By Lauren Jones

Eleven Oxford High School students earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition programs. These programs celebrate students’ hard work in high school and showcase their strong academic performance. The program offers four awards – the National African American Recognition Award (NAARA), the National Hispanic Recognition Award (NHRA), the National Rural and Small Town Award (NRSTA) and the National Indigenous Award (NIA). These academic honors for rural area, black, indigenous and Latino students are an opportunity for the recipients to share their solid academic achievements with colleges and scholarship programs seeking to recruit diverse talent.

All OHS recipients qualified under the program’s National Rural and Small Town Award (NRSTA).

“We’re thrilled to celebrate our students and recognize them for the great work they’ve been doing,” said OHS Principal Dr. Dana Bullard. “We’re proud of their academic performance in the classroom and on College Board assessments,. There’s so much that makes our students unique, and receiving this honor reinforces this as an asset for their future.”

The criteria for eligible students include the following:

• GPA of 3.5 or higher.
• PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores that are within the top 10 percent of assessment takers in each state for each award program or earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP Exams in 9th and 10th grade.
• Attend school in a rural area or small town or identify as African American, Hispanic American/Latino or Indigenous/Native American.

Eligible students can apply during their sophomore or junior year and receive the award at the start of the next school year in time to share their achievements in high school as they plan for the future. Meanwhile, colleges and organizations can connect directly with awardees throughout this process.

“It’s becoming increasingly hard for students to be ‘seen’ during the college recruitment process,” said Tarlin Ray, senior vice president of BigFuture at College Board. “We’re exceptionally proud of the National Recognition Programs for celebrating students who are sometimes overlooked but have shown their outstanding academic abilities. This is a benefit not only for students but also for colleges and universities committed to recruiting diverse and talented students.”