12 Plano High School students named Illinois State Scholars

A dozen Plano High School students were honored at a recent school board meeting for being named Illinois State Scholars.

The students are Michael Cano, Ace Frieders, Jay Kennedy, Alexis Rodriguez, Jeremiah Dolan, Charles Gabrillo, Emily Ochoa, Alec Sheehy, Carlos Duarte, Alan Goodyear, Kaylee Read and Jason Zhao.

The State Scholar Program recognizes students attending approved Illinois public high schools for outstanding academic achievement.

The state scholar designation provides honorary recognition with no monetary award. About ten percent of graduates from approved high schools are announced as State Scholars each year.

To be considered for State Scholar eligibility, a student must be a  U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen, an Illinois resident and attend an approved high school.

To be eligible to be a 2019-20 State Scholar, they must take the ACT or SAT between Aug. 1 and June 30 by the end of the third semester before high school graduation.

Also, they must perform in the top one-half of their high school class at the end of the third semester prior to graduation, and/or score at or above the 95th percentile on the ACT or SAT. And they must graduate from high school during the academic year in which they were selected as a State Scholar.

Officials said meeting these meeting these requirements qualifies the student to be considered for the program, but does not guarantee State Scholar designation.