — just medals for "exceptional performances across various subjects" and two student speakers, Terrance Graham and Summer Harris. The school's mascot is a Chinese dragon; the ceremony closed with a Chinese Dragon Dance and a world percussion ensemble.
Samuels framed empathy and connection as the antidote to a "polarized world," telling graduates: "Nothing can replace the human ability to form bonds across differences." He urged them to carry their "New York City sensibility, that openness to others, that appreciation for diversity" wherever they go.
Meanwhile, at Montini Catholic High School in Downers Grove, Illinois, the approach was different. Shaw Local Enewspapers reported that Tommy Healy was individually named the 2026 recipient of the school's Pax Christi Instrument of Peace Award — recognized for academic accomplishments, peer ministry, and mentoring fellow students. "Tommy embodies the values we strive to instill in every Montini Catholic student — academic excellence, leadership, faith, and service," Montini President Kevin Beirne said. Healy will attend the University of Illinois for finance and accounting.
One school celebrates the collective identity of the group. The other names the individual. Both claim to serve students. The question for parents is which model actually does.
Principal Joseph Canale told the CSI graduates they were a "standout" class remembered for "determination, ambition, motivation, very solid work ethic and the seriousness with which you approach academics." Those are words that describe individuals. It's strange that the school's honors system refused to name them.
