< Back to GAD Home Georgia Academic Decathlon 2024 Medalists Literature Varsity Gold Angelica Jones Elite Scholars Academy Clayton County Schools Silver Anthony Reyes-Gonzalez Elite Scholars Academy Clayton County Schools Bronze Melody Echere AR Johnson Magnet School Richmond County Schools Mar'Quavious Clayton BEST Academy Atlanta Public Schools Scholastic Gold Deborah Gadri Elite Scholars Academy Clayton County Schools Silver Isaiah Brown BEST Academy Atlanta Public Schools Bronze Kaili Wheeler Armuchee High School Floyd County Schools Honor Gold Owen Steele Columbus High School Muscogee County Schools Silver Walker Gallman Model High School Floyd County Schools Silver Isaac Tucker Armuchee High School Floyd County Schools Bronze Delaney Reese Elite Scholars Academy Clayton County Schools Marcus Daniels BEST Academy Atlanta Public Schools RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

Learn More About PAGE STAR. < Back to STAR Home Student Teacher Academic Recognition (STAR) STAR Banquet and Selection of Winners Selection of Winners The State PAGE STAR Student is selected from the STAR Region Winners by a panel of judges. The panel includes representatives from higher education, secondary education, education-at-large and the business sector. Each Region STAR Student submits written comprehensive biographical information to the judges. In addition, a statement from each Region STAR Teacher is provided in support of his/her STAR Student. At this point, the SAT is only one of many factors involved in the selection process. The judges interview the Region STAR Students and consider the following areas: Scholarship Extracurricular activities Academic ability Personal philosophy Leadership Initiative Citizenship Opinions Personal objectives Attitudes State PAGE STAR Banquet The State PAGE STAR Banquet, sponsored by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) and the PAGE Foundation, is held in 2026 at the Edgar H. Wilson Convention Center. Highlighting the banquet are interviews of the Region STAR Students conducted by Mr. Robert "Buddy" Costley, CEO and Co-Founder of SchoolDog Solutions, Inc. Region STAR Students and Teachers are presented a hand-blown glass star. In addition to the Region Winners, all STAR Students and STAR Teachers are invited to attend the state banquet, be recognized and receive a special memento. Local sponsors and school contacts will receive banquet ticket information. The evening’s festivities end with the presentation of scholarships and awards to the state winners. The scholarships are provided by corporate, foundation and individual STAR sponsors. 2026 State PAGE STAR Banquet Saturday, April 25, 2026 Reception: 6:30 P.M.Dinner: 7:00 P.M. LOCATION: The Edgar H. Wilson Convention Center 240 Coliseum Drive Macon, GA 31217 Purchase tickets here: 2026 State PAGE STAR Banquet Ticket For more information or questions, email STAR@pageinc.org or call 770-216-8555 or 1-800-334-6861 outside Metro Atlanta and ask for the STAR Program. RETURN TO STAR HOME Back to Top

Craig Harper is the Professional Association of Georgia Educators Executive Director. PAGE Executive Director Craig Harper Executive Director Craig Harper joined PAGE in 2015 after more than 22 years in Georgia public school leadership positions. A certified trainer for Crucial Conversations and host of the PAGE Talks podcast, Harper holds a master’s in public administration from Valdosta State University.

