(BRADENTON, FL - September 29, 2008) Three seniors in Manatee County´s public high schools have been named semifinalists in the academically prestigious 2009 National Merit Scholarship Program.

The 2009 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists from the Manatee District are:

Lakewood Ranch High: Juntao Zhu

Manatee High: Carly A. Ayres

Southeast High: Amy E. Umana

In addition, one Manatee District student earned the distinction of being named a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship Corporation´s 45th Annual National Achievement Program. The National Achievement Program identifies more than 1,600 academically promising Black American high school seniors who compete for approximately 800 scholarships worth over $2.6 million.

The 2009 National Achievement Scholarship Semifinalist from the Manatee District is:

Manatee High: Talaisha J. Hornsby

Students qualify for the National Merit Scholarship program by taking the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) during their junior year of high school. During the 2007-2008 school year, more than 1.5 million high school juniors in over 21,000 high schools took the PSAT, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Approximately 16,000 juniors achieved semifinalist status this year. Semifinalists represent less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors

Using a variety of factors, including overall performance in high school, leadership qualities, a principal´s recommendation and a descriptive essay, a group of approximately 15,000 finalists will be selected. Those finalists will have the opportunity to compete for some 8,200 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $35 million, which will be offered next spring.