Virtual Student Recognition Program 2021

The Global Teaching Project hosted a Virtual Student Recognition Program on March 9, 2021 to honor high school students in our Advanced STEM Access Program who have shown extraordinary commitment in the face of unprecedented challenges. 

Learning rigorous STEM subject matter is always a daunting task.  Doing so during a pandemic is vastly more difficult still.  Yet our students, teachers, tutors, and administrators have not only persevered, but excelled.

Well over 100 students, teachers, tutors, family members, and other stakeholders participated in the Virtual Student Recognition Program, both through Zoom and in-person at schools in accordance with public health guidelines.

Student honorees were each commended by their respective teachers, and presented with U.S. flags that had flown over the U.S. Capitol in recognition of their exemplary citizenship, as well as with certificates honoring their hard work.

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, Mississippi’s senior senator, addressed the students and guests.  Senator Wicker lauded the honorees as “some of the brightest STEM students in Mississippi”, stating, “Our state is proud of you, and we have a lot riding on you.”  Senator Wicker added, “This pandemic has been a unique challenge for our students and teachers, so I want to commend all of you for staying the course, and achieving outstanding feats in spite of all the obstacles.”

Thanks to our students and educators, the Global Teaching Project’s Advanced STEM Access Program has defied trends by expanding while others are contracting.  Schools across the country have reduced AP offerings during the pandemic, often dramatically.  In 2020-21, 30 percent fewer Mississippi public schools (excluding our schools) are authorized to offer AP Physics 1 than in the 2019-2020 academic year, and 32 percent fewer offer AP Computer Science Principles.  By contrast, the Advanced STEM Access Program offers 10 percent more classes than in 2019-2020, and has enrolled over 40 percent more students.

The Global Teaching Project congratulates our community of talented students and educators, who have overcome formidable impediments to learning through extraordinary grit and resolve. Their efforts are nothing short of heroic.