Note: This blog was written in May 2005 and originally posted on my MySpace page. I have copied the blog here in case anyone is interested.
This past weekend I attended my 20th High School reunion. I was a member of the first class of the Louisiana School for Math Science and the Arts. This school (created in 1983) was the first of its kind - a residential publicly funded High School for the academically gifted and artistically talented. If you want to learn more about my school you can check out the school's website, http://www.lsmsa.edu/.
As part of our reunion activities, the class of 1985 participated in this years graduation exercises. The guest speaker at the event was Dr. Robert Alost, the first executive director of the school. As part of his speech, he told my story (i.e. how does a 13 year old end up in the eleventh grade at the Louisiana School?). Well since he went public with the story and so many people often ask - how did you graduate at such a young age, I've decided to tell the story. So, here it is...
I was born in 1970, the oldest child of a Southern Baptist minister and a stay-at-home mom (who later got a degree in elementary education when I was 10). My Dad never stayed at any church for too long and as a consequence, we moved around a lot. Here's a summary:
- birth - August 1970 Collingston, LA
- 1970 - 1972 Bastrop, LA
- 1972 - 1975 Oak Grove, LA
- 1975 - 1977 Liddieville, LA
- 1977 - 1980 Natchitoches, LA
- 1980 - 1982 Archilbald, LA
- 1982 - 1983 Marion, LA
Growing up I was a very smart child. If there was a gifted and talented program, I was in it. If there was an academic achievement test, I always scored in the 99 percentile. When I was in the seventh grade, I met a man that would change my life. His name, George Harmon Smith. Mr. Smith is an author (his book Bayou Boy was made into a film by Walt Disney). Mr. Smith was also the mayor of Marion when I lived there. As part of an extracurricular assignment, I interviewed George Harmon Smith. Mr. Smith was so impressed with me as a 12 year old that he asked my father if he could test my IQ. You see, Mr. Smith was also an educator and educational testing expert. Well, on one Saturday afternoon I was given those tests and, while I won't give you the numeric results, it was the highest of any person that George Harmon Smith has ever tested.
Okay, you following the story so far? I was 12 and had just been tested. When George Harmon Smith explains these results to my father, my Dad goes nuts. My Dad knew something was up (I mean I was the one that had been correcting the grammar in his sermons since I was 7), he just didn't know what to do. Mr. Smith gave my father some suggestions. I needed some kind of "advanced" educational opportunities. He mentioned that if I was just a bit older I should apply to that "new" school they were starting in Natchitoches (i.e. The Louisiana School for Math Science and the Arts). The only problem, LSMSA was just going to be for 11th and 12th graders (I was in the seventh grade, remember).
Well, my Dad was pretty stubborn and he ended up having me apply to the Louisiana School. He personally visited Natchitoches and spoke with Bobby Alost. Bobby (aka Dr. Alost) thought my Dad was nuts. However, to deal with this crazy man, he told him to have me apply and they would consider my application. So, I took the SATs, I completed the essays, and went through the interview process. After this, Dr. Alost's staff came to him with a problem, "that McGuffee kid has made it through the selection process, what do we do now?". Well, in one last step they had me come to Natchitoches and take an eleventh grade achievement test and (even though I was only in the seventh grade) I scored in the 99th percentile.
To his credit, Dr. Alost took a chance on me. I'm not sure why he did it, it was kind of crazy. However, I thrived at the Louisiana School. Even though everyone was three years older than me AND these were the best and brightest in the state, I did well. I ended up graduating with honors (top 3rd of my class).
It wasn't always smooth and easy. For example, when it came time to graduate, I didn't have enough credits (see I skipped the 8th, 9th, and 10th grades). But, just a little time before my graduation the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education took the highly unusual step of waiving my credits and awarded me a High School diploma. They also wrote me a personal letter commending me on my achievements.
So that's how I graduated from High School at the age of 14.
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