60 San Ramon, Danville Students Make List of National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

From San Ramon Valley Unified School District:

Danville, CA — San Ramon Valley Unified School District (SRVUSD) high school students are raking in the accolades once again with the latest announcement from the National Merit Corporation. This year, 60 SRVUSD high school students have been named Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state.

“I congratulate our remarkable students who work hard each and every day and take advantage of every opportunity to learn and grow,” SRVUSD Superintendent Rick Schmitt said. “SRVUSD is invested in educating the whole child through a balanced approach to teaching and learning. As we celebrate our continuing academic success, we must remember that our students’ successes are not just measured by test scores and assessment results. Our focus is on students’ continuous improvement, rather than performance. The overall physical, emotional and social well-being of our students is critical to ensuring that they live a balanced and healthy life. With that said, the PSAT, as well as the follow-up SAT, are aligned to the California State Standards and are good measures of what we teach and expect our students to learn”

The complete list of Semifinalists from the San Ramon Valley Unified School District may be viewed here.

A Semifinalist 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. To become a Finalist, the Semifinalist and his or her high school must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the Semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received.

From the approximately 16,000 Semifinalists nationwide, about 15,000 are expected to advance to the Finalist level, and in February they will be notified of this designation.

NMSC, a not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance, was established in 1955 specifically to conduct the annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Scholarships are underwritten by NMSC with its own funds and by approximately 420 business organizations and higher education institutions that share NMSC’s goals of honoring the nation’s scholastic champions and encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence.

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