Ponca City High School Announces 11 Oklahoma Academic All-State Nominees

Ponca City Senior High School is proud to nominate eleven students for the 2014 Academic All-State Scholarship Competition. This prestigious award honors 100 public high school seniors with a $1,000 scholarship, a medallion, and a commemorative plaque. It also provides their high schools with an Academic All-State flag to mark their commitment to academic excellence. Dr. David L. Boren, founder of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, described the selection of Oklahoma’s Academic All-Staters as "Oklahoma’s most rigorous academic competition." The 100 recipients are selected on the basis of academic achievement, extracurricular activities, community involvement, and essay submission by each nominee.

Ponca City High School Principal, Kent Marshall, states, “Po-Hi is proud of our Oklahoma Academic All State Nominees. They all have the skills to learn, the aptitude to succeed, the abilities and creativity to make a difference, to meet the needs and assist in solving the problems that our Global future will present.” This year’s group of outstanding Po-Ho Seniors include Bethany Bookout, Jackson Bowker, Lindsey Dickerson, Shelby Hackney, Emily May, Mackenzie Pruett, Kenny Robinson, Braxton Salyer, Hannah Smith, Ben Southard, and Chris Sullivan.

Students must be nominated for this honor by their superintendents or principals. To qualify, students must meet at least one of the following requirements: a composite ACT score of at least 30; a composite SAT score of at least 1340; or be selected as a semi-finalist for a National Merit, National Achievement or National Hispanic Scholarship. Scholarship recipients are chosen by an independent selection committee, chaired by Tulsa Attorney Teresa B. Adwan and comprised of business, education and civic leaders, as well as former All-Staters.

Some $191,500 in scholarships and awards will be presented at the Foundation’s 21^th annual Academic Awards Banquet May, 2014 at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. The event, which is attended by nearly 1,000 state education supporters, is broadcast statewide on public television. Other awards to be given include the Oklahoma Medal for Excellence in Teaching and Administration, the Oklahoma Medal for Excellence in Alternative Education, and the Oklahoma Medal for Excellence for Local Education Foundations. Since 1987, the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence has awarded more than $2.25 million in scholarships and presented an additional $717,500 in Medal for Excellence Awards. In addition, the Foundation has awarded $28,000 to Medal for Excellence recipient’s schools or school districts.

For more information, call the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence at (405) 236-0006 or visit the foundation’s website at www.ofe.org.