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This week, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the selection of 141 high school seniors [PDF file] as the 2011 U.S. Presidential Scholars.

"The U.S. Presidential Scholars exemplify what dedication to achievement and setting high standards can symbolize for all youth," Duncan said in a statement. "The Department of Education congratulates these students on their artistic and academic accomplishments."

The 2011 Presidential Scholars will be honored in Washington, D.C. from June 18 to 21. They include one male student and one female student from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and from U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 students chosen at large, and 20 Presidential Scholars in the Arts.

The Presidential Scholars Program was started in 1964 to honor academic achievement, and was expanded in 1979 to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the arts.

More than 6,000 top-performing students have been honored as Presidential Scholars over the past 47 years, and since 1983, each Presidential Scholar has invited his or her most inspiring and challenging teacher to travel to Washington, D.C. to receive a Teacher Recognition Award from the U.S. Department of Education.

Among the three million students expected to graduate from high school this year, more than 3,000 candidates qualified on the basis of their SAT and ACT scores, or by nomination through the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts' YoungArts competition.

Presidential Scholars are selected by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars, based on their academic success, artistic excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as community service, leadership, and demonstrated commitment to high ideals.

President Barack Obama last week announced his intent to appoint two new members to the Commission on Presidential Scholars--Judy Gaynor, a co-founding member of the Chicago Committee of Human Rights Watch and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Children's Rights Division, and Richard P. Herman, an educational consultant who spent nearly 50 years as a founding director of Windsor Mountain International.

For related Schools.com coverage, read:

• From motherhood to mortarboards: scholarships and higher education funding for women
• Digital gifts for grads
• New Facebook tool to connect students with scholarships
• 10 great gadget gifts for grads