The National Merit Scholarship Corporation recently released the 2025 semifinalists and six attend Peoria Unified School District high schools.

Two of them are seniors at Ironwood High School in Glendale,  Sasha Tijore and  Daniel Wirt.

“I am incredibly proud of each of these students for being named a National Merit Semifinalist. I cannot wait to see what these students continue to achieve throughout their senior year and upon graduation,” stated KC Somers, Peoria Unified School District Superintendent, in a press release.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is based on student academic achievement assessed through the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Tests. More than 1.3 million juniors in 21,000 high schools across the nation enter the competition by taking the PSAT/NMSQT assessments.

Approximately 16,000 finalists were selected. These finalists represent less than one percent of high school students in the United States .

These 16,000 National Merit Finalists will compete for 6,870 scholarships, worth nearly $26 million total. The winners of the National Merit Scholarships will be announced beginning in April and will conclude in July. For information about the program, visit www.nationalmerit.org.

National Merit semifinalists will be recognized at a PUSD governing board meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26.