Riverwood International Announces 2020 STAR Student, Teacher

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — Riverwood International Charter School has announced Ricardo Ruiz as the 2019-20 STAR Student; he chose math faculty member Rod Schopke as his STAR teacher. To obtain the Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR), high school seniors must have the highest score on a single test date on the three-part SAT taken through the November test date of their senior year and be in the top 10 percent, or top 10 students, of their class based on grade point average. The STAR program honors Georgia's outstanding high school seniors and the teachers who have been most instrumental in their academic development.

Ruiz is an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Candidate with higher level courses in English, Spanish, math, and physics. He plans to attend MIT to study Computer Science and Engineering or Georgia Tech to major in computer science. He attended the Georgia Governor’s Honors Program in the summer of 2018 for mathematics. He has been on the Principal’s List for all semesters in high school and is a National AP Scholar. Ruiz serves as the Co-Captain of the Debate Team and is also Co-Captain of the Math Team. He is currently a Boy Scout earning the Life Scout Award. He will sit for his Eagle Board of Review in February and projects to earn the official rank of Eagle by March.

Ruiz's STAR teacher is social studies faculty member, Rod Schopke.

"Mr. Schopke has significantly influenced my development inside and outside the classroom," Ruiz said. "His challenging and rapid teaching style facilitates class discussion and engagement, creating a conducive learning environment and pushing every student to be their best. He truly cares about his students and their interests outside of the classroom, following up and supporting their endeavors in all aspects of life, whether they are in the classroom or in a debate tournament. I know I have certainly benefited from these interactions, which have enabled me to independently explore mathematics, experience new extracurricular opportunities, or learn the time management skills that will set me up for success in college and beyond.”

"I have had the great honor of teaching Ricardo for the past three years in Accelerated Pre-Calculus and in IB Math," Schopke said. "It was apparent from the first few weeks of knowing Ricardo that he had a brilliant mathematical mind. He never really cared about his grades, though it was a noteworthy day if Ricardo missed a question on one of my assessments. Ricardo has always cared about truly understanding the inner workings of complicated mathematics. It has been a joy teaching him and witnessing the way his inquisitive mind works. That curiosity and drive has led him to becoming one of the top math students I have ever had the pleasure to teach. For the past two years he has also been on the Math Team which I coach. He has been a key member of the team since he started and has performed strongly at the tournaments we have attended. Ricardo in math class, math team, and in life is often helping his peers and friends in a supportive and caring nature."

Both will be honored at a breakfast by the Midtown Rotary Club this spring at the annual PAGE Foundation STAR Banquet.