David Adams Named Holy Innocents' STAR Student

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School senior David Adams has been named a 2016 STAR student by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) Foundation. And Adams has selected Holy Innocents’ math teacher John Taylor as his STAR Teacher—the teacher who has had the most influence on his academic achievement.

The STAR Student designation is based on SAT score and class ranking.

Adams, 18, was designated a semifinalist in the National Merit Scholarship Program last fall. He became an Eagle Scout through Boy Scout Troop 434 at All Saints Catholic Church, is a member of several different honor societies at Holy Innocents’, and plays varsity baseball.

He will attend the California Institute of Technology, where he plans to major in computer science or chemical engineering, and also play baseball.

Adams is the son of Michael and Tracie Adams of Atlanta.

Upper School teacher John Taylor holds a bachelor’s degree from Mercer University and a master’s degree from the University of Alabama, both in mathematics. Taylor has taught Adams in three classes: Precalculus, AP Calculus, and Multivariable Calculus.

Adams selected Taylor to be his STAR Teacher because he is a “great teacher” and more, Adams said. “I have had Mr. Taylor as a teacher for the past three years, and in my time with him I have been able to learn so much.

“I have always enjoyed math, but it was Mr. Taylor who really instilled a love for math in me.”

Taylor said he was honored to be named a STAR Teacher by Adams, a student Taylor has had in the classroom for three years now. “I am not surprised to find out that David won this award,” Taylor added. “He has consistently shown an ability in mathematics to solve almost any problem I throw at him and to think outside the box. His intuition has rarely been wrong when I throw a new topic at him.”

The PAGE Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program, now in its 58th year, is sponsored, administered, and promoted by the PAGE Foundation. Since its inception, the STAR program has honored nearly 25,500 students and educators.

To obtain the 2016 STAR nomination, high school seniors had to have the highest score on a single test date on the three-part SAT and be in the top 10 percent, or top 10 students, of their class based on grade point average, according to PAGE Foundation officials.