Gifted program takes note of high ACT scores
Special to the American
Three Hazelwood School District middle school students have earned recognition through the Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP). Paige Clogston, a seventh grader at Hazelwood West Middle School, Paiten Kelly, who is in seventh grade at Hazelwood Northwest Middle School and Jawn Manning, a seventh grader at Hazelwood East Middle School, scored higher than many high school students in the nation on the American College Test (ACT), which qualified them for the recognition.
The students will attend a Duke University TIP state recognition ceremony on May 30 at Drury University in Springfield, Mo.
TIP is a non-profit educational organization that provides resources to gifted students, their parents, educators and schools to develop students’ optimal potential.
It starts with a talent search at the fourth, fifth and seventh grade levels. At the middle school level, TIP identifies academically qualified students and invites them to complete college entrance examinations alongside high school students. Recognized for their test scores, TIP students receive detailed information on their abilities and are introduced to a network of scholastic opportunities and resources based on their scores.
“I’m so excited and so is my family,” Manning said. “I took the ACT with two friends at Hazelwood East High School.”
“You pretty much go through everything the high school students do – you stand in line with them, you take the test with them, etc.,” Clogston said. “You’re there all by yourself taking the test, so it’s kind of intimidating, being there with all of those high school students,” she said. “I guess they didn’t notice I was in seventh grade.”
Hazelwood East Middle School gifted teacher Sonja Brewer asked Manning if being surrounded by high school students made her nervous and the girl replied that it did not bother her. Kelly reported a different sensation.
“I took the ACT with my brother at Flo Valley,” Kelly said. “It was scary taking it with the high school students. They all looked at me and they were so much older.”
Clogston offered another reason she preferred the ACT exam.
“I liked it because TIP is more challenging than the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test and it was cool to be recognized like that,” Clogston said. “Since I’m not available this summer to go, I will be part of the program next summer.”
Clogston said she will participate in the People-to-People student ambassador program this summer, when she will travel to Europe.
Manning said portions of the test were comparable to the MAP test.
“Certain parts were easy for me; I’m good at reading and at English but the math portion was hard,” Manning said. “The science section was okay because it was just about interpreting data. As far as skill goes, this test was harder than the MAP test.”
Kelly agreed.
“The ACT was more advanced and the questions were a lot harder than on the MAP test,” Kelly said.
As an added incentive, qualified TIP students may attend any TIP classes in subsequent summers, as appropriate for their grade level. Manning said her grandfather helped her study, using the ACT preparation materials available.
“I went to ACT tutoring sessions with my brother,” Kelly said. “That made taking the real test easier.”
Taking the ACT through the Duke TIP was a familar route for the Clogstons.
“We had done this with our older daughter, Jocelyn, so we already knew about the Duke TIP option,” said Toni Clogston, Paige’s mother.
While two of the girls do not have crystal clear college plans yet, Kelly has two ideas so far.
“I kind of want to go to Hampton University in Virginia. One of my cousins went there. Or I want to play basketball for the Lady Vols at the University of Tennessee,” she said.
The girls’ career plans range from writing to engineering.
“I know I want to go to college and I want to go to a good one but I don’t know which one yet,” Clogston said of her post-graduation aspirations. She said she would like to become a fiction author or a publisher.
“I think I want to be in the forensics field when I grow up,” Kelly said.
“I want to be a biomedical engineer,” Manning said. “I want to experiment with medicines and I want to help people but not actually be a doctor.” Manning said she is unsure where she would like to attend college.
“My mom told me, ‘We always knew you were smart and now this proves it,’” Manning said. “They couldn’t stop talking about it and my grandparents, every time they picked up the phone, they said, ‘Guess what Jawn did?’”
“She always has a book with her so it’s not that surprising that she did this well,” Brewer said. “And it’s not just a book, usually they’re thick books. Jawn loves languages, reading and writing stories.”
Clogston is a bit shy about her accomplishment and if it had been her decision, very few people would have known. Her mother, however, had other ideas.
“My mom, without telling me, e-mailed my principal, Dr. Sandbothe, about it and it was announced over the PA. All of my friends and teachers talked about it, telling me how proud they are of me.”
