CCSD Recognizes Record Number of Superintendent's Key Scholars for 2016
Etowah High School junior Gideon Boyington receives his Key Scholar patch from Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower.
The Cherokee County School District annually recognizes outstanding high school juniors as Superintendent’s Key Scholars, and a record number of students earned the distinction this year by scoring at the 90th percentile or above on the Grade 11 PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
During the 11th Annual Superintendent’s Key Scholar Recognition Ceremony held on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at River Ridge High School, 327 students were recognized for their PSAT scores achieved in October, which ranked them in the top 10% of the nation. Each student received a letter jacket patch that reads “Superintendent’s Key Scholar” and will also be honored at their school’s year-end awards ceremony as a Superintendent’s Key Scholar. These students also will have a special embossment on their high school diploma.
"As academic leaders, you have the potential to continue distinguishing yourselves as high school seniors, in your college pursuits and, eventually, in your chosen careers," said Dr. Brian V. Hightower, Superintendent of Schools, in his remarks to the students. " We also extend our congratulations this evening to all of the individuals who stand behind and support their efforts, including: parents, grandparents, teachers, school administrators and all others who have made and continue to make an impact on their education and their lives."
The Key Scholar Program is a districtwide academic recognition plan that begins in elementary schools with students qualifying for the nationally recognized Duke University Talent Identification Program (or TIP) in Grades 4 or 5 by achieving exceptional scores on either the Cognitive Abilities Test or the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. At the middle school level, the Key Scholars Program also includes Duke’s TIP, through which eligible students have the opportunity to get a head start on SAT and ACT testing, which usually does not begin until high school. Seventh-grade students participate in this nationally standardized testing, with many receiving State Recognition; and they are also recognized at a School Board meeting and at a special Duke University ceremony in Atlanta.
For high school students, the Key Scholar Program focuses on the Preliminary SAT (or PSAT). Freshmen scoring at the 80th percentile or above on the PSAT receive a Certificate of Achievement at their school’s year-end awards ceremonies. Sophomores scoring at the 85th percentile or above on the PSAT receive a Certificate of Achievement at their school’s year-end awards ceremonies. The top award in the Key Scholar Program goes to seniors who qualify as National Merit Scholars. Over the past 11 years, these academically outstanding students have led their classes as they marched across the stage at graduation wearing a special gold medallion.
The recognition ceremony on Tuesday evening also featured a performance by River Ridge HS choral students, the presentation of colors by the River Ridge HS Air Force Junior ROTC and remarks by School Board Chair Kyla Cromer.
Cherokee High School
Brittany Adams
Aaron Albright
Gabrielle Beck
Michael Bilyy
Lauren Cheek
Frank Chin
David Clark
Nolan Donley
Jodi Dowis
Brandon Evans
Lindsey Gay
Job George
Cassidy Hannon
Alexander Harp
Andrew Hodkoski
Alexandra Hofstetter
Benjamin Hultquist
Melany Izaguirre
Sarah Johnson
Grace Kim
Julia Kochansky
Thomas Landman
Darren Lausier
John Luis
William Maurer
Whitney McEntyre
Madison Melzer
James Milholland
Samuel Mourafetis
Jarod O'Meara
Gabrielle Peterson
Kalan Pindera
Emily Pope
Mark Radchuk
Tess Reboucas
Joshua Richardson
Madeline Rohrer
Eric Samuels
Brianne Schultz
Pragya Sharma
Zachary Sloan
Nicole Tjim
Angela Tolbert
Matthew Wareham
Megan Waterbor
Makaila Wood
Creekview High School
Kenyon Bixby
Jacob Bohler
Trenton Carrere
Ryan Chiavelli
Scott Chipman
Gavin Garcia
Dylan Giuliano
