Shelby County Public Schools -

Program recognizes over 90,000 high-performing students to help open opportunities for their future

Shelbyville, Kentucky – Students at Martha Layne Collins High School earned academic honors from the College Board Rural, First Generation, and Hispanic National Recognition Program. The programs celebrate the hard work of thousands of high school students nationwide to help them showcase their strong academic performance.

For the first time, the academic honors recognize first-generation students, in addition to rural and small-town, Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic/or Latino students. The program opens college access for more students because many institutions use the awards for their recruitment efforts.

At MLCHS, nineteen students were awarded. In the “Rural Award” category, Coleton Boyd, Jocelyn Early, Matthew Hogan, Isaac Jebsen, Jack Lingo, Graham Mehl, Hadley Nicolas, Blair Sager, Wyatt Shafer, Tayan Stansfield, Jacob Stover, Kaylee Swallows, Noah Terry, Hayden Watts, and Elijah Wentz were recognized. In the First Generation and Rural categories, Lindsay Keys and Yankai Yang. For the First Generation, Hispanic, and Rural categories, Salvador Rodriquez and Romina Santiago.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate our students and recognize them for the great work they’ve been doing. We’re proud of their strong academic performance in the classroom and on College Board assessments like the PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, and AP® Exams,” said school guidance counselor, Chris Collins. “There’s so much that makes our students unique, and this honor reinforces their individuality and achievements as assets for their future.”

Eligible students must meet the following criteria to qualify:

·   Earn a GPA of B+ (equal to at least 3.3 or 87%-89%) or higher.

·   PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores that are within the top 10% of assessment takers in each state for each award program or earned a score of 3 or higher on 2 or more AP Exams by the end of 10th grade.

·   Attend school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic American/Latino, Indigenous/Native American, or a first-generation college student.

The program expanded this year to include a fifth award. Over 35,000 students nationwide received the inaugural National First-Generation Recognition Program Award.

Every year, students can verify their eligibility on BigFuture® during their sophomore or junior year. At the start of the next school year, students receive their awards for their communities to celebrate them and for colleges to recruit them as they head back to school for their junior or senior year. Thousands of nonprofit colleges and organizations using College Board’s Student Search Service™ can connect with awardees during the recruitment process to share more about their postsecondary programs.

“This year, the National Recognition Programs are recognizing more students than ever so that the outstanding academic abilities of more than 90,000 deserving students are not overlooked as they plan for their future,” said Amy Reitz, senior vice president of BigFuture at College Board. “We’re proud to support colleges and universities that are committed to supporting all students, and our program offers one way they can strengthen their recruitment efforts to students that will thrive on their campus.”    

The students in the picture are:

Front Row (Left to Right)