Madison tops state districts with most National Merit Semifinalists
Madison Board of Education recognized these 20 students and their principals at the Jan. 11 board meeting.
Bob Jones High School semifinalists are Keona Banks, Alan Grissom, Warren He, Colby Huskey, Ahmad Imam, Shantanu Kadam, Claire Magnuson, Dylan Meyer, Michaela Philip and Heesun Yoon.
James Clemens High School semifinalists Grace Billman, Christian Burks, Gautham Gorti, James Marden, Sharath Narayan, Kyle Perkinson, Madison Scott, Chad Sykes, Alex Walbom and Abby Woods.
The Madison schools tied for second place in the state among individual high schools with 10 each. Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills high schools tied for first place at 12 each.
“Still, Madison City Schools produced the most as a school district,” MCS Public Relations Manager John Peck said. “The fact they were split evenly wasn’t lost on Superintendent Robby Parker, who also noted the vast majority ascended up from Madison middle and elementary schools.”
“This is homegrown talent,” Parker said. “They didn’t just figure it out. They figured it out in the best elementary and middle schools, and happen also to go to the best high schools.”
Board member David Hergenroeder said it was fitting to honor both MCS National Merit Semifinalists and the latest group of National Board Certified Teachers at the same meeting. “There’s no doubt in my mind that one leads to another,” Hergenroeder said.
The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state on PSAT/NMSQT tests that they completed as juniors (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test).
These talented students now will move into the competition for 7,500 National Merit scholarships worth more than $32 million available next spring. Approximately 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools entered the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the PSAT/NMSQT tests last school year.