Mark Goodwin
Austin Griffin
Kelly Hart
Emma Holcomb
Grant Howell
Mariah Johnson
Nicholas Killen
Maximillio Kitchen
Haley Kreh
Zoe Lumpkin
Grace Maavere
Connor Manzer
Ronald Marble
Conner McCann
Kayla McCloud
Michelle McCord
Joshua McFarlin
Parker McMahan
John Miles
Caitlin Moak
Matthew Motika
William Oswald
James Pace
Kelley Plamp
Joshua Potter
Anthony Puhalovich
Parker Quarles
Alexander Roman
Haleigh Streak
Jasper Thibault
Robin Wells
Zachary Williams
Etowah High School
Patrick Allen
Annalea Anderson
Zachary Archer
Brandon Baker
Sarah Kate Billings
Gideon Boyington
Ashlynn Brown
David Brown
Morgan Collins
Nicholas Cooke
Dylan Crawford
Peyton Davis
Irene Dong
Morgan Dozier
Kelsey Durick
Lauren Elledge
Samantha Estep
Spencer Folsom
Aubrey Gerber
Mallory Gilmer
Danielle Goold
Nathan Gresham
Emily Guebert
Victoria Heck
Meghan Hines
Austin Holly
Cammie Hopkins
Yasmeen Ismail
Kaylin Jackson
Jakob Johnson
Kaitlyn Jones
Mark Krug
Robert Kutschke
Reese Lavery
Chloe Lee
Miranda Lehman
Zachary Machado
Sindhu Manivannan
Tyler Manuel
James McCoy
Peter McFarlane
Amber McPherson
Minnie Mitchell
Austin Mongold
Francis Mukoma
Daniel Mulloy
Jenna Murnan
Kenneth Nash
Chunwing Ng
Caitlyn Pallas
Ariel Pippin
Taylor Powell
Madison Puccio
Andrea Quero
Julia Reidy
Matthew Ridgeway
Ryan Shillcutt
Miles Shoemaker
Emily Silver
Brandon Stayton
Austin Stephan
Olivia Stephenson
Claire Strickland
Madison Tipton
Kyle Turbyfield
Sydney Wakeford
Patrick Walker
Mackenzie Walsh
Benjamin Weiss
Erik Weltz
Tony Wineman
Michael Wrobel
River Ridge High School
Jessica Abdalla
Temiloluwa Adekunle
Tanner Amason
Lauren Andersen
Skyeler Baxter
Brian Biddiscombe
Taylor Boardman
Adeline Boswell
Ashley Broady
Jackson Burke
James Burke
George Curtis
Katherine Eritano
Ariana Fonzo
Emily Gardner
Joshua Gilmer
Nicole Hammond
Margaret Harrington
Samuel Hicks
Tiana Hom
Joshua Isaksen
Isabelle Janda
Courtney Jones
Cassidy Kantoris
Jordan Mason
Emma Mason
Alexander McMath
Kyle Mohundro
Emily Moore
David Neubauer
Thao Ngo
Towfigh Noparast
Jose Noriega
Callie O'Bryant
Somadina Okezie-Okeke
Jared Ownby
Tej Patel
Anabelle Paulino
Dawson Peer
Chloe Phillips
Tulani Reeves-Miller
Andrew Silva
Rebecca Slaten
Christopher Soderstrom
Rahne Stewart
Sarah Swetlik
Joseph Wilken
Zia Yurchuck
Sequoyah High School
Kaitlyn Bates
Daniel Bennett
Amanda Brown
Clayton Brown
Cameron Buice
Julianne Clark
Callista Cox
Caroline Crum
Alexis Demar
Mary Dicks
Tommy Domohowski
Mackenzie Eubanks
Megan Evans
Michael Feroah
Samantha Francis
Andrew Gollner
Daniel Gordon
Kobe Greene
John Haas
Yejin Heo
Coleman Hess
Collin Hindt
Allison Hodgins
Mabry Hunt
Kathryn Hunter
Jacob Jenkins
Mitchell Ketcham
Sasha Laveing
Joseph Macuga
Katerina Massengale
Emily Minnick
Alexander Morrison
Hailey Nicholls
Briana Outlaw
Andrea Palese
Leslie Reece
Allison Reid
Isabelle Riddle
Zachary Rogers
Tyler Rutkowski
Slade Searcy
Charlie Smith
Kathryn Stewart
Byron Sullivan
Taike Tolbert
Dalton Trampnau
George Vish
Alexander Wagaman
Brittany Wallace
Laura Weier
Jordan Willingham
Nicholas Willman
Madeleine Wood
Amber Woodhull
Nicholas Zipp
Woodstock High School
Alexander Andon
Abigail Barrett
Austin Beyers
Kayla Brader
Liam Byrne
Patrick Capozzi
Ethan Chamberlin
Ryan Childree
Kevin Chong
Anna Rose Collins
Austin Cox
Christopher Crawford
Mallory Cromer
Jaclyn Csubak
Scarlett Darby
Briana Delvasto
Sarah Douglass
Madison Dunn
Joseph Felder
Nicolas Franco-Roldan
Lindsey Graham
Tatum Hardy
Drake Harris
Zachary Hopton
Irenee Houngblame
Christopher Jackson
Josiah Jaqua
Jason Jones
Aeon Jones
Kaito Kawamura
Ramsha Khan
Sydney King
Devan Knapp
Maxwell Koch
Jacob Laconi
Kara Landsiedel
Camryn Litke
Adrian Lopez-Torres
Ian Mastriani
Tyler Mathena
Samuel Mathew
Cole McBay
Ansley Meek
Amber Miller
Christopher Newhouse
Patrick Nolen
Shannon Oleson
Cole Ormsby
Emma Osborne
Sofia Perez
Ansel Rainwater
Kevin Rehman
Renee Richardson
Abir Sharma
Justina Simonetta
Christian Staton
Paige Steppe
Justin Theurer
Joshua Thrift
Melissa Tyson
Evan Vines
Matthew Weissel
Caitlin Wheaton
McKenzie Williams
Krystl Wood
Gillian Woodburn
Brittney Zambrano