2024 STAR Region Winners STAR Region 1 Grayson Sneed STAR STUDENT Mr. Billy Singletary STAR TEACHER Whitfield County Coahulla Creek High School Kiwanis Club of Dalton STAR Region 3A Pranaya Balaji STAR STUDENT Mr. Joe League STAR TEACHER Cobb County George Walton High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Andrew David Fang STAR STUDENT Mr. Doug Wolfe STAR TEACHER Cobb County George Walton High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Omer Mustafa Inan STAR STUDENT Mrs. Tamara Hollingsworth STAR TEACHER Cobb County George Walton High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Parv Mahajan STAR STUDENT Ms. Julia Rachkovskiy STAR TEACHER Gwinnett County Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Partnership Gwinnett STAR Region 3A Kinley Michelle Sikes STAR STUDENT Mr. Jason Hardin STAR TEACHER Cherokee County Creekview High School Canton Lions Club STAR Region 3A Jillian Vacha STAR STUDENT Mrs. Andrea Boyce STAR TEACHER Gwinnett County North Gwinnett High School Partnership Gwinnett STAR Region 3A Henry Yu STAR STUDENT Mr. Kent Ames STAR TEACHER Forsyth County South Forsyth High School Cumming Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3B Rush William Maples STAR STUDENT Ms. Christie Leanza STAR TEACHER Fayette County Starr's Mill High School Kiwanis Club of Fayette County STAR Region 5 Raymond Yao STAR STUDENT Mrs. Storie Atkins STAR TEACHER Muscogee County Columbus High School Rotary Club of Columbus STAR Region 6 William Steinfeld STAR STUDENT Mrs. Alisha Rochon STAR TEACHER Baldwin County Georgia Military College High School Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce STAR Region 8 Emiline Wayde Baxter STAR STUDENT Mr. AJ Goldman STAR TEACHER Chatham County Savannah Country Day School Kiwanis Club of Savannah STAR Region 9 Evan Jacob Ariail STAR STUDENT Mr. Charles Gammel STAR TEACHER Thomasville City Thomasville High School Kiwanis Club of Thomasville STAR Region 11 Cody Bryan Page STAR STUDENT Mr. Jess Coleman STAR TEACHER Ware County Ware County High School Waycross-Ware County Chamber of Commerce STAR Region 2 Yumeng He STAR STUDENT Mrs. Nicole Ager STAR TEACHER Rabun County Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School Rabun County Chamber of Commerce / Forward Rabun, Inc. STAR Region 3A Katherine Taylor Carter STAR STUDENT Ms. Alissa Jean STAR TEACHER Cobb County Wheeler High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Sebastian Flores STAR STUDENT Ms. Caitlen Stovall STAR TEACHER Forsyth County Denmark High School Cumming Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Gordon Lichtstein STAR STUDENT Mr. Henry Tsay STAR TEACHER Decatur City Decatur High School Decatur Rotary Club STAR Region 3A Kyan Nguyen STAR STUDENT Mr. Paul Chance STAR TEACHER Cobb County Wheeler High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Alexander Thomas STAR STUDENT Mr. Brad Davis STAR TEACHER Forsyth County Alliance Academy for Innovation Cumming Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Jillian Sara Yoder STAR STUDENT Mr. Elliott Reid STAR TEACHER Atlanta City North Atlanta High School Kiwanis Club of Atlanta, Inc. STAR Region 3A Hudson Zhou STAR STUDENT Ms. Saru Bhardwaj STAR TEACHER Forsyth County Lambert High School Cumming Kiwanis Club STAR Region 4 John Nesbit STAR STUDENT Mr. Jake Forrester STAR TEACHER Oconee County Oconee County High School Oconee County Chamber of Commerce STAR Region 6 Shiva Kevin Soundappan STAR STUDENT Mr. Daryl Leslie STAR TEACHER Houston County Houston County High School Perry Area Chamber of Commerce STAR Region 7 Samuel Joseph Hobbs STAR STUDENT Mr. Steven Hahn STAR TEACHER Columbia County Evans High School Harlem Woman's Club STAR Region 8 Eli Compton STAR STUDENT Mrs. Ashley Thompson STAR TEACHER Bulloch County Statesboro High School Bulloch County Foundation STAR Region 10 James Lanford Scott STAR STUDENT Mr. Jonathan Payne STAR TEACHER Lowndes County Lowndes High School Azalea City Civic Club

