LOXLEY – The number of National Merit Scholars in the history of Baldwin County public schools increased by 400 percent this year, with all the new scholars coming from one school, educators said at a recent Board of Education meeting.
The Baldwin County Board of Education recognized four National Merit Scholars from Spanish Fort High School at their June meeting.
Caroline Triboni, Richard Fang, Katherine Clemmons and Bennett Booth were named National Merit Scholars. Before this year, only one Baldwin County public school student received the award, a Fairhope High School student in 2017, school officials said.
Spanish Fort Principal Brian Williamson said the award is given to only 7,500 students across the United States each year.
“So that is certainly a big deal to be recognized,” Williamson said. “The fact that we had four at our high school is something that I don’t know that we’ll ever see again in the history of our school. That’s not just a feather in the cap of Spanish Fort High School, that is something that the Baldwin County Public School System can really celebrate because these students are representatives of our school system, and it shows that our school system is capable of producing some of the best in the entire country.”
Superintendent of Education Eddie Tyler said the awards show that Baldwin County schools can be champions in the classroom as well as in athletics.
“I certainly know we have several of our high schools in our county that are championship-caliber athletic high schools. Spanish Fort is one of them,” Tyler said. “But to me, this sends a powerful message to the teachers, to the community in Spanish Fort, to our students and to all of our schools across the county that you can be competitive on the field, on the courts, but you can also be outstanding in the classroom.”
He said the awards are an example that Baldwin schools are among the best in the state.
“Our would put our system up against from the north part of the state all the way down south,” Tyler said. “We are one of the leaders of the pack in public education in Baldwin County.”
Williamson said the awards are a tribute to the work by students and educators.
“We’re extremely excited and proud of these students and all their hard work,” he said. “It’s definitely an honor to them and also to their teachers who have invested so much in them and got them to this point.”
An additional Spanish Fort High School student, Hannah Richerson, was named a National Merit Finalist this year. Before this year, three Spanish Fort High School students had been named National Merit Finalists in the school’s 16-year history.
