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125,000 Votes and Counting

Summary: 
Over 125,000 votes have been cast in the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge.

Yesterday President Obama asked for your help to narrow down the finalists in the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge and you responded. So far, we’ve received over 125,000 votes!

The race is still too close to call, and it’s not too late to weigh in.  Voting closes tomorrow (April 29) at 11:59 PM EDT, so check out the finalists' videos and essays and rate each one from 1-5 at WhiteHouse.gov/commencement.

When we first launched the Commencement Challenge in February we were looking for schools that were making significant strides on personal responsibility, academic excellence and college readiness, and working toward the President’s national goal of having the most college graduates by 2020. We received over 1,000 applications from outstanding schools across the country, but the six finalists - Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, KS, Clark Montessori in Cincinnati, OH, Denver School of Science and Technology in Denver, Colorado, Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale, CA, Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, MI and MAST Academy in Miami, FL – really stood out.

Now we need your help to narrow down the field.  On Friday, we’ll announce the top three publicly rated schools.  From there, President Obama will choose one school to visit and deliver the commencement address.  Check out WhiteHouse.gov/commencement on May 4 to find out who won. 

Lauren Paige is Director of Special Projects for White House Communications.