St. Jerome eight graders Adrian Toledo (left) and Ryan Green are two local winners of the Neumann Scholars Awards, Friday, May 11, 2012, Philadelphia, Pa. (Maria Pouchnikova)
Eleven local Catholic elementary school eighth-graders were named Neumann Scholars, earning full, four-year scholarships to any of the 17 high schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The local award winners and their current and future schools are:
• Brian Booth, St. Cecilia, Roman Catholic.
• Sean Finnegan, St. Christopher, Archbishop Wood.
• Jamie Galanaugh, St. Timothy, Little Flower.
• Ryan Green, St. Jerome, Father Judge.
• Brendan Guy, St. William, Roman Catholic.
• Christian Morris, Our Lady of Calvary, Archbishop Wood.
• Nicholas Novotny, Our Lady of Calvary, Archbishop Ryan.
• Daniel Quedenfeld, St. Cecilia, Archbishop Ryan.
• Brandon Texeira, St. Matthew, Roman Catholic.
• Adrian Toledo, St. Jerome, Archbishop Ryan.
• Katy Vieira, Resurrection of Our Lord, St. Hubert.
In all, there were 40 winners among schools in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.
The pupils were honored at a ceremony last month at St. Joseph’s University. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput was in attendance.
The Neumann Scholars Program was initiated in 1995 by the Connelly Foundation. Winners are chosen following an examination given each January.
Each year, about 900 pupils compete for the scholarships. They are selected to take the exam by their principals, based on an essay and other academic criteria.
Almost 600 people have earned scholarships over the years, and they have had 100-percent college acceptance and attendance rates.
In high school, Neumann Scholars must maintain a classroom average of 90 or better, rank in the top 10 percent of the class and have conduct marks of at least 85 percent. They are assigned academic counselors who monitor their progress during their high school years.
The 2012–13 tuition at archdiocesan high schools will be $5,850. Assuming modest annual tuition increases, each scholarship is worth about $24,000. ••
