The STAR Student is given to the senior with the highest ACT score within the district. If more than one student shares the same test score, grade point average is taken into account. Barlow scored a 33 on the ACT. He is also the Valedictorian for the PHS 2008 graduating class.

 

Seventeen year old Brett Robert Barlow is the son of Robert and Shandra Barlow, a teacher at PHS, and the grandson of Charles Ray and Sally Perry and Robert and Faye Barlow. Brett spent his first year of elementary school in Ponchatoula, Louisiana before he moved to Poplarville. He is considering attending Ole Miss to study biochemistry. The PHS senior has also been the recipient of many academic awards in the past including Mississippi Studies, Sophomore Band, Geography, Chemistry, US History, English III, and Algebra II. Brett is a National Merit Semi-Finalist and has been elected to Who’s Who twice.

 

Once chosen as the STAR Student, Barlow was asked to pick a teacher that made the biggest impact on his academic success. Brett chose his middle school and elementary teacher, Mrs. Carolyn Seal, a 23 year veteran of the Poplarville School District.  Seal teaches gifted education at both Poplarville Lower Elementary and the Middle School of Poplarville.

 

“To me, being chosen as STAR Teacher is one of the highest honors any teacher can ever receive. I am very honored that Brett chose me for this. It's one of the highest points in my teaching career. I'm not alone in this award, though. I'm proud to represent all the great teachers in this district that have helped him to this point,” Seal stated.

 

The STAR award is sponsored by the Mississippi Economic Council and its M.B. Swayze Educational Foundation (now in its 42^nd year). The two major purposes of this recognition are to encourage scholastic greatness and to acknowledge the importance of teaching.