Ellie Jane Wright, a high school senior at Deerfield Windsor School has been named a 2024 PAGE STAR Student Winner for Dougherty County. The announcement was made Wednesday at the 66th annual STAR Student luncheon hosted by the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce at Albany State University’s L. Orene Hall. Ellie Jane selected Shannon Coffey, her kindergarten teacher from Trinity Christian School in Bulloch County as her STAR teacher. Upon being named the region winner, Ellie Jane thanked her family and credited Miss Coffey with her early love for learning.

The PAGE Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program, in its 66th year, is sponsored, administered and promoted by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE). Since its creation in 1958, the STAR program has honored nearly 29,500 students and the teachers selected as the most influential to their academic achievement. To obtain the 2024 STAR nomination, high school seniors must have the highest score on a single test date on the SAT and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average.

STAR begins each year in participating high schools throughout Georgia when the STAR Student is named and chooses a STAR Teacher to share in this recognition. The students and their teachers are honored by their schools and receive special recognition in their communities from one of the more than 170 statewide civic organizations and businesses that serve as local sponsors of the STAR program. Students then compete for school system titles, and those winners compete for region honors. Region winners compete for the honor of being named State PAGE STAR Student. STAR Teachers continue on with their STAR Students at every level of the program.