Whiz Kids: Alex Pinchin and Caley Burrus

Whiz Kid: Alex Pinchin, a junior

School: Booker High School.

Accomplishment:Alex was named the Sarasota County School District's 2011 Sunshine State Scholar. The prestigious honor recognizes Florida’s top students in science, technology, engineering and/or math (STEM). 

In order to be selected as 1 of the 67 students (one from each Florida county/school district) recognized as a Sunshine State Scholar by the Florida Education Foundation, Pinchin had to meet stringent academic requirements, including a weighted grade-point average of 4.0 or above and a score of 3.0 or higher on one or more advanced placement (AP) tests. He currently is taking an AP Calculus class and has taken several AP-level science courses, earning high grades. 

Whiz Kid: Caley Burrus, a junior

School: Pine View School

Accomplishment: Received the National AP Scholar Award for her performance on advanced placement courses through 11th grade. The award is given to students throughout the U.S. who receive an average score of at least 4 on all AP exams they take, in addition to receiving scores of 4 or higher on eight or more AP exams. 

Only 1,235 11th-grade students in the U.S. and just 173 11th-grade students in Florida received the award in 2010.