27 Duval County Public Schools Students Named
2009 National Merit® Scholarship Program Semifinalists
JACKSONVILLE - 27 Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) students were among more than 16,000 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists announced today by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC).
NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Program.
“We congratulate these outstanding students for their dedication, hard work and superior academic abilities,” said Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools, Ed Pratt-Dannals. “These students are an exemplary representation of our school district and are deserving of this national recognition.”
DCPS Semifinalists
Fletcher High School
Morris, Jennifer A.
Summers, Ryan T.
Mandarin High School
Kang, Sung Woong
Platzer, Laura
Swanson, Heather M.
Paxon School for Advanced Studies
Deary, Rachel R.
Genslinger, Hannah M.
Johnson, Deirdre A.
Levenson, Eric J.
Martin, Patrick J.
Suen, Win Y.
Stanton College Preparatory School
Alvarez, Natalia R.
Asistores, Catherine R.
Brust, Ryan
Cameron, Briana C.
Dodd, Evan T.
Ho, Monica S.
Ireland, William T.
Kitchen, Andrew D.
Lui, Diana C.
Lukic, Alen
Matkovski, Anastasia
Narvel, Raed
Pinto, Christopher J.
Reed, Tyler J.
Snow, Alexander J.
Yip, Stephen H.
Semifinalists are now eligible to advance to the finalist competition to vie for 8,200 scholarships worth more than $35 million. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and approximately half of the finalists will be selected as Merit Scholarship winners.
Competition Steps
More than 1.5 million juniors in nearly 21,000 high schools entered the 2009 National Merit Program by taking the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®), which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. The number of semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
To become a finalist, a semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier qualifying test performance. Approximately 15,000 semifinalists will advance to the finalist level, and it is from this group that all Merit Scholarship winners will be chosen.
Merit Scholarship Awards
Three types of Merit Scholarship awards will be offered in the spring of 2009. Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit $2,500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state representational basis. About 1,100 corporate-sponsored scholarships will be provided by some 300 corporations and business organizations. In addition, approximately 200 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 4,600 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.
Merit Scholarship winners for 2009 will be announced beginning in April and concluding in July. These scholarship recipients will join some 259,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.
Duval County Public Schools operates more than 160 schools and serves approximately 125,000 students. The school district is committed to providing high quality educational opportunities that will inspire all students to acquire and use the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a global economy, and culturally diverse world.
More DCPS News
