About 4,000 students were honored for academic excellence during this year’s African American Festival of Academic Excellence, held May 23 at Comcast Center. More than 2,400 students attended the recognition ceremony, which is in its 20th year of honoring outstanding academic achievements of African American students with certificates, scholarships and entertainment.

The students who were recognized attend 118 elementary schools, 39 middle schools and 24 high schools within Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The event was cosponsored by MCPS and the University of Maryland.

In 1989, Mr. Roscoe Nix and Dr. Owen Nichols started the festival, created to recognize, encourage, support and celebrate African American students in their efforts to achieve excellence in their studies. The first festival was held in 1990 at Thomas Wootton High School, where 250 high school students were honored.