Washington, D.C., -- Today U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) and U.S. Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) sent a letter to President Barack Obama to highlight the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) as the most worthy candidate for his delivery of a commencement speech in the Race to the Top Commencement Challenge.

The competition was announced in late February and over one thousand schools submitted applications.  Applications were judged based on the schools performance, four essay questions and supplemental data. This resulted in the selection of six semi-finalists. Between April 26th and April 29th, more than 170,000 people voted on the finalists videos through the White House website. DSST was chosen along with two other finalists, Clark Montessori Junior & Senior High School in Cincinnati, OH, and Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, MI. The winner will be selected Tuesday, May 4, 2010, and will be announced through http://www.whitehouse.gov/commencement .

"Being named a finalist from a pool of over one thousand high schools nationwide is truly a testament to the success of the teachers, students, staff, and parents who work together to foster academic excellence at DSST," said Rep. DeGette. “These students deserve credit for all their hard work and welcoming President Obama to Denver for commencement would be a great way to send all the graduates off to college.”

"DSST students, teachers and administrators worked extremely hard to become one of the highest-achieving high schools in the state, and they definitely deserve the honor of welcoming President Obama as their commencement speaker," Senator Udall said.  "DSST's commitment to excellence and legacy of innovative learning is an inspiration to schools across the country."

The text of the letter can be found here.