Several local high school graduates are pursuing higher learning. Morton High School District 201 reports 84 percent of its graduates will attend a college, university, or trade school this coming fall, according to data collected in the 2015–16 academic year. Best of all, several of Morton’s recent graduates are starting their college career without the financial burden. More than $20 million in scholarships were offered to Morton seniors going to college next year. This past school year, Morton High School District 201 was named a College Board AP District of the Year for being the national leader among medium-sized school districts in expanding access to AP courses while simultaneously improving AP exam scores. According to three years of AP data analysis, the number of Morton students enrolled in AP courses has gone up by 98 percent since 2011. Furthermore, there’s been a 68 percent increase in the percentage of students scoring high enough to earn college credit. The school district reported recent graduates enrolled in a total of 99 colleges or universities located in the U.S., Canada, Mexico City, Hawaii and the U.K. Other universities where students will study this fall are Northwestern University, the University of Wisconsin, Dartmouth College, and Yale University.