Two Birmingham-area school districts have produced large numbers of of National Merit Scholars this year.

Nearly 100 students from 44 public and private high schools across the state were honored with National Merit scholarships in a recent announcement. The program gives students between $500 to $2,000 annually for up to four years of undergraduate study.

Vestavia Hills High School had 10 winners on a recent list. Hoover High School had 8 recipients.

Hartselle High School, James Clemens High School in Madison and the Loveless Academic Magnet Program in Montgomery also celebrated five or more winners this year.

Alabama’s 97 recipients include 16 private school students and three homeschoolers. Seventy-eight winners attended public schools, 12 of which attended a magnet or International Baccalaureate program. Other students were honored with $2,500 scholarships in May.

See some top-producing public schools below:

• Vestavia Hills High School – 10 winners
• Hoover High School – 8 winners
• Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School – 6 winners
• James Clemens High School – 5 winners
• Hartselle High School – 5 winners
• Bob Jones High School – 4 winners
• Alabama School of Fine Arts – 4 winners
• Huntsville High School – 3 winners
• Northridge High School – 3 winners

The National Merit Scholarship uses PSAT results to identify top scorers. The scholarship application also requires students to have a history of exceptional academic standing, community service hours, extracurricular school activities, leadership skills and employment.

From the semifinalist group, over 15,000 met requirements for finalist standing and only 3,800 honorees were named nationwide in 2023.

Read more Ed Lab: These Alabama schools best prepare high school students for college, careers.

One thing to keep in mind: The program cautions against comparing high schools based on how many winners they have, and says it does not measure the quality or effectiveness of education within a school, system or state.

Honorees from Alabama include:

Natasha E. Roden, Marshall Christian Academy

Meleah M. Treadaway, Andalusia High School

Asa H. Savoie, Athens High School

William P. Duke, Auburn High School

Michelle L. Schindler, Auburn High School

James C. Anthony, Jr, Vestavia Hills High School

Justin C. Ferreiro, Oak Mountain High School

Dexter L. Gard, Alabama School of Fine Arts

Lillian W. Odom, Mountain Brook High School

Walker B. Stephenson, Westminster School at Oak Mountain

Lily B. Watts, John Carroll Catholic High School

Adit N. Patel, Boaz High School

Denisen B. Justice, Shelby County High School

Josiah P. Butler, Daphne High School

Tyler Postle, Bayside Academy

Thomas M. Walding, Daphne High School

Parker Stewart, Hartselle High School

Everett H. Roberts, Gadsden City High School

Evan B. Hill, Guntersville High School

Brody Trey Boster, Hartselle High School

Jacob E. Bowling, Hartselle High School

Edward Reid Ellis, Hartselle High School

Eli B. Moore, Hartselle High School

Regan A. Beavers, Sparkman High School

Sydney P. Risch, Helena High School

James Whitfield Bird IV, Homewood High School

Richard T. Reed, Homewood High School

Thomas K. Gullahorn, Hoover High School

Dylan D. Haigler, Hoover High School

Thomas S. Hao, Hoover High School

Dominic C. Renda, Hoover High School

Samuel Joseph Olsen, Briarwood Christian High School

Benjamin L. Roberts, Spain Park High School

Matthew D. Shen, Hoover High School

Nicholas O. Stefanov, Spain Park High School

Jacob T. Upton, Hoover High School

Rati H. Venkatesan, Hoover High School

Liz Wang, Hoover High School

Ian Burch, Huntsville High School

Daniel J. Coffman, Huntsville High School

Ella R. Duus, New Century Technology High School

Finlay S. Dwyer, Randolph School

Luke Fowler, Westminster Christian Academy

Erin F. Howard, Virgil I. Grissom High School

Hannah K. Lemons, Virgil I. Grissom High School

Sawyer B. Smith, Whitesburg Christian Academy

Pong Somboon, Randolph School

Sohail Mohiddin Baig, James Clemens High School

Emily R. Centamore, Sparkman High School

Anna E. Digges, Bob Jones High School

Vincent T. Dinh, Bob Jones High School

Sherwood Dong, James Clemens High School

Zoe E. Johnson, Alabama School of Fine Arts

Punarvi S. Mandadapu, James Clemens High School

Zoe Mae Molloy, Homeschool

Tevin Park, James Clemens High School

Craig H. Stephenson, Bob Jones High School

Alexander M. Stern, Bob Jones High School

Marianne C. Taylor, Providence Classical School

Jeremiah J. Yang, James Clemens High School

Macy E. Browning, St. Paul’s Episcopal School

Matthew J. Galvin, McGill-Toolen Catholic School

Nicolas E. Hewitt, McGill-Toolen Catholic School

Ethan Monson, UMS Wright Preparatory School

Shawn M. Mullen, W.P. Davidson High School

Lily G. Stubblefield, W.P. Davidson High School

Annabel C. Baker, Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School

Jim Cha, Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School

Hyun Min I. Choi, Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School

Kincade L. Corbin, Montgomery Catholic Preparatory School

Anmol P. Guard, Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School

Pia Jung, Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School

Jordan Y. Lee, Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School

Kendal M. Wright, St. James School

James H. Eldridge, Jr., Mountain Brook High School

James T. Stoddard III, Muscle Shoals High School

Henry E. Waldrop, Muscle Shoals High School

William W. Bittner, Alabama School of Fine Arts

Joseph McCallion III, Huntsville High School

Thomas J. Schultz, Baldwin County Virtual School

Parker Hull, Alabama School of Fine Arts

Jones R. Preg, Hewitt- Trussville High School

Mallory L. Whitt, Jefferson County IB School

Elliot J. Bolton, Northridge High School

Arnav Gupta, Northridge High School

Henry J. Halgren, Homeschool

Hudson N. Markin, Homeschool

Golden Junjian Zhang, Northridge High School

Jaxon D. Dunlevy, Vestavia Hills High School

Jamie X. Casey, Vestavia Hills High School

Haojun S. Chen, Vestavia Hills High School

Arman Dolatabadi, Vestavia Hills High School

Zain Farooqui, Vestavia Hills High School

Isabella C. Gentry, Vestavia Hills High School

Jonathan E. Gidley, Jr., Vestavia Hills High School

Kate E. Kaiser, Vestavia Hills High School

Alice H. Sun, Vestavia Hills High School