Mansfield ISD Magazine Fall 2020 | Page 6

STUDENTS NAMED NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS

Two Mansfield

ISD students are among the less than 1 % of high school students to be named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program .
“ Not only does it take dedication and time and , clearly , intellect ; but it takes grit and resiliency . We ’ re so proud of these ladies and their accomplishment .”
Congratulations to Caroline Brown from Legacy High School and Jewel Wong from Mansfield High School .
The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and college scholarships .
Scholars earn the distinction of semifinalist based on their top scores on the Preliminary SAT / National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test ( PSAT / NMSQT ).
Out of more than 1.6 million entrants nationwide , only 16,000 students are selected as semifinalists . In February , 15,000 of those students will be named finalists . About half of those finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship worth thousands of dollars .
Caroline Brown and Jewel Wong received recognition at the September school board meeting .
“ It is no small task to achieve what they have achieved ,” said Dr . Sean Scott , associate superintendent of curriculum , instruction and accountability .
Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school , be endorsed and recommended by a high school official , write an essay and earn SAT scores that confirm the student ’ s earlier performance on the qualifying test .
The academically talented high school seniors are selected based on their skills , accomplishments and potential for success in rigorous college studies , without regard to gender , race , ethnic origin or religious preference .
The National Merit Scholarship Program was founded in 1955 to identify and honor scholastically talented American youth and to encourage them to develop their abilities to the fullest .

“ We ’ re so proud of these ladies and their accomplishment .”
DR . SEAN SCOTT ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT , CURRICULUM , INSTRUCTION AND ACCOUNTABILITY
6 MANSFIELDTODAY