Cohen Announces Memphis High School Selected as 2011 Race to the Top Finalist

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) today announced the White House and the U.S. Department of Education have selected Booker T. Washington High School of Memphis, Tennessee and five other schools for this year’s Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge. As part of the next step of the Commencement Challenge, the Get Schooled Foundation will now work with the Memphis High School and other schools to produce a video for the online voting portion of the challenge.

“This is an amazing opportunity for Booker T. Washington High School to show the country what it is made of and I have the utmost faith in its students and their teachers,” said Congressman Cohen. “Booker T. Washington High School has what it takes to win this national competition and a visit from President Obama. The school has already come so far thanks to Race to the Top. I am behind the school and its students 100 percent.”

The President set a goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020 and the Commencement Challenge invited the nation’s public high schools to submit applications that demonstrate their commitment to preparing students for college and a career. Hundreds of applications were received and were judged based on the schools’ performance, essay questions and supplemental data. The six finalists were selected for their creativity in engaging and supporting students, academic results, and progress in preparing students to graduate college and career ready.

The six finalists are:
• Booker T. Washington High School (Memphis, Tennessee)
• Bridgeport High School (Bridgeport, Washington)
• Wayne Early Middle College High School (Goldsboro, North Carolina)
• Science Park High School (Newark, New Jersey)
• Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12, School for Creative and Performing Arts (Pittsburgh, PA)
• High Tech High International (San Diego, CA)

Over the next few weeks, each school’s students will work with The Get Schooled Foundation, which includes Viacom among its founding partners, to create a short video highlighting how the school best fulfills the Challenge’s criteria. The six videos, along with portions of each school’s written application, will be featured on the White House website in the coming weeks and the public will have an opportunity to vote for the three schools they think best meet the President’s goal. The President will select a national winner from these three finalists and will visit the winning high school to deliver the commencement later this spring.