Duval County School News

33 Team Duval seniors named 2023 National Merit Semifinalists

Congratulations to the 33 Team Duval seniors who have been named Semifinalists in the 2023 National Merit Scholarship Program. Representing Douglas Anderson, Fletcher, Paxon, Stanton, and Wolfson high schools, these academically talented students are among 16,000 semifinalists who will compete for about 7,250 scholarships worth more than 28 million dollars.

The students represent some of the highest scorers on the 2021 Preliminary SAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in the state. The test serves as an initial screen of program entrants.

The Finalist stage is the next round in the competition. To become a finalist, the students must submit an application detailing information about their academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards. Congratulations to all the students. The list of semifinalists is below:

Douglas Anderson: Chakour, Maurice

Fletcher: Andrews, Zachary G.; Byrd, Patrick H.; Marrs, Matthew L.; Tucker, Grant W.

Paxon: Thomas, Tony J. Stanton: Alex, Melin C.; Alsaghir, Rayan Y.; Chen, Fangze; Chua, Maxine G.; Coulanges, Elijah; De Guzman, Antonio; Dreibelbis, Megan C.; Gattupalli, Param V.; Gupta, Amit; Huang, Stanley Y.; Kim, Mary; Lee, Madeline F.; Lora, Sofia V.; Madem, Nihitha; McCoy, Katherine A.; Mummareddy, Aneesha; Patel, Snehi; Pritchard, Emily A.; Radhakrishnan, Prithvi; Ratchev, Dante C.; Tran, Jason N.; Wheeler, Anna K.; Yarragunta, Abhinav; Yarrapatni, Siri Wolfson: Caccam, Charlotte H.; Day, Cameron J.; Scharer, Campbell M.

Finalists will be notified in February 2023, with the winners of the scholarships to be announced beginning in April 2023.

Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest

It is Hispanic Heritage Month! From September 15 to October 15, we celebrate the histories, cultures, and contributions of Hispanics. This observation and celebration began in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15. The day of September 15 is significant because

1) It is the anniversary of independence for the Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua; 2) Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively; and 3) Columbus Day, which is October 12, falls within this 30-day period. From the earliest days of our Nation, Hispanic Americans have made significant contributions to our national story. From honorably defending our country in war and building prosperity during times of peace to running successful businesses, districts, State, Counties, Cities, agencies, schools, classrooms, and pioneering scientific and technological advances, Hispanics contributions continue being vital to the Nation. During the Hispanic Heritage Month, the Nation takes time to recognize the contributions of Hispanics who continue to enrich and build the Nation with progress, discoveries, research, art, music, and with vibrant traditions and cultural practices while pursuing the American dream.

This year, District Hispanic Heritage Essay Contest is open to ALL 4 - 12 students in the district. DCPS is excited to share that they have partnered with the Jaguars Foundation to honor their winners. There will be a winner for elementary, middle, and high. The dateline is October 13th, 2021, by 5:00 pm. Submissions must be emailed from teachers to:

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Grades 4-5 Ms. Ruth Jernigan jerniganr@duvalschools.org SECONDARY SCHOOLS Grades 6-12: Ms. Claudia Norez norezc@duvalschools.org

Winners will be notified on Tuesday, October 18th and will be invited to attend an Awards Ceremony celebrating their achievement at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens.

Westside High teacher named “Florida History Teacher of the Year” by national nonprofit Secondary students can ride JTA free with “My Ride 2 School” program

Congratulations to Westside High teacher Daniel Flint, who has been named the “2022 Florida History Teacher of the Year” by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, a national nonprofit. The award highlights the importance of history education by honoring exceptional American history teachers in grades K-12 from across the country. “I truly enjoy teaching U.S. History,” said Flint. “To me it is a lifestyle not a profession. I enjoy the impact I can make with students teaching them about our nation’s history. I feel truly honored and humbled to receive this award.”

Flint said one of the core lessons he tries to impart to his students is to never stop asking questions. His favorite quote is from Horace Mann: “A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.” Team Duval News caught up with Flint last school year to capture video of how he brought D-Day to life for his students with the help of the Round Canopy Parachuting Team-USA. For his excellence in the classroom, Flint will receive a $1,000 honorarium, a core archive of American history books, and Gilder Lehrman educational materials. He will also be recognized at a local ceremony and become one of 53 finalists for the 2022 National History Teacher of the Year Award.

The winner of this year’s National History Teacher of the Year Award will be announced in this month.

For more information about the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, visit: www.gilderlehrman.org. What began as a pilot program allowing Duval students to ride JTA Buses for free is now permanent.

Through “My Ride 2 School,” a Jacksonville Transportation Authority program in partnership with Duval County Public Schools, middle and high school students can ride JTA buses for free, 7 days a week. All students need to do to board buses is show their student ID.

Visit teamduval.org for bus routes and to learn more about how this program is addressing some major challenges, including a national bus driver shortage.