Armuchee seventh-graders earn Duke TIP honors

 

Media release: Duke University has recognized six Floyd County seventh-grade students from Armuchee Middle School for being among the most academically talented middle school students across the country. Reid Blackmon, Jerry Cable, Celine Chan, Griffin Goss, Braden Hyde, and Dylan McLaughlin have been recognized for their exceptional scores on the ACT or SAT by the Duke University Talent Identification Program's (Duke TIP) seventh-grade talent search. The six talented teens qualified for one or more of three recognition levels within the TIP program as a result of their performance on one of the college entrance exams. 

Academically talented seventh graders are invited to participate in Duke TIP.  The program identifies students across the nation who have scored in the 95th percentile on a grade-level achievement test. Students electing to participate in Duke TIP take the SAT or ACT along with high school juniors and seniors preparing for college.

The Duke TIP Program recognizes students in four categories based on their SAT or ACT scores:

• Grand Recognition: honors seventh graders who have earned scores equal to or better than 90% of college-bound seniors who took the same tests.
• State Recognition: honor seventh graders who have earned scores equal to or better than half of the college-bound seniors who took the tests or they excelled on one or more subsections of the ACT or SAT. Working with host academic institutions, Duke TIP sponsors 34 state ceremonies in its 16-state talent search region during the months of May and June. Speakers include university administrators and professors from the host institutions, state and government officials, and accomplished former Duke TIP students.
• The Duke TIP Academy: for Summer Studies offers an exceptional academic and social experience for those students who are among the top 5 percent of academically talented students in their grade level. Students in this program will experience challenging coursework and build friendships with other academically gifted peers.
• The Duke Center: for Summer Studies participants are the highest-scoring students in Duke TIP's seventh-grade talent search. Courses offered at the Center for Summer Studies are some of the most challenging and rigorous available to academically gifted students in the country. At the Center for Summer Studies, students qualify for specific courses based on their scores on subsections of the ACT or SAT. For example, students with excellent math scores are eligible for math courses, while students who excelled in writing can choose humanities courses.

Three students from Armuchee Middle will receive state recognition and invitations to the TIP Academy or Duke Center and three have been invited to participate in the Duke TIP Academy for Summer Studies. 

Students earning State Recognition are invited to attend a State Recognition Ceremony. About 38 percent of all talent search participants achieve State Recognition.  Those who qualify, receive information on Duke TIP's renowned summer programs and eStudies opportunities.  Duke TIP also provides the participants with comparative information concerning their academic abilities. The Duke talent search is now in its 33rd year and is the largest program of its kind in the nation. 

The Floyd County students earning recognition by Duke TIP and their level of recognition are:

Armuchee Middle School

• Reid Blackmon - State Recognition and invitation to the Duke Center
• Braden Hyde - State Recognition and invitation to the TIP Academy
• Dylan McLaughlin - State Recognition and invitation to the Duke Center
• Jerry Cable - Invitation to the TIP Academy
• Celine Chan - Invitation to the TIP Academy
• Griffin Goss - Invitation to the TIP Academy

These students will be recognized at the school system's spring meeting of the academic booster club (FCAAE) on Thursday, April 25 at 6:00 p.m.  The meeting will be held at the Floyd County Board of Education office on Riverside Parkway.