Ashley Kippins	Gerald Pinchinat & Michele Acheampong

January 7, 2009 - A Shaker High School student was named a National Achievement Program semifinalist, while two others were commended for their outstanding scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Qualifying Test.

Shaker High senior Ashley Kippins was named one of just 1,600 National Achievement semifinalists nationwide for scoring in the top 2 percent of more than 140,000 African-American students who requested to be considered for the program when they took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Qualifying Test. Seniors Michele Acheampong and Gerald Pinchinat were named two of just 3,000 National Achievement commended students nationwide.

The National Achievement Program honors outstanding achievement among African-American high school students.

Kippins will continue in the competition and will be notified in March if she is a finalist, meaning she would become eligible for a National Achievement scholarship. Commended students do not continue in the competition, but some become eligible for scholarships through corporations and businesses.