New Albany High School announces 2015-2016 STAR student

KeXin Weng has been named as a STAR (Student-Teacher Achievement Recognition) Student for the 2015-2016 school year by the Mississippi Economic Council’s M. B. Swayze Foundation, sponsor of the STAR program.

The New Albany High School senior will be honored during the STAR Program at the annual Education Celebration on April 28, 2016, at the Jackson Convention Center in downtown Jackson.  Pinnacle sponsors for this prestigious event and the Mississippi Economic Council are:

AT&T; Atmos Energy; BancorpSouth; Barksdale Management; Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi; Electric Power Associations of Mississippi; Entergy Mississippi, Inc.; Ergon, Inc.;

Ingalls Shipbuilding; Mississippi Power Company; Nissan North America, Inc.; Sanderson Farms, Inc.; South Mississippi Electric Power Association; Trustmark National Bank; Walmart; and Yates Construction.  Additional local support for the STAR program is provided by MEC members from communities across the state.

STAR Students are selected on the basis of academic excellence. Both American College Test scores and scholastic averages are compared to determine the school’s STAR Student, explained Vickie Powell of Jackson, Senior Vice President Foundations. “The STAR program encourages and promotes academic achievement among Mississippi’s high school seniors,” she said.

Weng is the daughter of Lanying Ouyang.  She is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Anchor Club, Spanish Club, and FBLA.  Weng is an honor roll student and has received many subject area awards.  She has served on the Northeast Mississippi Youth Foundation and has volunteered as a peer tutor at New Albany Elementary School.

Each STAR Student is asked to designate a STAR Reacher, the classroom teacher who has made the greatest contribution to the student’s scholastic achievement.  Weng chose former ELL Teacher/Coordinator Amy Blake as her STAR teacher. 

Melanie Shannon

Public Relations

New Albany Schools