MRH Middle School Student Selected to Attend Joseph Baldwin Academy

is delighted to announce that Rena Kramer, current seventh grade student, will attend the prestigious Joseph Baldwin Academy for Eminent Young Scholars at Truman State University from July 7-28, 2012 in Kirksville, Missouri.

The Joseph Baldwin Academy offers highly talented students a head start on their future university careers by allowing them to spend three weeks as college freshmen: they move into a residence hall, adapt to living with a roommate, eat dorm food, make new friends, attend classes, and work with Truman State's faculty.

Truman State University created the Joseph Baldwin Academy in 1985 in order to provide the benefits of a liberal arts education to students beyond its own undergraduates. The Academy provides courses in all areas of the liberal arts, including the humanities, fine arts, natural sciences, and social sciences. The Academy's classes are challenging and are designed to be the approximate equivalent of a semester-long university course offered during the regular academic year.

The primary goal of the Academy is that students leave with an increased appreciation for the pleasures of education, intellectual engagement, and the college experience. Along the way the expectation is that the attendees will grow both academically and socially as they interact with other high-ability students from across the country.

To be eligible to attend the Joseph Baldwin Academy, a student must be currently enrolled in the seventh through ninth grade, be nominated by their school counselor or principal, and score at the 95th percentile or higher on a nationally standardized achievement exam.

Rena is the daughter of Kent and Chrys Kramer of Maplewood.