Published On: May 21st, 2015By Leticia Fehling

Duke TIP Recognizes 20 AISD Middle School Students for Academic Abilities

[icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Duke TIP is honoring 10 academically-talented Aldine ISD seventh graders for their exceptional scores on the SAT. Duke TIP’s 7th Grade Talent Search identifies students across the U.S. who have scored at or above the 95th percentile on grade-level achievement tests. As part of the program, these academically talented students take above-level college entrance exams to learn more about their abilities.

Duke TIP hosts annual recognition ceremonies to honor the seventh graders who scored the highest on either the SAT or ACT exams. This year, out of 64,481 participants nationally, 22,236 students have been invited to attend state recognition ceremonies and 2,230 students have been invited to Duke TIP’s Grand Recognition Ceremony.

“As seventh graders, these students have achieved scores on the ACT or SAT rivaling those of half of all college-bound seniors who took the tests,” said Dr. Martha Putallaz, executive director of Duke TIP and professor of neuroscience and psychology at Duke University. “We are proud of our ceremonies’ honorees, and we appreciate the opportunity to celebrate their achievement and encourage them in their academic potential.“

The 10 AISD students that earned Duke TIP state recognition will be honored along with others in the Texas during a ceremony in May. Due to the number of students that take part in Texas, there are several ceremonies planned throughout the state in May.

A total of 120 AISD seventh grade gifted and talented (GT) students participated in the Duke TIP in January by taking the SAT. That is an increase of 26.32 percent from the [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]previous year.

Students That Earned Duke TIP State Recognition

Duke TIP state recognized students at Drew Academy.

[icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Drew Academy
Janie Delgado
Esmeralda Díaz
Daphne López
Ricardo Palma
Ángel Reyes

[icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Grantham Academy
Terry Dura

[icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Shotwell Middle School
Itzel Gómez

[icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Teague Middle School
Graziela Encarnación
Marc Rapalo
Roland Ángel Reyes

Each year, more than 70,000 students across the U.S. take part in the 7th Grade Talent Search. A select group of students also qualify to attend the [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Duke TIP Summer Studies programs. Once a student qualifies, he or she is eligible for Duke TIP programs throughout his or her high school years. The student does not need to retest each year. Duke TIP Summer Studies Programs are superb academic opportunities and dynamic residential and social experiences for students in seventh through 10th grade. These three-week sessions are intense and demanding; students are challenged to think critically about themselves and their world.

A total of 20 Aldine ISD students qualified for the Summer Studies programs. Of these 17 students qualified to attend the [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Duke TIP Academy for Summer Studies and three qualified to attend the [icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Center for Summer Studies.

Students from across the U.S. attend Duke TIP’s Summer Studies programs. Students must qualify to attend.

There are several different summer studies programs. Students who qualify for the Center for Summer Studies represent the highest-scoring students in Duke TIP’s 7th Grade Talent Search. The courses offered at the Center for Summer Studies are some of the most challenging and rigorous available to academically gifted students in the country.

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.

Students That Qualified for Duke TIP’s Center for Summer Studies

Drew Academy
Janie Delgado
Ricardo Palma

Teague Middle School
Roland Ángel Reyes

AISD Students That Qualified for Duke’s Summer Studies Academy

Terry Dura

Drew Academy
Esmeralda Díaz
Yasaar Ellis
Mario Guzmán
Daphne López
Ángel Reyes

Grantham Academy
Terry Dura
Estebán Echeverría
Jazmine Tuscana

[icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Hoffman Middle School
Jonathan Rámos

[icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Lewis Middle School
Nicolás Gonzales

Itzel Gómez

[icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Plummer Middle School
David Zúniga

Shotwell Middle School
Eric Bonilla
Itzel Gómez

[icons icon_name=”icon-external-link” icon_size=”14px”]Stovall Middle School
Vina Tran

Teague Middle School
Graziela Encarnación
Brenda Farfán
Marc Rapalo