The Foundation for Excellence in Education and former Governor Jeb Bush and First Lady Columba Bush will host a luncheon and awards ceremony to honor scholarship recipients on Friday, June 21, 2013, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

Students with GPAs of 3.5 or higher are designated as Scholars. Initiated in 1983, The National Hispanic Recognition Program identifies nearly 5,000 outstanding Hispanic students each year. Although the NHRP does not provide a financial reward, being named is an important academic recognition. The program sends a list of all recognized students to subscribing colleges and universities that are particularly interested in academically outstanding seniors of Hispanic heritage. This nationwide list includes students from the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Mariana Islands and Marshall Islands, as well as U.S. citizens attending schools abroad. It also includes approximately 150 of the top scoring PAA™ students from Puerto Rico.
Per The College Board, to qualify for this program, you must be at least one-quarter Hispanic/Latino. For purposes of the NHRP, students must be from a family whose ancestors came from at least one of the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay or Venezuela.

The Princeton Prize is sponsored by the Princeton University Alumni Council and is awarded in 24 metropolitan areas around the United States to high school age students whose efforts have had a significant, positive effect on race relations in their schools or communities. The South Florida Princeton Prize Committee is comprised of representatives of the Princeton Club of South Florida, the Miami-Dade School District, and the Miami-Dade County and City of Miami Community Relations Boards.

Dr. Larry Feldman, Memeber, The School Board of Miami- Dade County, Florida, is going to present Leila’s award prize ceremony that is to be held on Friday, May 17, 2013 at the Miami office of Akerman Senterfitt LLP.

U.S. News & World Report produces the list of top high schools on a semi-regular basis, and this year teamed up with the American Institutes for Research to evaluate more than 21,000 high schools. Each school was evaluated by comparing students’ 2010-11 statewide reading and math test results to their peers in-state, including those of minority and low-income students. The schools that performed best in those categories were then judged on college readiness through Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exam scores.

Schools and districts that make the list often celebrate the accomplishment, while some criticize the methodology used to select schools.