Several recognitions were made during the Nov. 9 Herricks School District Board of Education meeting. Among them, the board acknowledged Herricks High School for being named a 2017 Exemplary High Performing National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education and student success in numerous programs, including National Merit, National Hispanic and Siemens competition.
Among 342 schools across the country, Herricks High School received this distinction based on their overall academic excellence and school’s demonstration that all students can achieve to high levels. The National Blue Ribbon School designation affirms the hard work of students, faculty, parents and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools.
Following, the board recognized a plethora of outstanding student achievement. The first group of honorees included 24 seniors who were named Commended Students in the National Merit Scholarship Program. The second largest in school history, these students are among approximately 34,000 students across the country who placed among the top 5 percent of 1.6 million students who entered the competition by completing the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
Next, the board congratulated seniors Jeremy Barrios and Nicole Garcia for being named 2017 National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholars. The NHRP was established in 1983 through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and honors about 5,000 or 2.5 percent of the highest-scoring students from over 250,000 Hispanic/Latino juniors who take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
Concluding student academic accolades, the board honored students who were named semifinalists and finalists in the 2017 Siemens Competition. Among the six Herrick’s semifinalists, two have advanced as finalists in the competition. Herricks High School is tied for having the most semifinalists among other high schools in this year’s competition.
The Siemens Competition is the nation’s premier competition in math, science and technology for high school students. Every year, students submit innovative individual and team research projects to regional and national levels of competition as they vie for college scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $100,000. The Siemens Competition honors the best and brightest students for their accomplishments in math, science and technology—students who are changing the world for the better.
—Herricks Public Schools
