Education notes: 3 Tucson teens named National Merit Scholarship winners

3 are National Merit Scholarship winners

Three Tucson teens have been named college-sponsored National Merit Scholarship winners.

College-sponsored awards provide between $500 and $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate student at the institution financing the scholarship.

The local winners are Leila R. Wiberg of Basis Oro Valley, Ricky Hahn of University High School and Hyewon Hong of Catalina Foothills High School.

Students took the Preliminary SAT as a screener before approximately 16,000 semifinalists were named. The semifinalists were the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

To become finalists, students had to complete a detailed scholarship application showing an outstanding academic record and be endorsed and recommended by a high school official. They also had to take the SAT and earn scores that confirmed their performance on the initial qualifying test.

About 15,000 students were named finalists, about half were chosen to receive National Merit Scholarships.

Empire teacher picked

for C-SPAN conference

Empire High School teacher Julie Mathews is one of 30 educators from across the country selected to attend the C-SPAN Educators’ Conference this month.

The conference provides educators with the opportunity to hear from guest speakers and explore free teaching resources. Attendees discover how to incorporate the resources into their curriculums and create engaging learning experiences.

4 chosen for military children scholarships

Four Tucson-area students have been named winners of the annual Scholarships for Military Children program.

Approximately 5,000 students applied for the scholarships. Applicants were required to maintain a minimum 3.0 grade-point average, participate in voluntary school and community activities, demonstrate leadership qualities and write an essay.

The local winners, who each received $2,000 scholarships, are Karissa Dusek, Arica Christensen, Chad Gallego and Anna Masciola.

Special back-to-school

immunization hours

Starting Monday, July 23, the Pima County Health Department’s immunization clinics will hold modified hours at their three locations for the back-to-school season.

For the next month, each clinic will operate on a walk-in basis, with limited services between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. on the daylong schedules. All other services available at the clinics will continue with their normal schedules. To view the complete schedule of back-to-school immunization hours at the health department clinics, visit tinyurl.com/pcbacktoschool

Literacy Connects receives $50,000 grant

Literacy Connects, which offers free reading and writing support for children and adults, has received a $50,000 grant from The Stocker Foundation.

Funds will help support the Infusion Project for three of Literacy Connects’ five programs: Reading Seed, English Language Acquisition for Adults and Stories That Soar.

The Infusion Project integrates Literacy Connects’ programs at Sunnyside Unified School District schools Mission Manor, Los Niños and Summit View elementaries. The Stories That Soar! Magic Box inspires students to write and be expressive. Reading Seed coaches work one-on-one with struggling readers in kindergarten through third grade. Parents attend English Language Acquisition classes for help with basic literacy skills.