Meet the PAGE Membership Team Meet the Membership Team LOCATE YOUR MEMBERSHIP SERVICES REPRESENTATIVE BY SCHOOL SYSTEM Membership Services Representative Kathy Arena karena@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Burke, Clarke, Columbia, Elbert, Glascock, Greene, Hancock, Jefferson, Lincoln, McDuffie, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Richmond, Taliaferro, Warren, and Wilkes Membership Services Representative Jo Breedlove-Johnson jbreedlove@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Cherokee, Forsyth, and Fulton counties (with the exception of Atlanta Public Schools, which is served by Membership Services Representative Gina Tucker) Membership Services Representative Peggy Brown pbrown@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Baldwin, Butts, Henry, Jasper, Jones, Newton, Monroe, Morgan, Putnam, Rockdale, Social Circle City, and Walton Membership Services Representatives Laura Clements lclements@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Appling, Bacon, Ben Hill, Bleckley, Coffee, Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Dublin City, Irwin, Jeff Davis, Johnson, Laurens, Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair, Treutlen, Turner, Twiggs, Washington, Wheeler, Wilcox, and Wilkinson Membership Services Representative Kerry Coursey kcoursey@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Jenkins, Savannah-Chatham, and Screven Membership Services Representative Michelle Crawford mcrawford@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Franklin, Habersham, Stephens, Towns and Union Membership Services Representative Michele Dechman mdechman@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Baker, Calhoun, Clay, Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Pelham City, Quitman, Randolph, Seminole, Stewart, Sumter, Terrell, Thomas, Thomasville City, Webster, and Worth Membership Services Representative Will Esters westers@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Bryan, Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Tattnall, Toombs, and Vidalia City. Also serving as the College Services Representative for colleges and universities from Macon southward. Membership Services Representative Hayley Gilreath hgilreath@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Bartow, Calhoun City, Cartersville City, Catoosa, Chattooga, Chickamauga City, Dade, Dalton City, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Murray, Pickens, Polk, Rome City, Trion City, Walker, and Whitfield Membership Services Representative Bob Heaberlin bheaberlin@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Bremen City, Carroll, Carrollton City, Coweta, Douglas, Fayette, Haralson, Heard, Lamar, Meriwether, Pike, Thomaston-Upson, and Troup Membership Services Representative Donna James djames@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Buford City and Gwinnett County Director of Membership BJ Jenkins bjjenkins@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in multiple systems throughout Georgia. Membership Services Representative Felicia Mayfield fmayfield@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in DeKalb County and Decatur City Membership Services Representative Mary Ruth Ray maryruth@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Liberty, Long, McIntosh, and Wayne Membership Services Representative Joy Robinson jrobinson@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Atkinson, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Camden, Charlton, Clinch, Cook, Echols, Glynn, Lanier, Lowndes, Pierce, Tift, Valdosta City, and Ware Membership Services Representative Gina Tucker gtucker@pageinc.org Contact / Bio Serving members in Atlanta Public Schools and Clayton County

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< Back to GAD Home Georgia Academic Decathlon GAD General FAQs Click here to access the GAD Essay FAQs Click here to access the GAD Speech FAQs Q: Is it OK to offer Academic Decathlon as a class? A: Several Georgia schools do and have very successfully offered the decathlon curriculum as an elective course in the last few years. The number of schools offering the curriculum as an elective course is growing. Some schools do not because few kids would be able to fit it into their schedule due to AP and Fine Arts classes. Q: What kinds of materials should a team purchase? A: A successful team can simply purchase the basic USAD materials (around $700 for a license to download the materials for unlimited students at one school). Additional materials are also available from USAD and some outside vendors. Many coaches find purchasing the practice tests and some other study materials helpful, but not necessary. Occasionally, books and other resources can be found and purchased from the bookstore that relate to the topic (e.g., the year we studied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, a nice Lewis and Clark diary was available for purchase for $2.99). Q: What kind of outside resources should a team acquire? A: Other than the USAD materials just use the library/internet to independently research most things. Q: How can coaches know what is going to be on the tests? A: You can never really know for sure what will be on the tests other than the published allocated percentages for subcategories (e.g., 20% of Art is fundamental concepts). Sometimes, there are questions that surprise the students. The practice and scrimmage tests (USAD packages) are helpful to understand the format of the questions for each subject area. Coaches are never to administer the tests, see the tests, or be in the same room with any of the tests — even if it is after the administration. Q: Are there places to obtain additional resources? A: The official website www.usad.org is a good resource. Images of all of the art pieces are available online as are several other resources including curriculum outlines. Q: How does Academic Decathlon work as an Independent study course work? A: Students who are identified as gifted in their school records can take a course during 9th-12th grades called “Directed Study”. The one-semester class gives gifted students a chance to independently study a topic of interest to them. They select the curriculum and they keep track of their progress and even calculate their own grade (with teacher oversight). Students can weave the Academic Decathlon curriculum into their Directed Study curriculum contract quite easily. Q: How can you prepare students for the nebulous/vague topics (e.g. calculus)? A: Other than paying attention to the types of questions on the practice/scrimmage tests, the best thing coaches can do is to make sure that the students really understand the basic concepts. Some students may have thorough knowledge of several subjects from previous courses and they can be assets to their teammates. Q: How do you recruit students for the team? A: Advertise your team meetings, mention Decathlon in your classes, invite students to bring other students, and always have food available. The minimum number of students you need for a legal team is six students, the maximum number is nine. Finding the right students is the key. The final team must have two to three students whose USAD GPA fits into each of the Honor, Scholastic, and Varsity categories. Q: How often does your team practice? A: Meet at least twice a week for about 2 hours each time. Some teams meet before school and on weekends; others rarely do. However, this is very common in other states like California, Texas, Arizona, and Massachusetts . . Much of what the students need to know, they can learn independently. The more time the team spends practicing together, the better they will know the material, and the better they will do at the events. Q: How do you prepare students for the various subject areas? A: Use the personal resources available to you in your school and family. The areas that teams often need outside help for are Music and Art. Preparing for the performance areas (speech, interview, and essay), however, is very rewarding. It is really rewarding to observe a shy student develop confidence in him/herself as they get better and better at public speaking. After all, this is one of the purposes of Academic Decathlon. RETURN TO GEORGIA ACADEMIC DECATHLON HOME Back to Top CONTACT: Michelle Crawford GAD State Director mcrawford@pageinc.org 404-414-3041

Serving members in DeKalb County and Decatur City < Back Felicia Mayfield Membership Services Representative fmayfield@pageinc.org Felicia, who has served Georgia educators for more than 50 years, became a PAGE Coach in 2024. In 2025, Felicia joined the PAGE MSR team to proudly serve the educators of DeKalb County, where she spent 36 years as teacher, assistant principal, principal, coordinator, director, chief of staff, assistant, and associate superintendent. She now serves PAGE members in both capacities. Felicia taught at Clark Atlanta University for 12 years and served as Field Director and Department Chairman while there. She is GPSC certified as a teacher and leader. She is also a certified life coach. Felicia is the mother of two educator adult children. Her hobbies include being a UGA Extension Service Master Gardener, a Senior Olympics medalist in swimming, and co-chair of the Deaconess Ministry at her church. She proudly serves on the Board of Directors for Georgia State University from where she has earned three degrees.

