NBC LA Coverage: Obama May Give Commencement at ECHS

NBC LA coverage

Obama May Give Commencement at SoCal High School

Lawndale school named finalist in national competition

By OLSEN EBRIGHT

Updated 3:09 PM PDT, Fri, Apr 9, 2010

A Lawndale high school has been named one of six finalists in the White House's "Commencement Challenge" competition, and now will now compete for President Barack Obama to give the school's commencement speech.

Environmental Charter High School made the finals based on its performance, four essay questions and supplemental data, according to the White House:

The six finalists were selected for their dedication to academic excellence and for showing how they are helping prepare students to graduate college and career ready, and prepared to meet the President's goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.

"The quality of the applications we received is a testament to the exciting work happening in schools throughout the country, and I look forward to visiting and speaking at the winning school later this spring," Obama said.