Clarke Central High School senior Hayes Phillips stands in the CCHS Media Center on April 19. Phillips was named District IV STAR student by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators for his score on the SAT. “Hayes only missed one (question) on the SAT, and in our school district he outdid all the other students,” CCHS science department teacher William Swain said. “And then in the region, including private schools and everything, he was the top in the region.” Photo by Elena Gilbertson Hall
Based on students’ SAT scores, the Professional Association of Georgia Educators named STAR students across the state, including Clarke Central High School senior Hayes Phillips.
Clarke Central High School senior Hayes Phillips was named the District IV STAR Student by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) and will progress to the state round of the recognition process on April 23.
Georgia seniors with the top SAT scores in their district are recognized by PAGE and continue through a multi-step process as they are compared to similarly high-scoring peers at both the region and state level.
“This honor is well deserved and we wish Hayes the best as he goes on to compete at the state level for Page Star Student after winning top honors at the regional level. We are proud to have him represent CCSD,” executive assistant of human resources at the Clarke County School District Mary Wickwire said.
The STAR student selects a teacher who has influenced them during their high school years to name as the STAR teacher. Phillips chose CCHS science department teacher William Swain, who has taught Phillips in several classes.
“Swain has been one of the best teachers I’ve had. He’s a super funny guy and he helped me enjoy physics,” Phillips said. “He takes on a lot of work, he’s very dedicated and I appreciate that.”
Swain has enjoyed teaching Phillips and believes he was deserving of the STAR student award.
“Hayes is brilliant, he’s humble and is so open about helping others,” Swain said. “It’s one thing to be smart and it’s another thing to be smart and to pull other people alongside with you. When Hayes found a concept easy, he would go talk to students who struggled. That testifies to not only his willingness to help others, but also to his understanding of the information.”
For Phillips, the ability to recognize his STAR teacher, Swain, for his work was rewarding.
“(The award) is nice, but I feel like it doesn’t matter that much because at the end of the day, it is just one test score. It’s weird that this is the one thing that gets emphasized so much,” Phillips said. “But it was nice to be able to give Mr. Swain some recognition. I think the important thing is it’s an opportunity to recognize teachers — not the SAT sore.”
On April 23, Swain and Phillips will attend the state competition where the statewide PAGE STAR student is announced.
“We’re going to state and hope to bring back some good news. But either way, for him to make it this far and to represent Clarke Central High School is great to see,” Swain said.
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