More than 220 Orange County high schoolers were named National Merit Scholars on Wednesday as part of the annual scholarship program.
The Orange County Register reported that 95 percent of the 16,000 selected semifinalists will make it to the finalist round and be in the running to win one of 7,140 scholarships totaling $28 million.
Approximately 44 public and private schools in Orange County were recognized for each scholar’s academic achievements. Troy High School in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District and University High School in the Irvine Unified School District had the highest number with 32 students from each campus. Beckman and Northwood high schools and Orange County School of the Arts accounted for at least 10 semifinalists.
Incoming high school seniors who are interested in being considered for the distinguished program must earn a Preliminary SAT or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test score that reaches the top 1 percent in their state.
Moving into the next round, each semifinalist will submit a detailed application with an endorsement from a high school official and write an essay that demonstrates their academic record, school involvement and leadership qualities. The finalists will be announced in February.
The Register has published a complete list of the OC National Merit semifinalists.
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- OCDE has partnered with the University of Kansas for a national initiative to increase access to inclusive learning opportunities for students with disabilities.
- In recognition of High School Voter Education Weeks starting Sept. 18, the Orange County Registrar of Voters will host virtual events to encourage students age 16 and 17 to pre-register to vote while teaching them about the election process.
- Veteran business services leader David Giordano has been selected by OCDE as its new assistant superintendent of Administrative Services, after serving the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District since 2015.
- Garden Grove Unified music teacher Nora Hernandez will soon be recognized as a Music Teacher of Excellence by the CMA Foundation alongside 30 other educators.
- This fall, 41 Anaheim Union High School District students will be the first to participate in a new ethnic studies course highlighting the experiences and history of Korean Americans.
- With school safety being a top priority for the Westminster School District, its staff has equipped campuses with security cameras, buzzers to enter the front office and single points of entry to keep school sites secure.
- Local high school students will be able to serve on the Orange County Board of Education and represent their peers, due to an assembly bill that recently took effect.
- A team of seventh-grade Fountain Valley students — known as the Bread Pandas — has been recognized as one of the top Southern California robotics teams in this year’s FIRST Tech Challenge competition.
- Next month, the Laguna Beach Unified School District will unveil its new family resource center to provide counseling and support services for students.
- Eighth-grader Leonardo Lin from Aliso Viejo recently wrote and published his first book titled “World of Sharks” to help advocate for ocean preservation.
- San Clemente High School has opened its JROTC program to students from neighboring schools due to limited opportunities in the south Orange County region.
- On Monday, the California legislature passed a bill that would help open Dream Resource Centers on more high school campuses through a grant program. Another bill was recently passed by state lawmakers that would bar suspension of students for low-level behavioral issues, according to FOX station KTVU.
- KTLA reported that a coalition representing the Jewish community has filed a lawsuit against the Santa Ana Unified School District claiming the district violated the Brown Act and adopted curriculum deemed discriminatory.
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