Two Middletown Area High School (MAHS) seniors, Aaliyah Allensworth and Layla Wall, earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs. These programs celebrate students' hard work in high school and showcase their strong academic performance.

Allensworth and Wall were awarded the National African American Recognition Award. The academic honors for rural-area, black, indigenous, and/or Latino students are an opportunity for students to share their strong academic achievements with colleges and scholarship programs that are seeking to recruit diverse talent.

The criteria for eligible students include having a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Eligible students must also have PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 assessment scores that are within the top 10% of assessment takers in each state for each award program, or they must have earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP Exams in ninth and 10th grades. Students must also attend school in a rural area or small town or identify as African American/black, Hispanic American/Latino, or indigenous/native.

Eligible students are invited to apply during their sophomore or junior year and are awarded at the start of the next school year in time to share their achievements in high school as they plan for the future.