The PAGE 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 founding in 1958 by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the STAR program has recognized nearly 30,000 students and the educators they’ve selected to share in this prestigious recognition.
To be nominated, students must have the highest SAT score in their high school on a single test date taken through November of their senior year and rank in the top 10 percent or be one of the top 10 students in their class based on grade point average. SAT scores must meet or exceed the national average on the Evidence Based Reading and Writing and Math sections. Every accredited high school in Georgia is eligible to participate.
Once selected, high school STAR Students are invited to choose their STAR Teachers, any Pre K through 12th grade classroom teacher in good standing in an accredited Georgia public or private school, who continue alongside their students at every level of the recognition program.
STAR Students compete first at the school and system levels, then advance to regional competition across 12 STAR Regions. Region winners move on to the state level competition for scholarship opportunities and awards.
Local civic organizations and businesses, more than 170 across the state, sponsor recognition events to honor STAR Students and Teachers in their communities. Region recognitions are led by volunteer Region Chairs who serve as ambassadors for the program. The annual State PAGE STAR Banquet, held each April, marks the final stage of competition and celebration.
In the mid-1990s, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Department of Education invited the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) Foundation to assume oversight and administration of the statewide program. Today, the PAGE Foundation, along with the PAGE Board of Directors and Board of Trustees, is proud to continue honoring Georgia’s future leaders and the educators who have helped shape them.