Principal Mickey Mulgrew of Brentsville District High School announced today that Miranda Bailey, Patrick Mitchell, and Kevin Sullivan have been named Commended Students in the 2004 National Merit® Scholarship Program.  A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, will be presented by the principal to these scholastically talented seniors.

    About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.  Although they will not continue in the 2004 competition for Merit Scholarship® awards, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than one million students who entered the 2004 competition, by taking the 2002 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

    “Recognition of academically talented students and of the key role played by schools in their development is essential to the pursuit of educational excellence in our nation,” commented a spokesperson for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.  “The young people being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding academic potential by their strong performance in this highly competitive program.  We hope that this recognition will help broaden their educational opportunities and that they will continue to pursue scholastic excellence and to develop their abilities to the fullest.  These young people represent a very valuable national resource.”