Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Congratulations to Beaufort's Junior Scholars and their instructors

No thanks to restricted resources from the legislature and a lack of advocacy from the state Department of Education, 135 eighth-graders in Beaufort have excelled academically to be named Junior Scholars this year.

They include 46 students at McCracken Middle School, four at Robert Smalls Middle School, 32 at Hilton Head Island Middle School, 23 at Beaufort Middle School, 11 at Lady's Island Middle School, and 11 at Whale Branch Middle School.

The Junior Scholars Program was developed by the South Carolina Department of Education to identify eighth-graders with exceptional academic talent and to develop strategies for inclusion into special programs. The program includes a process for screening, identifying and recognizing students with high scholastic achievement and intellectual ability.

Eligible students include those who score 50 or higher on the PSAT (preliminary SAT) in verbal, math, or writing or those who participated in Duke University's Talent Identification Program (TIP) during their seventh-grade years, who met the eligibility requirements as outlined by that program and were identified and recognized by Duke TIP.

Students who qualify as Junior Scholars receive an award of merit from the South Carolina Department of Education as well as information regarding summer academic experiences sponsored by South Carolina colleges and universities. They can use that special recognition to bolster their applications to colleges and universities.

The 135 students and their parents will also be honored next spring at an annual Junior Scholars Banquet sponsored by the Beaufort County School District.

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