Several area principals have been chosen to attend The Principals' Center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education through Raise Your Hand for Texas. Attendees include:

•Donna Solley, Holiday Heights Elementary, Birdville ISD

•Usamah Rodgers, Cedar Hill Collegiate High, Cedar Hill ISD

•Violet Maxwell, Waterford Oaks Elementary, Cedar Hill ISD

•Steven Wurtz, Austin Elementary, Grand Prairie ISD

•Leslee Shepherd, South Grand Prairie High Ninth Grade Center, Grand Prairie ISD

•Deborah Cano, South Keller Intermediate, Keller ISD

•Ronald Myers, Trinity Meadows Intermediate, Keller ISD

•Ann Beckel, Hicks Elementary, Lewisville ISD

Byrd Middle School principal Gabe Trujillo was named Texas' 2009 Middle-Level National Distinguished Principal by the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association. Trujillo received $10,000 for the honor and will represent Texas at the National Distinguished Principals program in October in Washington, D.C.

The North DFW Officers Association, an affiliate of the Military Officers Association of America, presents a $1,500 scholarship to Carlos Pellegrino, a graduate of Flower Mound High School. The chapter annually provides the scholarship to a graduating member of the Junior ROTC program in the Lewisville school district.

Bice's Florist presented scholarships to two students. They are Caroline Sisco, a graduate of Grapevine High, and Elizabeth Kinsey, a graduate of Colleyville Heritage High.

The Irving ISD's Public Information Department won six awards in the National School Public Relations Association's 2009 Publications and Electronic Media Contest. The department received two honorable mention awards for electronic media, three awards of merit and an honorable mention award for publications. Tony Thetford is the department's director, and his assistant is Matt MacVeigh.

University of North Texas graduate student Jeffery "Brooks" Durham has been selected to receive a nonrestricted $10,000 scholarship from the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation.

Six UNT students have each received $10,000 scholarships to earn a master's degree in journalism from the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate School of Journalism. The students are Elise Brooking, Noah Bunn, Tasha Hayton, Rebecca Hoeffner, Sarah M. Perry and Jayme Rutledge.