Tate Phillips Named Hart County High School’s STAR Student for 2023

The Hart County Charter System has announced its 2023 PAGE STAR Student.

He is Hart County High School senior Tate Phillips.

Tate selected Mrs. Melissa Morgan-Phillips, a Calculus teacher at Hart County High School, to be the STAR Teacher.

Tate, the son of Chapin and Brie Phillips, earned the STAR Student recognition for academic achievement and performance on the SAT.

“STAR Student is a huge accomplishment, and we are certainly proud of Tate,” Hart County High School Principal Kevin Gaines said. “Mrs. Morgan-Phillips is a tremendous teacher who goes out of her way to help her students each and every day.”

Tate, who plans to attend a four-year university after high school and study either Engineering or Finance, said it felt rewarding to earn the recognition.

“I ran for class president a couple of times and vice president, and then some other things in other clubs, and it was always second place … so it was just rewarding to have something finally go right,” Tate said.

Tate said he chose his Calculus teacher, Mrs. Morgan-Phillips, to be his STAR teacher because she helped him prepare the most for the SAT.

“And also, I just enjoy spending time in her class. She’s my favorite teacher I’ve ever had,” Tate said.

“Tate is a very good student,” Mrs. Morgan-Phillips said. “He’s exceptionally bright. He works hard … If there’s another way to do something, while I’m teaching, sometimes he’s in his mind trying to figure out that other way, and will ask me, ‘does this work?’”

The PAGE Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program is sponsored, administered and promoted by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) and the PAGE Foundation.

Since its creation, the STAR program has honored nearly 29,000 students and the teachers for their academic achievement and the influence they’ve had on their students.

To be nominated as a high school’s STAR student, seniors must have the highest score on a single test date on the SAT and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average.