Graduation Class of 2021

Jacobs High School: May 22*, 2021 at 10 a.m. at NOW Arena 

Dundee-Crown High School: May 22*, 2021 at 2 p.m. at NOW Arena

Hampshire High School: May 22*, 2021 at 6 p.m. at NOW Arena

Additional information will be added in February of 2021.

*Based on COVID conditions, dates/times subject to modification. District 300 may need to add an additional date adjacent to May 22 and/or adjust the ceremony times to accommodate smaller ceremonies.

Future Graduation Information

Graduation Class of 2022

Hampshire High School: May 21, 2022 at 10 a.m.

Jacobs High School: May 21, 2022 at 2 p.m.

Dundee-Crown High School: May 21, 2022 at 6 p.m. 

Cum Laude System Information

District 300 uses the Cum Laude system to honor graduates. The Cum Laude system establishes three distinct “honors” levels where students are recognized for their academic performance at the graduation ceremony in May. These classifications will account for both the unweighted and weighted GPA. The honors distinctions include:

Level	Meaning	Unweighted GPA	Weighted GPA
Cum Laude	With Honors	3.5 - 3.69	4.5 – 4.99
Magna Cum Laude	With Great Honors	3.7 - 3.84	5.0 – 5.49
Summa Cum Laude	With Highest Honors	3.85 - 4.0	5.5. +

It is important to note that a student’s unweighted GPA may place them in a different Cum Laude level than their weighted GPA (and vice versa). If this is the case, the higher of the two levels will be applied for the student.

The cum laude distinctions are reserved for only those students who have earned a minimum GPA of 3.5+ (unweighted) and 4.5+ (weighted) with no failing semester grades (F) or incompletes (I). The inclusion of the “and” option using a weighted and unweighted calculation ensures that students who take challenging coursework are recognized for their overall attainment.   

The cum laude system does not eliminate the Valedictorian or Salutatorian designations. Instead, both the Valedictorian and Salutatorian will continue to be selected based upon overall weighted GPA. In the instance where multiple students have the same weighted GPA, the school will allow for co-valedictorians as has been past practice.

Is the Cum Laude System Based on Seventh Semester or Eighth Cumulative GPA?

Seventh semester. However, in fairness to students that do not earn any cum laude designation after seven semesters but do meet the threshold after eight semesters, schools will mail home a cum laude sticker for the diploma and post the distinction to transcripts in June. This only applies for students that did not earn any cum laude designation but end up meeting the “cum laude” threshold after eight semesters. Students that earned one of the three distinctions after seven semesters will maintain their cum laude distinction earned despite possible changes in GPA after an additional semester.