Senior Tengle Wang and Jeff Foster named STAR student and teacher
Wesleyan School is honored to announce that senior Tengle Wang is the STAR student for the 2023-2024 school year. Partnership Gwinnett named Wang upon recommendation by the school. In turn, Wang selected Jeff Foster, high school band teacher, as the teacher who has had the greatest influence on his academic life and thus the 2023-2024 STAR Wesleyan teacher.
Beyond exemplary academics, Wang is deeply involved in the Wesleyan School community. He is an accomplished musician who plays the piano and violin. In marching band, he serves as a section co-captain for the percussionists. Wang uses his considerable academic skills as a member of the math team. Tengle was also selected after his sophomore year as a member of the state of Georgia’s ARML (American Regions Mathematics League) team, and he has recently been selected to compete nationally in AIME, the American Invitational Mathematics Exam. He is a member of the Technology Student Association (TSA) Team, and Tengle has earned a top ten score in the state of Georgia for his chemistry score in the US National Chemistry Olympiad. His passion for studying biology was deepened during the month he spent at the Governor’s Honors Program before the start of his senior year. In addition to his exceptional test-taking skills, Wang has been a member of the mock trial team and was twice named a star witness during last year’s competitions. Additionally, Wang has been a member of Honor Council during his junior and senior years. Despite all these activities and many more, Tengle still finds time to tutor fellow students in chemistry, physics, and calculus.
When asked why he selected Foster as his STAR teacher, Wang said, “Mr. Foster has been a great mentor of mine in both music and life. I remember our first zoom meeting back in my 8th grade year, two years before I came to Wesleyan, when he warmly welcomed me to school and the band program. He is always encouraging and passionate about helping his students improve at music, and he is the perfect embodiment of the Wesleyan J.O.Y. motto. I am blessed to have had him as a teacher for all my three years at Wesleyan. In band class, he encouraged his students, including me, to learn a variety of percussion instruments, and he completely changed the way I view and understand music in his AP Music Theory class. He also encouraged me to join the Wesleyan marching band, an amazing program that he has built from scratch over the past twenty four years. I am lucky to be part of Wesleyan's best extracurricular program under his leadership. He truly loves all of the marching band kids, and he always has jokes to brighten up anybody’s day. Under his influence, the marching band transformed me for the better. Simply put, I would not be who I am today without him.”
Foster holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Georgia and a Master of Music from Southern Oregon University. Foster is in his 26th year of teaching at Wesleyan School and was recently honored with 25 years of service awards from the Georgia Independent School Association and the Georgia Music Educators Association. As a classroom teacher, he teaches symphonic band, percussion ensemble, jazz ensemble, and music theory. This past summer, he served as a reader for the AP Music Theory exam. One of Foster’s most significant commitments is serving as the director of the marching band program. As a teacher and mentor, Foster strives to help “students foster a passion and love for various types of music, desire a deeper understanding of music, and develop their character.” For those students who might desire to pursue musical opportunities in college, he works diligently to prepare them to excel.
When asked why he selected Foster as his STAR teacher, Wang said, “Mr. Foster has been a great mentor of mine in both music and life. I remember our first zoom meeting back in my 8th grade year, two years before I came to Wesleyan, when he warmly welcomed me to school and the band program. He is always encouraging and passionate about helping his students improve at music, and he is the perfect embodiment of the Wesleyan J.O.Y. motto. I am blessed to have had him as a teacher for all my three years at Wesleyan. In band class, he encouraged his students, including me, to learn a variety of percussion instruments, and he completely changed the way I view and understand music in his AP Music Theory class. He also encouraged me to join the Wesleyan marching band, an amazing program that he has built from scratch over the past twenty four years. I am lucky to be part of Wesleyan's best extracurricular program under his leadership. He truly loves all of the marching band kids, and he always has jokes to brighten up anybody’s day. Under his influence, the marching band transformed me for the better. Simply put, I would not be who I am today without him.”
Foster holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Georgia and a Master of Music from Southern Oregon University. Foster is in his 26th year of teaching at Wesleyan School and was recently honored with 25 years of service awards from the Georgia Independent School Association and the Georgia Music Educators Association. As a classroom teacher, he teaches symphonic band, percussion ensemble, jazz ensemble, and music theory. This past summer, he served as a reader for the AP Music Theory exam. One of Foster’s most significant commitments is serving as the director of the marching band program. As a teacher and mentor, Foster strives to help “students foster a passion and love for various types of music, desire a deeper understanding of music, and develop their character.” For those students who might desire to pursue musical opportunities in college, he works diligently to prepare them to excel.
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 inception in 1958, the STAR program has honored over 29,500 students and the teachers selected as the most influential to their academic achievement. To obtain the STAR nomination, high school seniors must have the highest score in a single sitting on the SAT, taken through the November test date of their senior year, and be in the top 10% or among the top 10 students in their class based on grade point average. Students and their teachers are honored by receiving special recognition in their communities from more than 165 statewide civic organizations and businesses and were celebrated at a luncheon on Feb. 1, 2024.
We are honored to have Tengle Wang and Jeff Foster represent Wesleyan as our STAR student and teacher. Congratulations to each of them and their families!
