Excelsior Program

Criteria 1 - Incoming ninth-graders who perform in the Top 10 percent of the High School Placement Test (HSPT) and have exceptional middle school grades are invited to join the program. 

Criteria 2 - Students in ninth or 10th grade who earn an unweighted GPA of 3.75 or above and have scored a 1050 or above on their PSAT are invited to become members of the Excelsior Program. 

Students must be identified prior to their junior year in order to be eligible for the Excelsior Program. 

Students who qualify for the Excelsior Program have access to: 

• Honors, Advanced Placement, and Dual Enrollment courses 
• Invitations to various workshops, summer courses, and summer internships 
• Annual recognition 
• An induction ceremony (11th) 
• Graduation recognition (12th) 

Requirements for 2021-2022
To remain an active standing member of the Excelsior Program, students must maintain semester grades of B or higher, a cumulative weighted GPA of 3.75 or above at the end of each school year, and remain in Honors, Advanced Placement, and Dual Enrollment courses (as applicable). Due to the high expectations of student performance, students who do not maintain active standing requirements are removed from the program and are no longer eligible for the program benefits. These requirements will be in effect as of the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year. 

Requirements for 2020-2021
For the 2020-2021 academic year, the following requirements were used to determine which students qualified for Excelsior:

Freshmen        90% or above on HSPT
Sophomore     Top 10% of class and PSAT score of 1100 or above
Junior              Top 10% of class and PSAT score of 1200 or above 
Senior              Top 10% of class and PSAT score of 1250 or above

**The Top 10 seniors, juniors and sophomores have been added to criteria for the 2020-2021 school year. Freshmen who earned 85-89 percent on their HSPT have also been included.