TCSS announces STAR students and teachers

Published 6:53 pm Monday, March 4, 2024

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On Monday afternoon, the Troup County School System revealed the winners of the annual Student-Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program in a reception hosted by the Troup County School Board.

Each year, the Rotary Club honors Troup County’s highest-achieving high school seniors and the teachers who have been most instrumental in their academic development.

The STAR students and teachers were set to be recognized at the Feb. 21 Rotary Club meeting, but the meeting was canceled due to the funeral of former Mayor Willie Edmondson. The STAR student program at the Rotary Club has since been rescheduled for March 27.

Due to the overall winner for Troup County advancing to the regional competition in Columbus, TCSS announced the school-level winners and the overall winner during a special presentation Monday.

Hyun Caleb Hwang from LaGrange High School and his teacher, Aidan Blackwell, were named countywide STAR Student and Teacher.

Hwang will advance to the regional competition in Columbus. The winners from that level will go on to compete for the Georgia STAR award.

Since the program’s inception in 1958, the STAR Student Program has honored nearly 26,000 high school seniors who have in turn chosen their STAR Teachers to share in the recognition.

To earn STAR recognition, the students must have the highest score in one sitting on the SAT taken through the November test date of their senior year and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students in their class based on grade point average.

The STAR students will make their traditional speeches during the Rotary Club meeting on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at noon at Highland Country Club.

The school-level winners include:

4 Haley M. Jones and teacher Barbara Speer (Callaway High)

4 Alyssa Louesa Parker and teacher Darlene Shaw (Lafayette Christian)

4 Kenneth Kao Horlander and teacher Tippi Faucette (LaGrange Academy)

4 Hyun Caleb Hwang and teacher Aidan Blackwell (LaGrange High)

4 Cadence Elise Davis and teacher Paul Hammock (Troup High)