The auditorium at Woodson Junior High Sunday was nearly full of ‘Shining Stars’ relatives beaming with pride at a ceremony recognizing youngsters for stellar academic achievements.
The ‘Shining Stars’ include students from public schools who scored higher than 80 percent on the VITAL – the Virgin Islands Territorial Assessment Learning test. The students were called up by education officials, then recognized and praised for their accomplishments.
Two hundred sixteen students on St. Croix who scored above the 80th percentile on the annual test were honored.
LaVerene Terry, commissioner of education, said the students’ performance on the test was extremely important to the district. She said it showed V.I. students were capable of achieving a lot.
Gov. John deJongh Jr. praised the students and the parents for keeping the students motivated.
“When the children do well the community 
will do well,” deJongh said. “The strength of the community is not only in the kids but parents too.”
The students who were on hand for the second annual celebration walked across the stage, shook hands with dignitaries, got certificates, medals, pins and a battery-operated star votive. The students will get a letter from President Obama too.
The students did a procession around the auditorium holding their lit star votives. Refreshments were served afterwards. Ricardo Richards Elementary School students sang the Virgin Islands March.
“I feel good being at the top,” said Almando Milligan, as he showed off his certificates.