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2024 STAR Region Winners STAR Region 1 Grayson Sneed STAR STUDENT Mr. Billy Singletary STAR TEACHER Whitfield County Coahulla Creek High School Kiwanis Club of Dalton STAR Region 3A Pranaya Balaji STAR STUDENT Mr. Joe League STAR TEACHER Cobb County George Walton High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Andrew David Fang STAR STUDENT Mr. Doug Wolfe STAR TEACHER Cobb County George Walton High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Omer Mustafa Inan STAR STUDENT Mrs. Tamara Hollingsworth STAR TEACHER Cobb County George Walton High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Parv Mahajan STAR STUDENT Ms. Julia Rachkovskiy STAR TEACHER Gwinnett County Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Partnership Gwinnett STAR Region 3A Kinley Michelle Sikes STAR STUDENT Mr. Jason Hardin STAR TEACHER Cherokee County Creekview High School Canton Lions Club STAR Region 3A Jillian Vacha STAR STUDENT Mrs. Andrea Boyce STAR TEACHER Gwinnett County North Gwinnett High School Partnership Gwinnett STAR Region 3A Henry Yu STAR STUDENT Mr. Kent Ames STAR TEACHER Forsyth County South Forsyth High School Cumming Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3B Rush William Maples STAR STUDENT Ms. Christie Leanza STAR TEACHER Fayette County Starr's Mill High School Kiwanis Club of Fayette County STAR Region 5 Raymond Yao STAR STUDENT Mrs. Storie Atkins STAR TEACHER Muscogee County Columbus High School Rotary Club of Columbus STAR Region 6 William Steinfeld STAR STUDENT Mrs. Alisha Rochon STAR TEACHER Baldwin County Georgia Military College High School Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce STAR Region 8 Emiline Wayde Baxter STAR STUDENT Mr. AJ Goldman STAR TEACHER Chatham County Savannah Country Day School Kiwanis Club of Savannah STAR Region 9 Evan Jacob Ariail STAR STUDENT Mr. Charles Gammel STAR TEACHER Thomasville City Thomasville High School Kiwanis Club of Thomasville STAR Region 11 Cody Bryan Page STAR STUDENT Mr. Jess Coleman STAR TEACHER Ware County Ware County High School Waycross-Ware County Chamber of Commerce STAR Region 2 Yumeng He STAR STUDENT Mrs. Nicole Ager STAR TEACHER Rabun County Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School Rabun County Chamber of Commerce / Forward Rabun, Inc. STAR Region 3A Katherine Taylor Carter STAR STUDENT Ms. Alissa Jean STAR TEACHER Cobb County Wheeler High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Sebastian Flores STAR STUDENT Ms. Caitlen Stovall STAR TEACHER Forsyth County Denmark High School Cumming Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Gordon Lichtstein STAR STUDENT Mr. Henry Tsay STAR TEACHER Decatur City Decatur High School Decatur Rotary Club STAR Region 3A Kyan Nguyen STAR STUDENT Mr. Paul Chance STAR TEACHER Cobb County Wheeler High School Metro Marietta Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Alexander Thomas STAR STUDENT Mr. Brad Davis STAR TEACHER Forsyth County Alliance Academy for Innovation Cumming Kiwanis Club STAR Region 3A Jillian Sara Yoder STAR STUDENT Mr. Elliott Reid STAR TEACHER Atlanta City North Atlanta High School Kiwanis Club of Atlanta, Inc. STAR Region 3A Hudson Zhou STAR STUDENT Ms. Saru Bhardwaj STAR TEACHER Forsyth County Lambert High School Cumming Kiwanis Club STAR Region 4 John Nesbit STAR STUDENT Mr. Jake Forrester STAR TEACHER Oconee County Oconee County High School Oconee County Chamber of Commerce STAR Region 6 Shiva Kevin Soundappan STAR STUDENT Mr. Daryl Leslie STAR TEACHER Houston County Houston County High School Perry Area Chamber of Commerce STAR Region 7 Samuel Joseph Hobbs STAR STUDENT Mr. Steven Hahn STAR TEACHER Columbia County Evans High School Harlem Woman's Club STAR Region 8 Eli Compton STAR STUDENT Mrs. Ashley Thompson STAR TEACHER Bulloch County Statesboro High School Bulloch County Foundation STAR Region 10 James Lanford Scott STAR STUDENT Mr. Jonathan Payne STAR TEACHER Lowndes County Lowndes High School Azalea City Civic Club

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WELCOME! We're Glad You've Chosen to Teach in the Peach Join or Renew Your PAGE Membership PAGE Scholarships PAGE Grants PAGE Coaching PAGE Legal PAGE Legislative PAGE Membership Services Director BJ Jenkins (middle left) and Membership Services Representative Gina Tucker (middle right) speak with participants during the Teach in the Peach Statewide Educator Signing Day. PAGE Executive Director Craig Harper (middle) stands with scholarship winners at the Teach in the Peach Statewide Educator Signing Day.