The National Merit Reception honoring seniors with outstanding PSAT 11 scores took place at EPAC on Nov. 19. During the ceremony, each of the 19 Semifinalists and 23 Commended Scholars recognized a teacher who made a meaningful impact on their academic career.
“I have worked really hard over the past four years in high school, and it feels very gratifying to be recognized for that,” Commended Scholar Colette King said.
Only 4% of the 1.4 million students who take the PSAT earn recognition from the National Merit program.
Dr. Elizabeth Houtz, a chemistry and AP biology teacher at EHS, was nominated by two students this year. Houtz said that being recognized makes her feel “grateful that [she has] these great students.”
While most of the educators recognized by students were from Edina High School, several were from students’ middle or elementary school careers.
Semifinalist Marit Peterson nominated her third-grade homeroom teacher, Isabelle Skoog, from Normandale Elementary School.
“She’s grown so much more since third grade, but she’s very artistic and very compassionate [and] empathetic,” Skoog said about Peterson.
The two reconnected through their shared interest in art; Skoog says that her nomination makes her feel like her career is “all worth it in the end.”
“Every single time someone asks me who my favorite teacher is, she’s the first person that comes to mind because she was so warm,” King said of her Honored Educator, another elementary school homeroom teacher.
EHS has seen an increase in the number of students recognized in the National Merit Scholarship Program. 42 students were recognized this year, while 30 were recognized last year.
Superintendent Dr. Daniel Bittman referenced the competitiveness of the program while addressing the audience at the ceremony, saying that “all of [EHS’s] scholars that are here today represent great academic excellence.”
