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Student
Awards
 Amanda Lu, a senior at Plano West Senior High School, was one of two inaugural winners of the Children's Medical Center Young Researcher Award. The award recognizes a talented young person who has dedicated his or her time and talents to a project that seeks to find a better way for mankind to live longer and better. Amanda is pictured with Dr. William Scott, chief of cardiology at Children's and professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
The Texas Education Agency has commended Plano ISD for the district’s performance on college entrance exams. Plano ISD students’ scores remained above the national average in every ranking class group. An impressive 70 percent of the district’s 2007 graduating class took the SAT or ACT. The participation rate of students in Advanced Placement/IB (International Baccalaureate) ranks among the highest in the state and nation. The incomparable performance of Plano ISD students on these exams gives them a competitive edge for college admission and college success.
Ninety-nine senior students achieved Semifinalist standing in the
National Merit Scholarship Program, based on their performance on
the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test. These academically gifted
students are among 16,000 of their peers nationwide who represent
less than one percent of high school seniors.
 Academic Decathlon teammates from all three Plano senior high schools competed in the 2008 Texas Academic Decathlon tournament, hosted by Plano ISD. Plano
Senior High School teammates (pictured) placed second overall at the
event, and Plano East teammates captured first place in the Super Quiz event.
Alexander Huang, Plano Senior High School Class of 2008, is the first Plano ISD student to earn finalist recognition in both Intel's and Siemen's prestigious national science contests.
Amy Chyao, Murphy Middle School seventh grade student, captured the
county spelling bee championship for the third
consecutive year in March, 2008.
Six Plano ISD National Merit Finalists were each presented with $4,000 Texas Instruments (TI) Junkins Scholarships at a recent luncheon held at TI's Dallas headquarters. Texas Instruments Chairman, President and CEO Rich Templeton presented the scholarships to 21 students from Texas, Arizona and Minnesota. Plano ISD students represented the largest group to earn the scholarships. Congratulations are extended to Helen C. Kerwin of Plano East Senior High School; Wilson W. Gu, Aasheesh Kanwar, Theresa R. Lii and Sandhya Ramesh of Plano Senior High School; and Michael Z. Yu of Plano West Senior High School.
 Plano East Senior High School Theatre won the District 9 5A UIL One Act Play Championship for the fifth year in a row with their production of the French comedy "The Dispute" by Marivaux. The play “Soon,” written by Chloe Warden, Plano East Senior High School Theatre Major Studies student, won the Texas Educational Theatre Association’s (TETA) playwright competition for high school students.
Among many visual arts awards earned by Plano students was the fact that Plano students captured seven percent of the 2008 Texas Visual Arts Scholastic Event's (VASE) highest ratings. Statewide, more than 17,000 students participated in the 20 regional VASE events. Over 1,600 works qualified to advance to state. There were 180 works from Region 10. Of those, 90 were from Plano ISD. 72 works from Plano received the highest level rating at state. 12 works from Plano ISD received a gold seal. Theresa Lii, Plano Senior High School, received 2 gold seals.
 Ryan Downing, Plano West JROTC cadet, was selected for the National Youth Leadership Forum on National Security, in Washington D.C. His selection was based on academic excellence.
Jennifer Goebel, a junior at Plano West Senior High, was selected by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison as a U.S. Senate Page representing Texas for the spring session 2008.
The Texas Music Educators Association announced the selection of 65 Plano ISD students representing all high school campuses for positions in coveted 2007-08 All-State music groups. A total of 24 band students, 14 choir students and 27 string students represented their respective schools and programs as all-state musicians. In addition to these individuals, two Plano ISD orchestras from Plano West Senior High School and Rice Middle School present invitational concerts at the 2008 TMEA conference.
State Sports Awards
- Football—Plano Senior High School Wildcats captured the State 5A Semi-finalist trophy.
Plano West Wolves were awarded the prestigious “Texas Dodge Dealers Lone Star Cup”
during a regular-season game.
- Swimming—Plano Senior High girls finished third at the state meet, with Genny Konicke
winning the 50 freestyle state championship and placing second in the 100 freestyle.
- Golf—Plano West teammates Ryan Daggerman, Alex Moon, John Rosener, Brett Spencer and
Sumin Yu captured the state championship.
- Tennis—Chris Bell and Sergio Antognelli, Plano West boys tennis doubles team, defeated
opponents to capture the state championship.
- Track—Toddrick Allen of Plano East laid claim to the state championship in the high jump,
leaping 6 feet, 10 inches.
- Baseball—Plano West Senior High School Wolves won the State 5A Baseball Championship, wrapping up an impressive 40-2 record season and bringing home the first-ever baseball state championship trophy for Plano ISD.
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