Graduating seniors from 11 South DeKalb high schools dominated the 2004 DeKalb School Superintendent Scholarship program and walked away with the bulk of scholarships in the fund.

The 26 students from Avondale, Cedar Grove, Clarkston, Columbia, Lithonia, Martin L. King Jr., McNair, Redan, Southwest DeKalb, Stephenson, Stone Mountain and Towers high schools were among 43 seniors from 19 area schools who got scholarships totaling $18,000.

The Superintendent Scholarship program recognizes seniors for their academic excellence with awards that support their pursuit of higher education.

As part of the application process, each applicant was required to write an essay and profile on which they were scored. Scholarship amounts ranged from $200 to $1,000.

Tennelle McCray, a senior at Lithonia High school, got the largest scholarship.

\"I was surprised that I received a perfect score and that I was the only senior who was awarded $1,000,\" she said.

Tennelle, who aspires to be a sports and entertainment lawyer, plans to attend Spelman College in the fall. She said she will major in political science with a minor in writing.

Martin L. King Jr. High School led the way with seven outstanding seniors with Stephenson High School holding second place with five.

Dozens of businesses, PTAs, school system employees and members of the community donated to the fund, which was created in 2003 by School Superintendent Dr. Johnny E. Brown. Last year, the program awarded $17,000 in scholarships to 30 students.

Student scholars win $17K

Thirty-eight DeKalb County students will be headed to college this fall with some spending money from the Delta Sigma Theta\'s Decatur Alumnae chapter.

The students from eight DeKalb Schools, including several in South DeKalb, are splitting $17,000 in scholarships.

Briana Cox, a senior at Southwest DeKalb, was first place winner with $4,000. Chidelia Edochie, a senior at Dunwoody, and Ani Darcy, a senior at DeKalb High School of the Arts shared second place with $2,500 each.

Third place winner, Taryn Kirk, also a senior at DeKalb High School of the Arts, got $1,500. Thirty-four students received $200 book stipends totaling $6,800, and four others got awards totaling $10,500. For more information, call Stacey R. Smith at 404-518-3749.