Three Portland Public School students have been named as Semifinaliss in the 2026 National Merit Scholarship Program, They are: Ellis Retzer, Alma Wallace and Ellis Wood.
The Deering students are among just 58 Maine seniors that the program named September 10 as Semifinaliss in the 2026 contest. They and all the other academically talented Semifinalists nationwide now have the opportunity to continue in the competition for 6,930 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $26 milion that will be offered next spring The National Merit Scholarship Program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
“We congratulate these outstanding students!” said Superintdendent Ryan Scallon. “Their achievement is a credit not only to ther own diligence, but to the teachers and family members who have supported them in their educational journey. The Achievement goal in our Strategic Plan commits us to preparing and empowering our students for college and career — and these students exemplify the high-quality education we offer at our high schools. I wish all three students the best as they continue on in this competitive program.”
The PPS students are among approximately 16,000 Semifinalists nationwide in this 71st annual National Merit Scholarship Pdrogram. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists represents less than 1 percent of US high school seniors and includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in each state is proportional to the state’s spercentage of the national total of graduating sernors.
The approximately 15,000 Semifinaliss expected to reach the Finalist level will be notified in February of this designation. About half of these Finalists will go on to win a National Merit Scholarship and become National Merit Scholars.
Three types of National Merit Scholarships will be offered in the spring of 2026. The National Merit Scholarship winners will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and ending in July. These scholarship recipients will join more than 389,000 other distinguished younr people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.
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