The US Presidential Scholars Program was established by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and has since honored more than 7,500 outstanding high school seniors. As the program has grown from the initial recognition based upon SAT or ACT scores, additional Scholars candidates have been invited to apply for accomplishments in the visual and performing arts or creative writing. Beginning in 2016, outstanding students who demonstrate excellence in Career and Technical Education (CTE) were included for recognition.

The Presidential Scholars Commission will select up to 161 US Presidential Scholars each year. All scholars are honored for their accomplishments during the National Recognition Program, held in June in Washington, DC. US Presidential Scholars are guests of the Commission during the National Recognition Program and the Commission will cover all costs during the time of the recognition program, to meet with government officials, educators, and other accomplished people. To commemorate their achievement, the Scholars are awarded the US Presidential Scholars medallion at a ceremony sponsored by the White House.

Nomination Process for Students in Career and Technical Education

OSSE’s Career and Technical Education office is now seeking nominations for the current US Presidential Scholars in Career and Technical Education recognition program “on the basis of outstanding scholarship and demonstrated ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields.” Read the guiding principles and standards for the review and selection of candidates.

Local education agencies are invited to nominate an outstanding CTE student for the 2019 US Presidential Scholars Program. The following information must be submitted for nominees using the US Presidential Scholars Nomination Form for Students in Career and Technical Education and supporting documentation via the Box secure file transfer by 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15.

Candidate Requirements

• Candidate must be a current (2018-19 school year) high school senior
• Candidate must have completed at least three career and technical education courses (or have completed two and be currently enrolled in the third course) in a single program of study
• Candidate must have a GPA of a 3.25 or better in career and technical education courses
• Candidate must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale (unweighted)
• Refer to the guiding principles and standards the committee will use in reviewing the nominations

Nomination Submission Requirements

• Step 1 – Complete the US Presidential Scholars Nomination Form for Students in Career and Technical Education
• Step 2 – Upload supporting documentation via Box Secure File Transfer (there is a 10 MB maximum file size including documents, spreadsheets, PDF’s, and JPEG’s.)
• Upload the US Presidential Scholars Nomination Form for Students in Career and Technical Education
• Upload supporting nomination documents for the nominee to Box:
• High school transcript,
• Recommendation,
• Resume, etc.
• Folder Naming Convention – SchoolName_StudentLastName (ex. EasternHS_Smith)

Nomination Process

• Complete nominations must be submitted by 3 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 15.
• Nominees will be reviewed by an OSSE Selection Committee, a committee of qualified individuals experienced in career and technical education, and five state semifinalists will be selected.
• OSSE will forward the state semifinalists to the US Presidential Scholars program office.
• The US Presidential Scholars program office will invite the five state semifinalists to apply in mid-January.
• Completed applications will be due in February.
• Scholars will be announced in May.

Accessing Box Secure File Transfer

• OSSE transitioned to using a new tool, called Box, for secure data sharing on Feb. 1, 2018. In order to receive access to Box, an individual from your school must be assigned a role in eSchoolPLUS. This individual should be eligible to receive access to the Box folders for CTE Presidential Scholars for your school.
• Please email Richard Kincaid by Monday, Oct. 1 with the name and email address for the individual at your school who will serve as the authorized user of the secure Box folder for CTE Presidential Scholars.
• Once you have confirmed the point of contact and email address for your school, you will receive an official request to upload the names and information for your nominees (no more than two per school) into the Box folder for CTE Presidential Scholars. Nominations for CTE Presidential Scholars are due by Monday, Oct. 15.
• For more information on Box, please reference information on secure data transfer.

For more information or questions, please contact Richard Kincaid, CTE deputy director, at [email protected] or (202) 442-4008.