The Houston Independent School District will commemorate national College Signing Day on Tuesday, April 26 by encouraging high school seniors to tout their college acceptance letters and wear college paraphernalia as part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Better Make Room and Reach Higher initiatives to celebrate education.

HISD will host its College Signing Day event at Austin High School, where more than 300 high school seniors will be recognized for their academic excellence. The event will bring together students, administrators, teachers, school counselors and parents to celebrate seniors who are headed to college, thanks to academic scholarships. Many of the students will be the first in their families to attend college.

Austin is among more than 500 schools nationwide that will host their own College Signing Day event in April or May. Additional HISD high schools will hold similar events at their campus in the coming month. On Tuesday, students will hear from an inspirational speaker on the importance of following their hopes and dreams. Students also will be encouraged to share their college journey online by taking selfie photos with their college acceptance letters using the hashtags #HISD, #CollegeSigningDay, #BetterMakeRoom, and #SigningSelfie.

The First Lady launched the Reach Higher initiative to inspire every student in America to take charge of their future by completing their education past high school, whether at a professional training program, a community college or a four-year university. In October, the First Lady announced a new public awareness campaign, Better Make Room, to target young people ages 14-19 to celebrate education through traditional and new media platforms.

The event will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 26 at Austin High School, 1700 Dumble St.