Thirty out of 900 students in the state honored through the University of Washington's "Search for Young Scholars" are from Ballard area schools.

Students from Salmon Bay, Whitman, West Woodland, St. John, Adams, Whittier, Loyal Heights and St. Alphonsus were awarded for their outstanding academic abilities.

The Washington Search for Young Scholars is a statewide talent search operated by the university's Halbert and Nancy Robinson Center for Young Scholars.

“I found out about this program three years ago and I missed the deadline,” said Tricia Bentley, mother of Jojo, a fifth grader and Matthew, a seventh grader at St. Alphonsus. Both were among the ones honored this year.

“Since I knew Matthew’s scores were good last year I singed him up and he qualified," said Bentley.

To be eligible for the award, fifth and sixth grade students have to score in the upper three percent in reading/verbal or math/quantitative sections on a recent standardized achievement or aptitude test that compared them to students in Washington or nationally by grade levels.

Seventh and eighth graders are required to take either the SAT I or ACT college entrance exams and score above the mean for college-bound high school students.

“It was nice cause we got a certificate and it looks good for applications,” said Joe Chamberlin, a fifth grader at St. Alphonsus who received the honor.

Matthew, Jojo and Joe were recognized with the other 900 students at a ceremony March 29.

The scholars program is one of a number of programs operated by the Robinson Center to serve Washington’s most academically talented students. The program was created to make parents and gifted children more aware of challenging academic programs and the University of Washington and throughout the state.

“I just think it’s really cool that it’s free to do this and really smart kids who don’t necessarily get recognized are recognized,” Bentley said.