Secretary DeVos Congratulates 2019 President’s Education Awards Program Recipients

• 06/06/19

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today congratulated the 2019 President's Education Awards Program (PEAP) recipients, recognizing nearly 2.25 million elementary, middle and high school graduates on their educational accomplishments.

The students come from more than 25,000 public, private and military schools from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Outlying Areas—American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—and American military bases abroad.

"The President and I are honored to celebrate your accomplishments and join your family and community in honoring you," said U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. "By setting goals for your education and working hard to reach them, you are building a bright future for yourself and inspiring others to following their own paths to success."

PEAP was founded in 1983. Every year since then, the program has provided our nation's schools with the opportunity to recognize graduating students who meet high standards of academic excellence and those who have given their best effort, often overcoming obstacles to their learning.

Each year, eligible graduating K-12 students are selected by their school principal for recognition in two categories:

• The President's Award for Educational Excellence —This award recognizes academic success in the classroom. To be eligible, students must meet requirements, including grade point average or other school-set criteria and choice of state tests or teacher recommendations.
• The President's Award for Educational Achievement —This award recognizes students that show outstanding educational growth, improvement, commitment or intellectual development in their academic subjects but do not meet the criteria for the Educational Excellence Award. Its purpose is to encourage and reward students who give their best effort, often in the face of special obstacles. Criterion for this award is developed at each school.

Individual recognition is bestowed by the President and the U.S. Secretary of Education, in partnership with the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The award includes a congratulatory letter to the student and certificate signed by the President, the Secretary, and the school principal.

Unlike other awards programs, the principal has sole discretion in choosing recipients based on eligibility. There is no limit on the number of awards, as long as students meet the criteria for each award set by the school.

A list of 2019 President's Education Awards participating schools by state and territory is available here.