Seventh Graders Qualify for Duke Talent Identification Program
Forty-eight students at Athens Academy, 67% of the seventh grade, recently qualified for the Duke University Talent Identification Program. Qualification required scores at or above the 95 percentile on verbal or mathematical sections of nationally-normed tests approved by Duke's program for academically gifted students.
Athens Academy students who have qualified for the Duke Talent Search this year are Morgan Anderson, Ward Archibald, Lucy Barsness, Rachel Bonet, Sam Clements, Jeremi Clemons, MacKinsey Cole, Aaron Conley, Kurt Crymes, Justin Evans, Jason Fern, Christopher Fernandez, Houston Gaines, Andy Griffith, Emily Hansford, Jason Hatfield, Jordan Johnson, Ethan Jones, Mark Leonard, Forrest Liedberg, Caroline LaBoon, Jake Marrano, Bobby Marshburn, Katie McCormack, Taylor McDonald, Ivy Miller, Claire Moore, Joshua Netter, Charlie Newcomer, Aashni Patel, Emily Pee, Obaid Rahman, Jimmy Robinson, Perry Rupert, Caroline Sanders, Austin Schulte, Ethan Shealy, Morgan Solomon, Samuel Suarez, Donald Templeman, Mary Stuart Thomas, Ella Wasserman-Smith, Nikki Vascocu, Sarah Whatley, Tucker Whitton, Austin Williams, Ann McKenzie Woodruff, and Joseph Yu.
The Talent Identification Program was established in 1980 to identify bright students and to enable gifted and talented programs to help these students develop their abilities. The program's talent search involves students from 16 southern, southwestern, and mid-western states. It is one of four university-based talent searches that combine to cover the entire United States.
Students who qualified will take the SAT or ACT college admissions tests. The seventh graders who perform exceptionally well on one of these tests are invited to attend summer programs at Duke. In addition, the higher scoring students are invited to a state recognition ceremony.