The STAR program was launched in 1958 by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. In 1994, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) was invited to assume the responsibility for the oversight, administration and promotion of the statewide program. The 92,000 members of PAGE are honored to recognize Georgia’s future leaders and the professional educators who have nurtured these scholars.
Every accredited high school in Georgia is eligible to participate in the STAR program. To obtain the STAR nomination, high school seniors must have the highest score on the test date on the SAT taken through the November test date of their senior year and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average. Each high school STAR Student is asked to name his/her STAR Teacher. High school STAR Students compete for system titles; and system STAR Students in turn compete for region honors in the 12 STAR Regions. Region winners and their STAR teachers are invited to Atlanta to compete for the state STAR scholarships and awards.
Locally, STAR Students and STAR Teachers are honored by their schools and receive special recognition in their communities from the more than 165 civic organizations and businesses that serve as local sponsors of the STAR program. The State PAGE STAR Banquet, held in Atlanta last month, recognized local STAR students from all over Georgia.
The following is a list of the 2018 East Cobb high school students and teachers. STAR Students were honored at the annual State PAGE Student and Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) banquet on April 23.
KELL HIGH SCHOOL
STAR Student: Mitchell Quinn Willmschen Gacuzana
STAR Teacher: Douglas LaVigne
LASSITER HIGH SCHOOL
STAR Student: Neal M. Ostrowski
STAR Teacher: Keelan Seabolt
POPE HIGH SCHOOL
STAR Student: Loren Tsang
STAR Teacher: Jessica Kelly
SPRAYBERRY HIGH SCHOOL
STAR Student: Juan Andres Rodriguez Soto
STAR Teacher: Natasha Beemon
WALTON HIGH SCHOOL – Region Winners
STAR Student: Grace K. Zhou
STAR Teacher: Laura Speer
STAR Student: Daniel C. Hudadoff
STAR Teacher: Laura Speer
STAR Student: Robert A. Morgan
STAR Teacher: Alan Farnsworth
*These students all tied for STAR Student
WHEELER HIGH SCHOOL – Region Winner
STAR Student: Sofiya Vyshnya
STAR Teacher: Sharon Hunt
This article originally appeared in the May issue of the EAST COBBER magazine, on page 8. Click here to view the digital edition.
