By Superintendent Loxi-Jo Calmes

Recently, 41 Lunenburg High School Seniors received notification of free tuition at any Massachusetts state college or university based on their high performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS).

    The Lunenburg seniors receiving the Adam’s scholarship are: Gregory Abare, Nicole Adams, David Albertini, Khalil Badran, Sarah Berry, Ambria Bilotta, Courtney Chester, Joseph Debettencourt, Emma Degrace, Melissa Deschamps, Kayla Dill, Allison Freeman, Sarah Gaudet, Heidi Giancola, Kara Gravel, Heather Greene, Natalie Hansel, John Hinsley, Samuel Keegan, Evan Kersey, Rebecca Krowitz, Jordan Lacross, Gerald Lane, Natalie Lapointe, Jeremy Lessard, Matthew Macioci, Kevin Macmillan, Natalie Marabello, Katelyn Masaitis, Rose Matthews, Katherine O’Connell, Molly O’Connell, Rachel Proctor, Brittany Reilly, Joshua Resnick, Emily Scouten, Camille Shack, Keegan Shannon, Olivia Spadafore, Briana Vessey and Alexandra Widstrand.

    We are extremely proud of our students’ performance on the recent state assessment and applaud their efforts. The recipients of the Adams Scholarship are to be congratulated for their commitment to high academic standards. Across the state, 18,200 students received the state's largest merit-based scholarship. Recipients become eligible for the scholarship based on their performance on the grade 10 MCAS English Language Arts and Math tests. To qualify a student must both score Advanced on one exam and either Proficient or Advanced on the other, and rank within the top 25 percent of students in their district. Students must also be permanent legal Massachusetts residents to qualify.

    The Adams Scholarship is the state's only merit-based tuition waiver program, and was established to help families pay for college, create an incentive for students to push themselves academically and encourage them to pursue higher education in Massachusetts. Adams Scholarship recipients receive free tuition at any Massachusetts public college or university. The tuition waiver remains in effect for eight consecutive semesters or four years. Recipients must begin to use the waiver in the first fall semester following their high school graduation, and must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better throughout the time of the waiver. The scholarship does not cover the cost of fees.

    For more information on the Adams Scholarship, visit the Department's Web site at doe.mass.edu/mcas/adams.html.