Francis HowellHigh School

FHSD is proud to announce that during the 2018-19 school year, three FHSD students scored a perfect 36 on the ACT test. Laurel Ammond from FHC, Arianna Chaves from FHN, and Sara Stiens from FHHS join a very select group. Only one-tenth of one percent of the almost two million students who take the ACT every year are able to achieve a perfect score.

Laurel Ammond is a senior at FHC with a 4.73 GPA. She has taken a full course load of AP classes, is on the National Honor Society Executive Board, and also earned an NHS scholarship. She is a nationally recognized musician who has been active in marching band, basketball pep band, and the St. Charles County Youth Orchestra. She has been recognized with the John Philip Sousa Award, Most Outstanding Veteran Marcher, Instrumental Music Departmental Award, and honored as an Ultimate Spartan. Ammond has received a scholarship from the University of Notre Dame and will major in biochemistry.

Arianna Chaves is a senior at FHN who has a 4.83 GPA and is ranked first in her class. She has been named an AP Scholar with Distinction, a Presidential Scholar Semifinalist, and a recipient of the John Phillip Sousa Award. During her high school career, she has been active in marching band, wind ensemble, woodwind choir, Science Club, the Technology-Students Association, and Mu Alpha Theta. Her scholarships include a National Merit Scholarship, a National Honor Society Scholarship, the FHN Band Boosters Scholarship, and Bright Flight. Chaves plans on studying computer engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology next year.

Sara Stiens is a senior at FHHS who is ranked third in her class with a 4.80 GPA. She has attended the Missouri Scholars Academy and has been recognized with the Missouri Seal of Biliteracy in Spanish and by the American Association of University Women for her achievement in math. Stiens is a trainee with the Saint Louis Ballet Company and performs professional ballets with the company throughout the year. She is also a member of HOSA and NHS and a volunteer at the St. Louis Children's Hospital. She has received a full ride National Merit Finalist scholarship from Mizzou, where she plans to major in biochemistry and Spanish on the pre-medical track. She is also a Stamps Scholars finalist and was selected to be part of the Discovery Fellows research program.

The ACT is a curriculum-based achievement exam that measures what students have learned in school. It consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading, and science, each scored on a scale of 1-36. A student's composite score is the average of the four test scores. Students who earn a 36 composite score have likely mastered all of the skills and knowledge they will need to succeed in first-year college courses in the core subject areas. All major four-year colleges and universities across the U.S. accept ACT scores.