Bill Text: MS SC663 | 2015 | Regular Session | Enrolled

Mississippi Senate Concurrent Resolution 663 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Recognize Madison Central High School for leading in National Merit Semifinalists.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2015-04-14 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC663 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2015-SC663-Enrolled.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2015 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Longwitz, Butler (38th), Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), Kirby, Lee, Norwood

Senate Concurrent Resolution 663

(As Adopted by Senate and House)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING MADISON CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL FOR LEADING THE STATE IN NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS.

WHEREAS, Madison Central High School (MCHS) led the state once again in producing National Merit Semifinalists with a total of 21 of Mississippi's 135 for the 2013 school year; and

WHEREAS, in October 2014, approximately 1.4 million juniors in 22,000 high schools took the Preliminary SAT (or PSAT), which serves as the initial screening for the National Merit Scholarship Program. Nearly 16,000 students scored high enough to earn Semifinalist status, which represents less than 1% of the high school seniors in the country, including the 21 from Madison Central High School, eight from St. Andrew's Episcopal, two from Madison-Ridgeland Academy and two homeschoolers; 33 of those 16,000 students hail from Madison County; and

WHEREAS, this is the fourth year in a row Madison Central had more than 20 National Merit Semifinalists; and

WHEREAS, "I'm absolutely very proud," Madison Central High School Principal Austin Brown said. "Our students put a lot of time and effort toward this, and we've got a group of teachers here who have put together a program that has been in place for nearly two decades. Thanks to their hard work, and the commitment of the students in the program, we've been able to produce an impressive amount of National Merit Semifinalists each year"; and

WHEREAS, in this year's class at Madison Central there were:

� 21 National Merit Semifinalists (highest in state public, private, parochial). All 21 of these were also named Finalist;

� 6 Commended Scholars;

� 2 National Achievement Scholars (African-American program);

� These students have been awarded $6.5 Million in scholarships; and

WHEREAS, the 21 Madison Central National Merit winners are: Yasmeen Abdo, Azmain Alamgir, William L. Bullock, Lan Chen, Cole H. Durrett, Julia E. Freels, James B. Given, Kyle R. Humphreys, Avery T. Jordan, Mason C. King, Anna H. Lam, Margaret A. Lawson, Elizabeth J. Liu, Joshua McKenzie, David P. Nowicki, Benjamin M. Seiss, Rebecca M. Shofner, Mary G. Stewart, Austin W. Toler, Ido Tzivion and Wesley Q. Zhang; and

WHEREAS, for many of the students, starting preparation for the PSAT marks their first realization that the work they put in now can truly affect their future. As hard as it is to acquire and remember the knowledge necessary to do well on the test, it is equally hard to learn the test-taking skills required to work through the exam quickly enough to answer all the questions; and

WHEREAS, along with Beverly Daniel, teachers Debbye Reed and Susan Shivers make up the three-teacher team that leads MCHS's PSAT preparation class. The SAT preparation program has been in place at MCHS for over 15 years. The class meets on a regular basis starting during the sophomore year, for two weeks during the summer, and again in the fall of the junior year. Students learn skills as a sophomore, test-taking methods over the summer and work on speed, being able to quickly work through the test, in the fall; and

WHEREAS, since 1998, Madison Central High School has now produced 301 National Merit Semifinalists; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we commend these young Mississippi citizens who are a wonderful example of student achievement and bring honor to their school, their community and to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize Madison Central High School for leading the state in National Merit Semifinalists, and extend the best wishes of the Mississippi Legislature for future academic success.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Madison Central Principal Austin Brown, forwarded to the Madison County Board of Education, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.