Two area students have been named as Student-Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) students for the 2001-2002 school year, and they have each selected a STAR teacher.
Najiyah Kazi, a senior at Pillow Academy, and Sheldon Hodge Jr., a senior at Greenwood High School, have both been selected as STAR students for their respective schools.
Kazi has selected Jere G. Stansel as the STAR teacher from Pillow Academy, and Hodge has designated John W. Teague III as the STAR teacher from Greenwood High School.
The students and teachers will be honored at Mississippi College in Clinton tonight at an education celebration, co-hosted by the Mississippi Economic Council's M.B. Swayze Educational Foundation and Entergy Mississippi. The STAR program is now in its 36th year.
Kazi is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Abul Kazi of Itta Bena. She received a score of 33 on her ACT exam and had the highest cumulative grade point average among Pillow Academy seniors.
Her honors include the advanced math award, computer science award, world geography award, English award, Spanish II award and the Woodmen of the World award in American history. She has been named the Rotary Club Student of the Month, a National Merit finalist and an Outstanding Student of America. She is listed on the Headmaster's List at Pillow, and has participated in the Academic Betterment Competition in English.
"Najiyah is an outstanding student. She has exceptional ability to think with clarity and to express herself with ease," Stansel said. "She is an outstanding English student who wants to become a doctor. I see in her reading, her thinking and her writing an ease and expression balanced with a logical, clear approach to a topic."
She plans to attend Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., where she will study biology.
This is Stansel's third designation as a STAR teacher. She has been teaching for 17 years, and she is the English teacher at Pillow. She has also been recognized through the Leflore County Teacher of the Year recognition program.
"It is an honor always to be selected," Stansel said. "I feel like I am representative of not only our school, but many of the other teachers who have molded, trained and worked with Najiyah. I do not feel deserving of this, but at the same time I am thrilled by it. It is a commendation for the school and the English department."
Stansel is a graduate of Delta State University and the University of Mississippi.
Hodge is the son of Sheldon and Miranda Hodge. He received a score of 25 on the ACT exam. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Algebra II award and the Citizenship Award. He is a National Honor Society member, a three-year band letterman and a member of the Greenwood Community Band. He also has participated in the I-55 Band Clinic.
He is a member of New Zion Missionary Baptist Church, where he sings in the choir. He plans to attend Jackson State University, where he will major in computer engineering and minor in music.
"Sheldon is a great young man. He's always been serious about his academics, and I think he would do well in whatever he plans to do in life. Credit goes to his parents and the faculty at GHS," said Teague.
Teague is an algebra teacher at GHS. He is a graduate of Mississippi Valley State University, and he received his master's degree from St. Louis University. He has been selected as Teacher of the Month and Teacher of the Year. His awards include the MVSU Alumni Service Award, Council STAR Teacher Award and the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce Excellence in Education award.
"I am very appreciative to be selected as STAR teacher, I have been teaching for almost 40 years, and thousands of students have passed through my classroom. I have had students who have come back 20 years later to see me and thank me, " said Teague.
"Receiving public recognition is wonderful, and I'm grateful, but receiving personal recognition and thanks from my students is the best award," Teague said.
Teague was also selected STAR teacher in 1999.
