Paige Prochnow, a senior at Mundelein High School, was named a finalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program, according to a Mar. 16 announcement from the school.
The recognition places Prochnow among an elite group of high school seniors nationwide. Later this spring, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation will select approximately 6,870 winners from the pool of finalists. Prochnow had previously been named one of more than 16,000 semifinalists last September, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors.
To reach finalist status, each semifinalist completed a detailed scholarship application that included a written essay and information about extracurricular activities, awards, and leadership positions. Applicants also needed an outstanding academic record, endorsement and recommendation by a high school official, and SAT or ACT scores confirming their qualifying test performance. Prochnow participates in Varsity Volleyball, Varsity Track and Field, Peer Tutors Club, National Honor Society, SALT and other activities. She also achieved a perfect composite score of 36 on the ACT taken at the end of her junior year.
Mundelein Consolidated High School District 120 represents Lake County and includes Mundelein High School according to the Illinois Report Card. The district enrolled 2,069 students in grades nine through twelve during the 2019-2020 school year and is located in Mundelein and Lake County according to state data.
The district has 130 teachers with an average salary of $91,610 before pension contributions; women make up 52.6 percent of staff while men account for 47.4 percent. No teachers had more than ten absences in a school year according to state records. The student body is composed of 41.1 percent White students, 2.3 percent Black students, 45.2 percent Hispanic students, and 5.7 percent Asian students as reported by ISBE.
In terms of spending and attendance metrics for the district: $29,799 was spent per student in 2020 for a total expenditure of $61,653,428 according to financial reports. There were also 91 chronically truant students enrolled during that year—a rate of 4.4 percent—compared to the statewide average chronic truancy rate of 9.6 percent as noted by ISBE.
