Benjamin Franklin High School Salutes its Eight Presidential Scholars Candidates

Benjamin Franklin High School (BFHS) is proud to announce the following eight seniors have been selected as candidates for the United States Presidential Scholars Program:
 
Joshua H. Balkin
Aroosa Y. Cheema
Jacob P. Fillinger
Shirley N. Hong
Elizabeth L. Parker
Illaria M. Simeone
Madison E. Smither
Yuzhi Wang

“We are honored and humbled by this distinction and will continue to promote excellence among our students,” says Dr. Patrick Widhalm, Franklin’s Head of School.
 
The U.S. Presidential Scholars Program was established in 1964 by Executive Order of the President to recognize and honor some of our nation’s most distinguished graduating seniors. In 1979, the program was expanded to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional scholarship and talent in the visual, creative and performing arts. Annually, up to 141 students are chosen from among outstanding graduating seniors to become U.S. Presidential Scholars, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students according to the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program fact sheet.

 
About Benjamin Franklin High School
Benjamin Franklin High School, New Orleans’ most outstanding public charter school, has been preparing students for success through academic achievement since it was founded in 1957. Consistently ranked as a “top public high school in the nation” by U.S. News and World Report, Newsweek, and Business Week, Franklin has received the highest School Performance Score in Louisiana, making it the #1 public school in the state, year after year.  Franklin is repeatedly named a National Blue Ribbon School, producing Presidential and National Merit Scholars each year.  The exceptional students, faculty and staff of Benjamin Franklin High School are the best and the brightest of New Orleans. For more information, visit bfhsla.org.