Gordon County Schools announces 2023 STAR Students and Teachers
Calhoun High School Class of 2022 graduates Christian Lewis and Rylie Parr continue to inspire excellence as they carry the Leadworthy traditions from high school to college.
The two alumni are quickly making an impact during their first year at Berry as active participants of the Emerging Leaders Program. This student leadership program has been part of Berry for 35 years and it strives to cultivate relationships with campus and community leaders, encourages personal exploration, provides networking opportunities, and exercises leadership skills to build upon for future leadership positions at Berry and beyond. The nominations for this program solicit first-year students appointed as potential future campus leaders by the Berry College faculty and staff, and also Viking student leaders.
Flip Flippen, founder of Capturing Kids’ Hearts, developed the Leadworthy curriculum offered at the Calhoun Middle & High School campus. Christian and Rylie participated in the Leadworthy program at CHS and are a testament of the benefits it
Two Gordon County Schools students have been named as 2023 PAGE STAR Students. Congratulations to Catherine Hughes from Gordon Central High and Stephen Kellogg from Sonoraville High.
These students and their STAR teachers were honored by the Board of Education at their February meeting.
Catherine Hughes is the daughter of Alan and Renee Hughes. Catherine has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her high school career and is ranked in the top 10% of her class. Catherine is actively involved in the Gordon Central Performing Arts Program, earning a GHSA Championship last year for International Extemporaneous Speech, as well as a Schuler Award for Featured Performance her sophomore year. Catherine was chosen to participate in the Governor’s Honors Program in Social Studies her sophomore year and participated in Georgia Girls’ State as a junior, serving as president of the Senate.
Catherine has selected Connie Worley, Spanish teacher at Gordon Central High School, as her STAR teacher.
Stephen Kellogg is the son of Erin Collins and Brian Kellogg. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school and is ranked in the top 10% of his class. Stephen is planning on entering the medical field after high school. He is currently enrolled in CNA certification courses through Chattahoochee Technical College and volunteers his time at the Helping Hands Clinic of Gordon County.
Stephen has selected Ashley Brookshire from Sonoraville High School as his STAR teacher.
The PAGE Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program, now in its 65th year, is sponsored,
Christian Lewis (left) and Rylie Parr (right) are part of Berry College’s Emerging Leaders Program. provides for our youth to be successful in life. The course provides students with the personal, emotional, social, and business skills that empower leadership development. Leadworthy is changing the lives of our students, and in turn, our students are making a positive difference in the world.
Congratulations Christian and Rylie for continuing the tradition of excellence! administered, and promoted by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) and the PAGE Foundation. Since its creation, the STAR program has honored nearly 29,000 students and the teachers they have selected as having had the most influence on their academic achievement. To obtain the 2023 STAR nomination, graduating high school seniors must have the highest score on a single test date on the SAT and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average.
STAR begins each year in participating high schools throughout Georgia when the STAR Student is named and chooses a STAR Teacher to share in this recognition. The students and their teachers are honored by their schools and receive special recognition in their communities from one of the more than 170 statewide civic organizations and businesses that serve as local sponsors of the STAR program. Students then compete for school system titles, and those winners compete for region honors. Region Winners compete for the honor of being named State PAGE STAR Student. STAR Teachers continue with their STAR Students at every level of the program.