BKW highlights students’ academic honors from College Board National Recognition Programs

BKW senior students Kathryn Joslin and Jodie Howland.
BKW senior students (from left to right) Kathryn Joslin and Jodie Howland.

Recently, two high school seniors at Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs. These programs celebrate students’ hard work in high school and showcase their strong academic performance. The academic honors for rural area, Black, Indigenous, and/or Latino students are an opportunity for students to share their strong academic achievements with colleges and scholarship programs that are seeking to recruit diverse talent. 

For Berne-Knox-Westerlo Central School District, the following high school seniors received the National Rural and Small-Town Award (NRSTA) academic honor:

  • Jodie Howland
  • Kathryn Joslin

“We are incredibly excited to recognize and celebrate the hard work of our high school seniors who were selected for this achievement,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mundell. “We’re proud of their strong academic performance in the classroom and on College Board assessments like the PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, and AP® exams.”

The criteria for eligible students include:

  • GPA of 3.5 or higher.
  • PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores that are within the top 10% of assessment takers in each state for each award program or earned a score of 3 or higher on 2 or more AP Exams in 9th and 10th grade.
  • Attend school in a rural area or small town, or identify as African American/Black, Hispanic American/Latino, or Indigenous/Native.

Eligible students are invited to apply to BigFuture during their sophomore or junior year and are awarded at the start of the next school year in time to share their achievements in high school as they plan for the future. At the same time, colleges and organizations using College Board’s Student Search Service™ can connect directly with awardees during the recruitment process.

“It’s becoming increasingly hard for students to be ‘seen’ during the college recruitment process. We’re exceptionally proud of the National Recognition Programs for celebrating students who are at times overlooked but have shown their outstanding academic abilities,” said Tarlin Ray, senior vice president of BigFuture® at College Board. “This is a benefit not only for students but also for colleges and universities committed to recruiting diverse and talented students.”