FOXBORO - The New England Patriots will team up again this year with Foxboro High School and the school committee to create an Academic All-Star Team to honor classroom achievements.

Based on criteria set by school officials that recognize academic excellence, classroom effort and perseverance, students will be chosen for the New England Patriots/Foxboro High School Academic All Star team at the end of the school year.

Academic All Stars will be honored with their parents at a June banquet to be hosted by the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.

Last June, more than 500 Foxboro High School students and their parents were honored at Gillette.

"The program has been a great success in motivating students at all academic levels to persevere and excel in the classroom," Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft said. "The New England Patriots take tremendous pride in the accomplishments of these students in our hometown, and we look forward to honoring them, as well as their parents."

The program recognizes both top student performance and significant efforts to improve grades and participation in class.

"Perseverance is a cornerstone of this impressive program," high school Principal Jeff Theodoss said. "Our expectation is that the program will motivate students to work to the best of their abilities."

Teachers at Foxboro High School will select the all stars, using one of the following criteria:

Seniors who have maintained a 3.4 average during their four years at Foxboro High School and students who are members of the National Honor Society will automatically be included.

Students who demonstrate significant improvement in grade point average, who demonstrate excellent participation and effort in the classroom from the start of the first quarter to the end of the school year as selected by their teachers.