Cornerstone Prep is proud to announce its 2023 STAR student, Samantha Sands of Woodstock. Samantha nominated Tracie Setzler, history department chair, as her STAR teacher.
Cornerstone Prep is proud to announce its 2023 STAR student, Samantha Sands of Woodstock. Samantha nominated Tracie Setzler, High School History & Latin teacher and History Department Chair, as her STAR teacher.
Samantha has been a student at Cornerstone for six years. Her involvement at Cornerstone includes Curious Conversations, Students for Life, and she is the president of the Beta Club. Outside of Cornerstone, she is a second-degree black belt in taekwondo. Samantha plans to major in biology and minor in psychology on a pre-med track and aspires to be a pediatrician.
When asked why she chose Mrs. Setzler as her STAR teacher, Samantha said, "I chose Mrs. Setzler as my STAR teacher because I have had her as a teacher for five years and a small group leader for four years; we share similar values and she helps me grow in my faith. She always lets me ask any questions I may have, and I resonate with her teaching style.”
This is Mrs. Setzler’s second time being chosen as Cornerstone Prep's STAR teacher.
“I am so honored to have been chosen by Samantha for this honor. I have taught her in four different classes, and she has been a pleasure in all of them. She was always an intelligent and diligent student, but it has been wonderful to watch her grow into the confident, independent young woman that she is today. Her sense of humor, her hard work, and her strong faith makes me feel hopeful about the future of the republic." said Mrs. Setzler.
She added, "It’s encouraging to see God raise up leaders like Samantha ‘for such a time as this’. She will be missed next year!”
The STAR Program
The Student-Teacher Achievement Recognition, STAR, program honors Georgia's highest-achieving high school seniors and the teachers who have been most instrumental in their academic development. Since its creation in 1958 by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the STAR Program has honored nearly 27,000 high school seniors who have in turn chosen their STAR Teachers to share in this recognition. Every accredited high school in Georgia is eligible to participate in this preeminent student/teacher academic recognition.
To obtain the STAR nomination, high school seniors must have the highest score on any single test date of the SAT taken through the November test date of their senior year and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average. Nominees’ SAT scores must be equal to or higher than the SAT National Average scores on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Math sections.