GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

While states have been competing for millions in Race to the Top funds, high schools have had their own contest for President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s attention.

Duncan announced today that Kalamazoo Central High School, a large comprehensive school in Michigan, beat out over 1,000 other high schools to have Obama as its graduation speaker this year. Schools that entered the competition had to show that their students were learning and that most, if not all of them, were going from graduation to college.

Hand picked by Obama from among three finalists, Kalamazoo’s school district runs a program called Promise that pays up to 100 percent of students’ college tuition for in-state schools.

No New York City high schools made it into the finalist round, but put your nominations of equally deserving NYC schools in the comments.