CISD scholars honored at board meeting

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas - The Conroe Independent School District Board of Trustees gave special recognition to the 2015-2016 Conroe ISD National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists and National Hispanic Recognition Recipients at the November Board meeting.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships that began in 1955. High school students enter the National Merit Program by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), a test which serves as an initial screening of approximately 1.5 million entrants. Around 50,000 students with the highest PSAT/NMSQT Selection Index scores will qualify for recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program. In early September, about 16,000 students, or approximately one-third of the 50,000 high scorers, are notified that they have qualified as Semifinalist. To ensure that academically able young people from all parts of the United States are included in this talent pool, semifinalists are designated on a state representational basis. They are the highest scoring entrants in each state. In February 2013, approximately 15,000 semifinalists will be notified by mail that they have advanced to Finalist level.

The National Hispanic Recognition Program identifies academically outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school students. Each year, the NHRP honors nearly 5,000 of the highest-scoring students from approximately 235,000 Hispanic/Latino juniors who take the PSAT/NMSQT.

Conroe ISD Semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program are:

Conroe High School - April Artrip

The Woodlands College Park - William Beaty, Christine Castagna, Travis Dill, Nicholas Esposito, Makenzie Higdon, Matthew Liu, Shray Mittal, Venkatesh Muppaneni, Margaret Steiner, Dylan Stobart, Jackson Valencia, Edward Xie, Yichen Yang, Srihari Yenamawdra, Nicholas Zhao

The Woodlands High School - Ryan Billedo, Peter Davidson, James Doherty Samuel Dollar, Annelise Hushka, Matthew McClellan, Sabrina Pickert The National Hispanic Recognition Program recipients are:

Conroe High School - Glenna Hirvela, Kyle Leon, Lydia Rodriguez

Oak Ridge High School - Dakotah Arnold

The Woodlands College Park High School - David Floris, Fernando Montes, Santiago Quevedo Sanchez, Emily Roth, Gabriella Sauceda, Jackson Valencia, Jasmine Workman

The Woodlands High School - Roberto Saldivar, Luis Martinez, Victoria Rosado, Alberto Hinojos-Rivera, Jorge Albert Chico, Ashley Salinas, Alejandra Solis-Zavala, Sebastian Echegaray, Andres Ballesteros, Davin Martinez, Hugo Casillas, Isaac Harrelson, Claudio Melchiorre, Diego Morales, Priscilla Munoz, Taylor Stoute, Austin Alvarez, Balbina De La Garza-Vil, Roxana Evans, Elizabeth De Alba

Dr. Curtis Null, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, introduced the Scholars, and Trustee Ray Sanders presented each with a certificate.