There was a special celebration held on Monday at Whitney Young High School.

23 students scored a perfect 36 on their ACT.

“Today is one of those rare, extraordinary moments in a school’s history,” Principal Rickey Harris said. “We get to pause and celebrate academic greatness.”

On Monday, each student was recognized for the monumental achievement.

“I’ve been preparing for the last year took about 8 practice tests practice and preparing for it,” student Bennett Star said.

Student Mila Martinez said that her family got emotional when she shared the news.

“[My dad] started to cry,” Martinez said. “He is from Puerto Rico. [He] never took the A.C.T. So for our family it’s a huge accomplishment.”

In 2018, Whitney Young had five students that scored a perfect 36.

The principal credit this year’s extraordinary record to the school’s culture of high expectations.

Principal Harris compared the 23 academic all-stars to the legendary Michal Jordan, who of course wore the number 23.

“Just like M.J. our 23 didn’t settle for average,” he said. “M.J. once said ‘you put in the work results will come’.”

Less than 1 percent of test takers get a perfect score.

CPS said more than 100 students achieved a perfect score on the ACT test. Most of the students are high school juniors.

Among the major achievements include:

– 33 students from Walter Payton College Preparatory High School
– 23 students from Lane Tech College Prep High School
– 20 students at Northside College Prep

“This remarkable accomplishment reflects the powerful impact of investing in Chicago’s youth,” a spokesperson for the district said.